A club that prides itself on tradition lets the mask slip a little with an addition that – for now, at least – feels like a luxury itemThe crumbling porch at the entrance of that once fine edifice, the United Kingdom, is held up by a series of Corinthian columns: the monarchy, the great public schools, the ancient universities …They have much in common. A rich patina of tradition suffuses everything they do. They all run their own operations skilfully; and they have the knack of creating an image of constancy while continually updating themselves, a process assisted by having vast reserves of money. Related: Cori Gauff, 15, eclipses Venus Williams in Wimbledon first round What is the new format?...
Few would bet against Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic or Rafa Nadal triumphing again this year as thirtysomethings march onThe three names at the top of the betting for the men’s singles at Wimbledon this year are so familiar that they can almost be taken for granted. Between them, Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal have won 14 of the 16 slam titles in SW19 since Lleyton Hewitt lifted the trophy in 2002 and their odds imply a 75% chance that one of them will make it 15 from 17. Or, to put it another way, the other 125 players in the main draw have a 25% chance of winning between them, versus three men with a combined age of...
All England Club decision to use tie-breaks when score reaches 12-12 in deciding set will go down well with players and fansIt could never be said that the All England Club was bullied into hasty change; indeed it is rumoured some members still hanker after long trousers. However, only a week after putting its hands on 73 acres across the road at the local golf club for expansion that will secure the club’s position as the pre-eminent tournament in tennis once the deal is finalised in December, it dropped a minor bombshell on the game on Friday by announcing the end of the interminable final set at the Championships. Related: Wimbledon puts end to marathon matches with final-set tie-breaks Related:...
The verbal rallies have started at SW19 as Martina Navratilova came out on top in a joust with the Brexit financier while Boris Becker was left stumped by Sue Barker’s opening gambit“To everyone’s surprise,” reflects a character at the start of sci-fi satire District 9, “the [alien] ship didn’t come to a stop over Manhattan or Washington or Chicago, but instead coasted to a halt directly over the city of Johannesburg.”Some may have experienced similar feelings of bathos this week, as the tear in the news-sport continuum finally blew wide open – not in Moscow, where you might have expected it, but in SW19. The transdimensional gate was opened by Sue Barker, who kicked off this year’s BBC Wimbledon coverage...
The 2014 finalist was brusque last week at qualifying but she knows the path to a grand slam is littered with pitfallsThe longer the interview went on, the more it seemed that nothing was going to elicit an interesting answer from Eugenie Bouchard. The Canadian had walked off court with an important victory in the bag but it was difficult to tell from her icy demeanour as she responded to questions about her first‑round win at Wimbledon qualifying last Tuesday. There was no hint of joy, no attempt to engage. The interviewer could have revealed that the world was about to end and Bouchard still would have said: “Yeah, well, obviously I’ll just take each apocalypse as it comes,” in...