17-12-2023 .. Sunday .. LONDON
( WIMBLEDON tour … )
On entry to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Club thru Gate:4, had a snap with ‘Centre Court’ backstage .. then purchased 4 tickets for Wimbledon Tour & Museum Visit .. £27 (INR2970) per person .. me wife son Dinla .. assembled at the Tour Departure Point .. a Guide appeared on assembling of 32 tourists including us .. 4 Indians, 6 British, 8 Americans, 10 Europeans, 4 Sri Lankans .. first the Guide elaborated on the history of Championships, then she briefed on the history of All England Tennis Lawn Club which manages WIMBLEDON, then she detailed out how the grass is maintained perfectly to suit the Courts .. for Centre Court, spacial kind of grass is being grown .. really an interesting impressive subject .. then she explained how the Ball Boys/Girls are selected and how vigorously training is imparted .. then she detailed out how the Club is staging the Championships every year (by identifying local / National / International Partners, Programmes charting out, Players’ Seeding, Funding, assisting Big Players to find big bungalows for them & their families in Wimbledon and thus helping the residents of Wimbledon to earn big money) .. and finally briefed How the profits earned on staging the Championships is going extra mile by helping people in need in as many ways as possible ..
indeed a great humanitarian service, my big salutations to the Club Management
The Wimbledon Courts Map …
( picture courtesy: WIMBLEDON WEBSITE )
Then she lead us to visit prominent areas to experience it physically .. it’s a 90 minute tour, involving climbing steps at number of places ..
COURT No:1
A huge complex spread over four floors of accommodation with a fixed and retractable roof that allows for maximum exposure to the sky when opened and can close fully within 10 minutes.
It has an increased bowl capacity, a two-level public plaza & food court, screens & public realm enhancements, and a shop. It has a capacity of 12,345 seats.
We stand at No.1 COURT
THE HILL (known as "Henman Hill" )
a mostly grassed banked area situated to the north of No.1 Court wherein Ground Pass Ticket Holders (those who could not get ShowCourt tickets) watching the live action on a giant TV screen.
During 1990s, it was widely known as 'Henman Hill', as British fans gathered to watch the British No.1 compete in 4 Wimbledon Semi-finals. Also dubbed 'Murray Mound', reflecting the support for Andy Murray at Wimbledon. It is also being called ‘Aorangi hummock’.
COURT 18
The Longest Tennis Match ever played took place in this masterfully manicured lawn, as witness and host to over 100 years of sports history. This Show Court is witness to the metronomic battle of history-making duo of John Isner and Nicolas Mahut. The Match lasted 183 games over 3 days of play, from 6.13pm on Tuesday 22nd June to 5pm on Thursday 24th June 2010, for 11 hours and 5 mins.
While showing the Court 18, the Tour Hostess told a fascinating story on a hawk used by Wimbledon Club to keep pigeons away from Centre Court & adjoining Courts. Rufus the Hawk was described as an important member of Wimbledon Family and he has been scaring away the birds for 15 years. The beauty is Rufus the Hawk has Facebook / Twitter / Instagram accounts.
Please visit the under given link to know Rufus.
https://www.wimbledon.com/en_GB/news/articles/2022-06-30/rufus_rules_the_skies_over_wimbledon.html
Then the Tour Hostess took us to Press Writers' Room, including Players' Interview Desk and commentating rooms. A very huge complex which can house around 600 Press People. BBC has separate identity. Had a snap by sitting on the Chairs in the Players Interview Desk.
Had a mental satisfaction by telling myself that I too sat on the Chair that might have been occupied by the Greats like Borg McEnroe Becker Sampras Agassi Federer Rafa Andy Djokovic and Chris Evert, Billie Jean King, Navratilova, Graf, Hingis, Venus, Serena, Maria.
WIMBLEDON TOUR continues ..
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