With Wimbledon starting on Monday, A Seshan takes a look at what makes the tournament the biggest draw in international tennis.
Wimbledon is like the Super Bowl, the World Series and NBA finals all rolled into one.”
— The View from Centre Court, Tony Trabert
The third Grand Slam of the tennis season commences on June 20 at the famed courts of Wimbledon. It is the oldest of the Grand Slams and is in its 125th edition this year. There was a time when grass was a universal surface for tennis but times have changed with different surfaces marking the four major events. Of them, grass at Wimbledon is considered to be the fastest. The speed refers to the bounce of balls on the surface and consequently the time available for the player to return the ball. The ball with a low bounce rises up to the knee and one sees more of volleys and half-volleys in Wimbledon than elsewhere.
I visited the Wimbledon Museum in 1996. It contains interesting memorabilia besides information on the history of the championship over the years. I still remember the display of the last racket used by Bjorn Borg there. The strings were in tatters having received his pounding serves. I could see the Centre Court through an opening. It was difficult to believe that it had been bombed by the Germans during the Second World War.
The championship comes soon after the completion of the tournament on clay, the slowest of courts, at the French Open. There are not many who have won in these two events back to back because of the diametrically opposite nature of the two surfaces and the consequent differences in the techniques of play. The transition to Wimbledon grass from Rolland Garros clay is done in a fortnight. The championships on grass at the Queen’s Club, London, and Halle (Germany) are the only ones to prepare the players for the change. Rafael Nadal once said in an interview that a difficulty he faced in Wimbledon soon after the French Open was his tendency to slide on the court to reach a ball, which is effective on clay and but not on grass where one has to move.
Wimbledon has traditionally been dominated by serve-and-volley players like Borg, Boris Becker and Pete Sampras. It has been the ideal ground for impatient short-point players who would like to finish a rally in four or five shots, unlike the French Open where they could exceed 20. In 2001, the courts were sown with 100 per cent Perennial Ryegrass (previously 70 per cent rye and 30 per cent Creeping Red Fescue). Players like Stefan Edberg and Tim Henman complained that the court had become slower as a consequence. But an official of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club managing the event issued a denial and maintained that the change was made to combat wear and tear and enhance court presentation and performance without affecting the perceived speed of the court.
A TV commentator said that the ball had become heavier to slow down the game and make it more entertaining. But the Wimbledon official maintained that there had been no change in the specifications of the ball since 1995 that saw a minimal alteration in compression. But the spectators witness long rallies and the number of shots are flashed on the screen from time to time, something that I had not seen till about 10 years ago.
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Wimbledon was the first to introduce the tiebreaker in 1971 after a long match between Pancho Gonzales and Charlie Paserell in the first round in 1969 when they played 112 games spread over two days; the former won 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3 and 11-9. The system was later adopted in the other Grand Slams. There is no tiebreaker in the last set in all except the US Open. However, 2010 saw a marathon match over three days, necessitated by fading light, between Nicolas Mahut and John Isner setting a record. (Floodlighting is not resorted to as it produces dew on the grass, making it hazardous to play on the courts.) In the gentlemen’s singles, in the first round, Isner, an American, beat the French qualifier Mahut in 11 hours and five minutes of play with a final score of 6–4, 3–6, 6–7 (7–9), 7–6 (7–3), 70–68 for a total of 183 games. The match set many records including the one for aces in a match (Isner: 113, Mahut: 103).
Andy Murray has become the darling of the British. Henman Hill, the elevated surface on the grounds for watching the play on a giant screen, has become Murray Mount! He comes into the tournament having won the title at Queen's Club, a good predictor for the Wimbledon championship. If he wins again, he will bring the honour to Great Britain after 75 years. The last successful British champion was Fred Perry who won thrice from 1934 to 1936. However, the resurgent Roger Federer with six Wimbledon titles, the last in 2009, is my favourite for the championship. Nadal, the defending champion, was defeated on the grass courts by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals at the Queen’s Club a few days ago.
On the women’s side, the contest is somewhat open. Serena Williams, the defending champion, has been out of action for several months due to injuries. Caroline Wozniacki is in my short list for the women’s title.
Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi brought glory to the country by winning the men’s doubles in 1999. Paes won the mixed doubles thrice with Lisa Raymond (1999), Martina Navratilova (2003) and Cara Black (2010). Bhupathi won twice with Elena Likhovtseva (2002) and Mary Pierce (2005). A little publicised fact is that in men’s doubles and mixed doubles, Bhupathi has achieved the Career Grand Slam having won in the four events with different partners. The Paes-Bhupathi and the Paes-Black combos may repeat their winning performances this year.
In the distant past, when the championship was not open to professionals but still had outstanding players, Ramanathan Krishnan reached the semi-finals twice in 1960 and 1961. He was beaten by Neale Fraser and Rod Laver, respectively, in those years. He achieved the world ranking of No. 3. He was seeded fourth in the championship in 1961. He beat the great Jaroslav Drobny on the Centre Court in the first round in four sets in 1956. The latter had been the champion two years back. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru happened to be in London at that time. He invited Krishnan and Naresh Kumar for breakfast. In his reminiscences, Krishnan recalls how Indira Gandhi was thoughtful enough to serve him a dosa!
Vijay Amritraj and Ramesh Krishnan could reach the quarter finals in 1973 and 1986, respectively. Sania Mirza could never proceed beyond the second round in singles and the third round in mixed doubles. But she could reach the quarter-finals in women’s doubles in 2008. The Indo-Pak pair of Rohan Bopanna and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi, the doubles winners on grass recently at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, has a good chance of reaching the final, while Somdev Devvarman may go up to the third round.