About Wimbledon
The Championships, Wimbledon, commonly known as “Wimbledon”, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world, and is widely considered the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Club in Wimbledon, London since 1877. It is one of the four Grand Slam tennis tournaments, the others being the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open. Since the Australian Open shifted to hard court in 1988, Wimbledon is the only major still played on grass.
The tournament takes place over two weeks in late June and early July, culminating with the Ladies’ and Gentlemen’s Singles Final, scheduled always for the second Saturday and Sunday respectively. Wimbledon is notable for the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts. The tournament has been interrupted twice till date, once in 1915-18 and then in 1940-45, due to World War I and World War II respectively.
The First Wimbledon Final
The inaugural 1877 Wimbledon Championship opened on 9 July 1877. The Gentlemen’s Singles was the only event held and was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field of 22. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.
A 138 years later, a ticket for the Men’s Singles Final would cost you £2,270. A spokesman for Sportsworld, Wimbledon’s official ticket agent, said: ‘This year, interest has been higher than ever. All our tickets for the women’s final have sold. They were £1,510. All we have left are for the men’s final, which are £2,270 plus VAT.
However, you can enjoy the magic of Wimbledon without a bank loan. Each day, 6,000 outer-court tickets are available at the turnstiles, priced at £12, with a further 500 for Centre Court and 500 for Number One Court. But be prepared to queue.
The Men’s Singles Final 12th July 2015
The atmosphere at the Final last Sunday was electric. Wimbledon was full of fans, all excited to see who will be the new Champion. Even the grey weather did not ruin their enthusiasm. The streets, pubs and parks were full of people waiting to see the game. Fans queued for hours to get into the stadium. Later on the day, it was noted that Novak Djokovic’s victory over Roger Federer drew a peak audience of 10 million viewers.
This victory was Novak Djokovic’s ninth grand slam. He is 28, which means that there will surely be more. He did what was beyond Andy Murray: he broke down Roger Federer’s serve with the depth and ferocity of his returns and whenever he was in trouble on his own serve, he always found a way. It was a bit anti-climactic in the end. The brilliant Djokovic refused to be steered off course after losing that tie-break in the second set. Novak Djokovic claimed his third Wimbledon title with a clinical 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-3 win, ensuring that there would be no fairytale triumph for Roger Federer.
Being at Wimbledon for the Men’s Singles Final was a worthed experience and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys watching tennis.
