Back in the Day when I first became aware of the mighty Wimbledon, the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club was still using White Tennis Balls, the Players were required to bow (men) or curtsey (women) upon leaving Center Court in the presence of the Duke & Duchess and the afore mentioned would present the Winner's Trophy personally on Court without the benefit of audio, so you didn't get to hear what they were saying to the Champions, silence amongst the Spectators was not only expected but adhered to and celebration was expected to be done in a reserved controlled fashion.
Serve & Volley was the name of this game regardless of 1st or 2nd serve. The receipt for success at Wimbledon was, "Get to the Net". Does anyone recall the first Baseliner to win Wimbledon? Well I'm not certain but I believe it could have possibly been Andre Agassi in 1992. which by this time the balls were yellow, the Audience was beginning to loosen up a bit and openly express their appreciation for good play and the stiff upper lips of Great Britain decided to drop some of the title now simply referring to themselves as 'The All England Club' and the lawn bares the signs of an obvious absents of Serve & Volley Players.
As far as I can see, the only thing that has remained the same are the white outfits and they still have grass. But as soon as next year, you will see a retractable roof to thwart off rain delays.
Ah yes Wimbledon, where tradition never dies ..
Wimbledon Breaking from Tradition ...
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06-27-2008, 02:30 PMCoachWimbledon Breaking from Tradition ...
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06-27-2008, 10:06 PMTennis Angel
Nicely said, Coach. Watching the grass fade and turn from pristine green to brown during the course of the tournament is interesting - and not much tracking from the baseline to the net anymore.
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06-29-2008, 06:52 PMHarwin
I love to see the beautiful dark and green lines of the courts when first played upon ! This year they do seem to be getting very brown at the base lines especially being only a week since the start of the championships !
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06-30-2008, 12:51 AMCoach
That may have some to do with the rain they're getting but regardless of rain or not, you are correct in that generally by this time (start of week two) at least the baseline should be showing signs of activity.
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07-02-2008, 05:08 PMHarwin
I think that in this modern age of things, it was a good move for the players to stop the bowing or curtsying to the royalty sitting in the royal box ! I remember the time when Queen Mary who was very keen on tennis and was the President of the ALTC, she used to enter the box about ten minutes after the play had started and the players had to stop playing until she was seated. !!!
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07-03-2008, 10:29 AMCoach
And what's wrong with that ? Actually I know that sounds pretty crazy and most likely the Queen preferred to be fashionably late for events such as that. I suspect it was an honor just to have her there at all.
Ya know, I believe Tennis Professionals must keep their objections about any adverse changes in the game especially when it comes to Wimbledon given the enormous amount of millionaires the game has produced which was originated in England. -
10-03-2008, 07:50 AMHarwin
I have been at Wimbledon quite late at night and have seen Queen Mary still sitting in the Royal Box, she was indeed a very big tennis enthusiast! Also if I remember correctly, the Order of Play for the next day was always sent to her.
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10-03-2008, 05:09 PMCoach
I liked when Princess Diana watched the Steffi Graf matches. It was my opinion that she particularly enjoyed Steffi's participation at Wimbledon.
Personally, I don't think too much about the Royal Family but I felt a tremendous loss in the passing of Princess Diana, she was a Class Act from what was presented to us. -
10-05-2008, 08:17 AMMaximum Jack
One of my favorite moments in all of sports was Wimbledon 1998, when Jana Novotna broke down in tears during the awards ceremony after losing a match to Steffi that she was firmly in control of. The Duchess of Kent kindly gave her a shoulder. This could only happen at Wimbledon of course.
http://images.usatoday.com/sports/_p...29-novotna.jpg -
10-06-2008, 11:42 AMHarwin
It is a great shame that The Duchess of Kent no longer graces the Centre Court.
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10-06-2008, 02:45 PMjunbughow about roger's last point when he won in 2007? bjorn borg was there. roger was very emotional when he sat down after the handshake.Quote:
Originally Posted by Maximum Jack
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10-20-2008, 06:06 PMRafan
After watching a lot of the other grand slams this year I would say that Wimbledon had kept quite a bit of tradition. We are not allowed to have our mobile phones on and to be seen using one you would be ejected from the court. babies and children are not encouraged ( I can't understand what a child under 5 would do at a tennis match) We have no moving around during play. And our ball girls/boys stand still during play and rest periods...non if this helping themselves to drinks etc......and chatting during rest periods.
Even watching Madrid last week the amount of the crowd that were actually talking while players were serving had me in shock!!! How can you talk when the greatest players in the world are playing right in front of you!!!
And who ever started all the music during rest periods.........I can't be doing with all the moving advertising board either, so off putting for the players. I hope Wimbledon doesn't follow suit.....:-) Yes I love Wimbledon, you can hear a pin drop when we watch our tennis.......LOL!!
