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Post by bogbrush Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:05 pm

Day 1, Centre Court

First thing to say is that was hot! We sat opposite the umpire, so we felt direct sunlight through. Thankfully Mrs B insisted on sun cream (I hate the stuff) so no damage was done. She had her Pimms in steady supply and for her the tennis is incidental to the family event so she was happy.

Neither was any damage done to Federer’s campaign. He was sublime, and as always the best rewards come from ignoring the ball and watching him. The movement was immaculate, constant tippy-tappy steps and the lightest of touches to the ground. He must be a nightmare to play, never giving the same ball twice, never allowing time to think or to predict. Poor old Lajovic had no way of getting free points on serve and I’m pretty sure there wasn’t even a deuce on Federer's. I don’t think he saw worse than a few 0-15’s. We were treated to some delightful specials, a dinked backhand in the 1st, a return drop shot, but Federer stayed securely in 2nd gear throughout, just throwing enough to the fans to keep us happy. My two sons are strong with the faith and were just as enthused.

The next match up was the lovely Caroline. That’s about all I remember, apart from the fact someone needs to teach her opponent not to throw the ball all over the place on her serve. Possibly a coach would be a good idea.

And then the match of the day! We had watched Stan warming up in the morning and he looked ordinary. He opened the match in similar vein and it was a relief when he wasn’t bagelled but we could hope for a fresh start in the second set. We were all desperate for a contest - a Fed stroll has its own rewards but a competitive match was needed - and somehow he bagan to get a foothold in the 2nd and despite throwing a break away, sneaked it by a tie break. When the same happened in the 3rd - even worse as Dimitrov had collapsed serving for the set - I could only agree as Dimitrov sat shaking his head in disbelief. Exactly how was he losing this match he should be strolling? I’ll tell my opinion in a bit.
As the 4th got going it became clear that Dimitrov’s level was dropping under the burden of the pressure and it was no surprise at all that he choked it away at the end.

The truth is that Stan played some wonderful shots, especially the trademark backhands most memorably on set point in the 3rd, but this was on Dimitrov’s racquet throughout. I watched him choke away points and situations in real life and you can see it happening before your eyes. His game is too honest, too regular, to win these things. At least, having watched Federer first up it looked that way. Stan and Gregor hit wonderful serves and groundies at each other but it was prose to the poetry first up.

One last thing; Stan was wearing virtually transparent kit, thankfully with opaque undies. My mind could only go back to the second match and I wistfully imagined the lovely Caroline having the same kit provider.......


Last edited by bogbrush on Wed Jul 04, 2018 7:27 am; edited 2 times in total

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Post by Tenez Mon Jul 02, 2018 10:55 pm

lol. Gld you enjoyed. What you find in Caroline is a mistery to me. Ugly game with a plain face and body. Must be a northerner thing (you and Ilroy).

I think fed liked the steady bounce of CC. He did play well. We know he can. What we don;t know is how long can he last on B05 nowadays? We'll see soon. The hot weather should be good for his back.

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Post by noleisthebest Tue Jul 03, 2018 8:49 am

Looks like you had the time of your life, BB!

Even the cloudless sky was there, Wimbledon at its best.

On TV, it looked there was not a single empty seat.

What can  I say, lucky you!

Really happy to hear about the tippy-tappy immaculate movement from Fed, I can almost hear it, aaaaaaah.....Big Grin

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Post by barrystar Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:15 am

Great stuff - I agree about his movement, he always makes me think of a cat when I see him live.  I think you are right about his variety being the key, the uncertainty he sows in the opponent's mind.

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Post by bogbrush Tue Jul 03, 2018 11:45 am

barrystar wrote:Great stuff - I agree about his movement, he always makes me think of a cat when I see him live.  I think you are right about his variety being the key, the uncertainty he sows in the opponent's mind.
Indeed, it was evident from the 1st and 3rd matches that one huge difference was how both Stan and Dimitrov were pretty much able to ready themselves for what was likely to come back after they had hit the ball whereas nobody - not Lajovic nor the crowd - really had a clear idea of what shot Federer was about to play. This must make his shots behave as if hit much harder; the reaction time is shortened not by the pace itself but by the lesser time available to prepare. This is most obvious on serve because of his motion but you could see it in mid-rally. 

It must also be quite wearing mentally and I was wondering whether part of the secret to Nadal's success was that his game was able to reduce the scope of Federer's choices, and so simplify the range he knew he had to handle, and that perhaps this is part of the reason things switched around so radically in 2017.

On a lighter note, the affection from the crowd is really something. It's not only fanboyism (well, a lot of it is) but a genuine sense that people know they won't get this for much longer and doubt as to how long before it comes along again.

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Post by barrystar Tue Jul 03, 2018 12:03 pm

Yes - I saw that with Federer last year.  Quite simply, when he is on court everything feels different.  In relation to his shots - sometimes you watch and think, 'that looked a bit flimsy, falling a bit short, not very hard, not very much spin' but it doesn't come back with interest.  Your explanation of variety is as good a one as I can think of for that.  In other words, for all the weight of shot and speed around the court - possibly the greatest speed advantage he has relates to movement between the ears.  As the guy on tour who has played the most matches and seen and analysed the most patterns in rallies and matches, that advantage will not decline with age as quickly as one might expect.

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Post by N2D2L Tue Jul 03, 2018 2:06 pm

Glad you had a good time BB Bubbly
4 SHBHs on centre court, did you set the schedule as well as getting Debenture tickets Laugh

I may go on Thursday, if Nadal is still in the draw, and if he's the last match on either centre court or court 1.

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Post by Jahu Tue Jul 03, 2018 8:33 pm

Good writing BB, glad you enjoyed it

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Post by bogbrush Tue Jul 03, 2018 10:16 pm

Cheers! Bubbly

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Post by bogbrush Wed Jul 04, 2018 7:24 am

Title amended to accomdate others. I think Tenez  is going today.

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Post by Tenez Wed Jul 04, 2018 7:29 am

Yep....looks like court 18 is the best I can hope for. No way I will stay on court 1.

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Post by Slippy Wed Jul 04, 2018 8:55 am

The OOP on centre and court 1 is shocking. Do they usually put two ladies and one men’s match on or is that really unusual? Agree Court 18 looks much better!

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Post by Tenez Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:42 pm

It was a dull day...tennis wise. Bit I still enjoy walking the ground.

I started with court 18, from second set of Pouille/Novak. Pouille was really slow starting then became the better player until he relaxed and lost his serve 3 times in that last set. Some good shots...bit not very exciting actually. Good think is on court 18 its easy to be on the very first front row.

Then I sat on Henman Hill to watch Federer I was there with friends from my club and a line judge also member of our club. Had a good chat but dd not pay much attention to fed's match as he was sailing.

Then we finally decided to use our court 1 ticket. By that time it was Wos/Makarova's last set. That's probably the best set of the day drama wise. From 5/1 to 5 all and then 7/5 it was great to see a player getting nervous but overcoming it at the end with great shots after missing 5 MPs.

Then we went to see a bit of Karlo and mens doubles. Amazing reflex volleys from Mahut. Very impressive live.

Then we decided to go back to court 1 to finally watch a few games of Cilic but as soon as we sat, they stopped playing. It did not bother me too much. By that time I had a few pimms and beer.....and wanted to go home.

Glad I managed to go one more time before moving to France.

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Post by bogbrush Wed Jul 04, 2018 10:57 pm

Fed was sailing wasn’t he? I can’t remember him being so error free and yet throwing so much variety in. Did you hear he won 35 consecutive service points?

I thought Woz had escaped there. Would have been very tough to lose from 5-1 and 5-3, 40-0.

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Post by Tenez Wed Jul 04, 2018 11:06 pm

bogbrush wrote:Fed was sailing wasn’t he? I can’t remember him being so error free and yet throwing so much variety in. Did you hear he won 35 consecutive service points?

I thought Woz had escaped there. Would have been very tough to lose from 5-1 and 5-3, 40-0.
No did not realise. On Henman hill there is no commentary. Quite impressive then. But for some reasons I felt his shots were not very fast. The camera angle makes the game look slower than it is.

As I was on front row, I coudl see the grass being well watered compared to previous years. The sunshine probably forced them to water more than usual. I remember some previous years it looked more like dry hay than grass. But also the balls really larger than anywhere else on tour.

Yes...I know you are a fan of Wos but to me she defends too much. She was certainly prettier than Katia.

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Post by bogbrush Wed Jul 04, 2018 11:24 pm

I’m a fan of her looks and her personality, not her tennis smiley

Great to hear about the watering. Maybe they’ve learned from last year. Hell, we might have a grass tournament in week 2!

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Post by noleisthebest Thu Jul 05, 2018 9:01 am

Tenez wrote:It was a dull day...tennis wise. Bit I still enjoy walking the ground.
That’s the best bit, anyway...seeing players close up on side courts, they look so much more human than on TV.

Tenez wrote:
I started with court 18, from second set of Pouille/Novak. Pouille was really slow starting then became the better player until he relaxed and lost his serve 3 times in that last set. Some good shots...bit not very exciting actually. Good think is on court 18 its easy to be on the very first front row.
What is going on with Pouille?
That Novak must’ve been a decent player.
Tenez wrote:

Then I sat on Henman Hill to watch Federer I was there with friends from my club and a line judge also member of our club. Had a good chat but dd not pay much attention to fed's match as he was sailing.
Sounds like a nice send-off from your club!

Tenez wrote:
Then we decided to go back to court 1 to finally watch a few games of Cilic but as soon as we sat, they stopped playing. It did not bother me too much. By that time I had a few pimms and beer.....and wanted to go home.
I remember one year when I spent a fortune on a debenture ticket for court one and saw all of an hour an a half of play...Dimi vs Leo Mayer..it poured all day ...but managed to schmooze in CC and see Nole-Tsonga from row 2!


I wonder if LS managed to get to see Fed on CC!

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Post by Tenez Thu Jul 05, 2018 9:51 am

Not sure about Pouille but he had a back problem in those first sets and had a massage and pill....then he gout better but at teh end I am not sure whether lost focus or his body froze. The former I think...thouhg losing his serve 3 times could be physical as well.

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Post by barrystar Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:26 am

Tenez wrote:Not sure about Pouille but he had a back problem in those first sets and had a massage and pill....then he gout better but at teh end I am not sure whether lost focus or his body froze. The former I think...thouhg losing his serve 3 times could be physical as well.

I had to look twice at this - gout must be a very rare affliction for a professional tennis player!

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Post by Tenez Thu Jul 05, 2018 10:48 am

gout one!

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Post by luvsports! Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:09 pm

Just finished my three-day-long Wimbledon adventure.

I may do a blog on this or an article with pics, so stay tuned Big Grin

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Post by noleisthebest Fri Jul 06, 2018 12:36 pm

luvsports! wrote:Just finished my three-day-long Wimbledon adventure.

I may do a blog on this or an article with pics, so stay tuned Big Grin

do a quick one for us, first, LS!

I didn't go last year and missed it, also I didn't want to leave anything to chance and bank on people inviting me...so I was originally planning to go camping for the semis to see Fed, when I got the tickets in my club ballot as someone returned them....first time in my life!!!!!!

I was beside myself and had a sore throat for a few days after releasing the enormous excitement when I got the email from LTA.

I was soooooo happy.

It's only for C1 for women't QF,  but it doesn't matter....the fact those tickets came from the ballot directly to me
meant so much.

As you know, I had some extra crazy experiences and adventures in Wimbledon eg saw the 2015 final, Olympic final, schmoozed in a few times, got kicked out and many more (will deffo write a book about it one day...working title "Diary of a Tennis Fan" diva ), but this one was special in its own right...I was convinced I was never ever going to win any tickets in any ballot, like I was cursed or stg...I even thought my name was on some ballot black list as they took my details when I got kicked out in 2011 for buying ticket from the tout.

So...the only thing left now is to do the camping...and I read you basically need to sleep TWO  nights to get a chance for show courts Yikes

Is that true?

May be a bridge too far in this cooking weather for me this year...but if it's not an agony, I may give it a try.

So, tips please!

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Post by barrystar Sat Jul 14, 2018 12:16 am

We got tickets for No. 1 Court in the Ballot and had a lovely day, it reminded me of what Wimbledon used to be like 30 years ago.

We arrived and had a glass of (not cheap) Champagne and a bite to eat.  We then went around the outside Courts and saw a set of a girl's semi final (Wang of China vs. Kung of Switzerland) which was very enjoyable to be so close up.  They both tonked it backwards and forwards with gusto, if not a huge amount of variety - Wang sometimes crouched down to hit some real fizzers on the dhbh, and Kung was a bit more savvy and hit it more consistently - she won in the end.  Then we popped over two courts to watch Azarenka practice - she is a strapping lassie and hits the cover off it.  Fantastic to see her bashing away close up, and she makes that silly noise in practice too.  She was pretty stoked for her mixed doubles.

Then we saw 4 doubles matches on No. 1 - the two ladies SF's, and the two mixed doubles SF's.  At first it was difficult to get into because I simply had no idea who the player were, however, we stuck at it and read up on them a  bit, and saw some very entertaining tennis.

I had forgotten what it's like to watch tennis just to enjoy the play and the ebb and flow and not be invested in the outcome.  It was really relaxing and I bet the players enjoyed being in front of such a large crowd.

Peschke was the most interesting player in the first match - a veteran with a lot of guile and court craft who looked slight, but would then suddenly tonk it and take everyone by surprise.  She was playing with a younger partner who was a bit like a pound-shop Lindsay Davenport (Melichar).  I have to say that the standard was not brilliant to start, but it built up and final two sets were very entertaining with some terrific rallies with crazy pick-ups and net battles.

The next match was higher quality but more one-sided - two young Czech girls against a Polish/US combo - the most interesting player for me was Rosolska of Poland, who was small, wiry, and tactical - but ultimately she and her partner lacked the quality.

The first mixed doubles was Murray/Azarenka v. Clarke/Dart - the brit wildcards.  It was a mismatch, but they produced some very enjoyable tennis - any sloppiness went punished.  It was terrific to see a real star in Azarenka enjoying herself so much and taking the match so seriously (she was even a bit of a monster in the warm-up).  She handled Clarke's serve almost as well as Murray, and her own serve was pretty impressive.  Where Murray stood out was his soft hands and cat-like antics at the net, as well as his movement.  Every now and again they made a pigs ear of it, cue amused frustration and smiles all round before they buckled down.

We went out for a bit and saw a set of wheelchair doubles - that was pretty interesting, I did not realise that they can hit after two bounces.  Their movement was quite something to behold.  If nobody's watched it I recommend the experience.

We missed the first set of the second mixed doubles on No. 1, and the last set flew by a bit, but produced the odd nice rally but we were not as invested.

All the time there were oohs and aahs and the odd yell (the screen and noise of the crowd from Henman Hill really intrude into No. 1) as the Isner/Anderson slug fest ground its way inexorably on through the day, dominating the atmosphere outside No. 1.  Most people I spoke to couldn't think of anything more boring - and nor could I.

I'm pretty sure that the match will bring about changes - nobody will want a nonsense like that to happen again in a semi-final - the Isner/Mahut write-off was OK in an early round, but not a semi-final when one of the finalists will be cooked.  The suggestion of a tie-breaker at 12-12 in a fifth set sounds worth a look to me.  Most matches are over by then and, if they aren't, do we really want to keep on and on, especially at the cost of wrecking the next match for the winner if it is a final?


I have not been there so late in the tournament, and the grounds are much less busy.  It lacks that buzz, but then you have more space to yourself - hence reminding me of the old days.

I went expecting to feel a bit short-changed, but all-in-all, we had a really happy and worthwhile day.

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Post by bogbrush Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:41 am

You make two strong points there.

The joy of watching a match without emotional investment. I couldn’t agree more, I look forward to Federer & Nadals retirement as the time when I might just be able to watch for the pleasure. Or I might be uninterested, tennis can be quite boring without partisanship so perhaps a middle ground is best..

The 5th set tiebreak, perhaps at 12 all will probably come in now. It’s a shame in a way but wrecking the final (which has probably happened) is very damaging.

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Post by noleisthebest Sat Jul 14, 2018 8:18 pm

I went on Tuesday, C1, ladies QF and men's doubles.

I saw Ostapenko-Cibulkova & Kiki-Georges.

I secretly hoped I would see Ostapenko just like I wanted to see live Fabio on clay which I did in Paris. So my heart was full.

Ostapenko was ripping returns and bhs and was at her best, I loved it.
Cibu played like mini version of Delpo, she was ok but couldn't touch Ostapenko.

Second match was of better quality as the girls were more athletic and better servers.
Kiki fought bravely but Georges was a smoother easier ballstriker and I think Kiki never believed she could win which is a shame because I think she had a good chance. Great bh which was a nice contrast to Julia's FH.

After that I went for a lovely fish and chips and double pimms.  chef

I was now in the mood to go back and watch the doubles match.
The court was half-empty, evening sun in full glow yet not cruel...and I was in the zone...

I was instantly reminded how simple women's tennis is compared to men's, just a totally different world...somehow it didn't bother me and I enjoyed all matches...

when you are there live...players' dreams kind of become yours, their emotions are almost palpable.

As for the crowd....again it was great to chat to some in queues...a bunch of Americans who travelled to all 4 slams and shared their memories...funny as soon as Nadal comes into conversation (and he inevitably does) I get reminded how "shallow" fans can be and how serious and knowledgeable we are here.

If you ask people to describe why they like Nadal it's the inevitable: he's great! kind of reply....where if you ask a Fed's fan....it's almost a kind of "secret handshake" they way they pause and search for words...and fail...

So, I had a lovely day.

Despite having changed a lot and becoming ever more commercial, Wimbledon is still ...Wimbledon!

And what makes it Wimbledon is not the complex and its prettiness... iconic courts etc...it's actually seeing players fight so hard to win there...living their dream, because that what Wimbledon is to any tennis player...be it Roger Federer or a club rec like me. Big Grin

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