WIMBY, DAY 3: TO SERB WITH LOVE
A dark day for Serbian tennis fans was nearly a nightmare here in SW 19 this afternoon. First, men's No. 3 seed Novak Djokovic fell to Marat Safin of Russia in straight sets on Centre Court. Beret and I watched the action from about six rows behind the Royal Box, wondering as we sat if the Earl of Sandwich was confined to a middle seat.
Funny thing about the seating. There are no armrests between the seats here and so there's no shortage of cheek-to-cheek action while watching the match. Beret is no Beyonce, but to my other side I always seem to find myself seated next to a dowdy British bird munching a boar sandwich. Rump-us, indeed.
Serbia entered Wimbledon represented by the No. 3 men's seed (Djokovic, this year's Aussie Open champ) and the No. 1 and 2 women's seeds, Ana Ivanovic and Jelena Jankovic. While Djokovic, who looked sluggish all match -- he fell behind 0-40 in the opening game of the match, but rebounded to win -- was losing on Centre Court, Ivanovic came within a whisker of also falling in straight sets to an unseeded opponent on Court 1.
Nathalie Dechy of France, who never ended a season ranked in the top 10, came about as close as one can come to upsetting a No. 1 seed in the second round (and raising blood pressure in certain offices on the 15th floor of 30 Rockefeller Center). Dechy took the first set in a tiebreaker. The second set also went to a tiebreaker where twice Ivanovic faced match point. With Dechy serving for the match, Ivanovic hit a return that hit the top of the net, and sprung up into the air like the opening scene of Woody Allen's Match Point (terrific flick, by the way, and not at all funny), then landed in Dechy's court. Saved the match.
Once the 3rd set also went into a tiebreaker, Beret and I raced from the subterranean press cafeteria over to Henman Hill/Murray Mound (though, in honor of Coldplay I may rename it "Violet Hill" for this fortnight) to watch the conclusion on the Jumbotron.
This was big fun. You're sitting on the side of a hill with a thousand or so other P's (as in People, as in not VIPs), soaking in both the rays and the match on an enormous TV. The Jumbotron is situated right on the side of Court 1, the site of the match. And people are drinking their Pimm's and in a very jovial mood.
A British couple next to us were constantly amusing. At one point the wife, duly impressed with Dechy, attempted to show that she'd read her Wimbledon program. "She's 97, isn't she?" the woman asked. "Not in age," her husband drolly replied. "I think that's her rank."
Later, they misplaced the cap of their thermos, which I believe had held a lively libation. "Where is it?" the woman asked, as she turned back toward her husband seated beside her. "Well, it's not here," he replied. "It likely did not roll uphill."
When I chuckled, the wife looked at me and smiled. "Please don't encourage him," she chided.
I'm moving to England.
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NBCSports.com's John Walters goes into the world of college sports and well beyond. From Notre Dame to the latest in pop culture, JDub tackles it all.
No! You must come back! After all, you need to see the Irish have a jolly good season (hopefully soon)! Besides, do you think Mirky would do well with the other cats over in England?
I very much am enjoying your blog. Very colorful and entertaining!!!