It’s Wimbledon fortnight again – for the first time in two years – so naturally the weather has to oblige and start tipping it down. The forecast for London today is dry though; wish I could say the same here where it is bucketing down in unreasonable quantities from a gloomy sky. It’s cold too; 12 degrees, for god’s sake! 12! I am seriously Not Happy. Anyway, the tournament got off to a great start yesterday with national hero and wild-card holder Andy Murray trying desperately not to break his record of always getting to the second round. He was up against Basilashvili of Georgia, a man ten years his junior and with a massive hitting power. For a while it looked as if youth and strength would win out over age and steel hips, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned about Murray it’s never, ever to write him off. He came back strongly, found his game and played some blinder, and if he wasn’t exactly on his previous form it looked like being enough to win in straight sets; he was 2-0, 5-0 up. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a series of blunders from the Scot and some blinding shots from the Georgian meant that, unbelievably, he lost that set. Fortunately they had a break at that point to put the roof on, during which Andy (as he later informed us) had a shower and went to the loo (‘for a number 1’: his wife put her head in her hands at that point. I know how she feels.) And from that point onwards it was a different match. As football commentators know only too well, a break changes things. It gives you a chance to regroup and alters the dynamic – and while there were some long rallies and nail-biting deuces, he went on to win convincingly 6-3. Phew!
The question now is, how far can he go? We’ll have to take it one match at a time and see, but you can’t help rooting for a guy who’s had four years out of tournaments, undergone major surgery and overcome great pain just to be there. I can’t wait. Here’s the official site with all the info you need; I’ll be parked at the telly later for as long as it takes.
Kirk out
Sarada Gray 
Best of luck to Andy Murray, of course. I lost interest some years ago when it just became a slugging match: who could hit the hardest.There’s skill in that, of course, but I just find it slightly depressing that it’s all about winning, not the beauty of the game; that’s hardly surprising when there’s so much Geld at stake, of course. I’m enjoying the footie though: I’m not a diehard fan [sorry, Bruce], but I’ve watched halves,and occasionally all, of some pretty decent games. I’ll have to record this evening’s needle match, as I’m rehearsing, but I’m not confident; still, stranger things have happened……. Cheers, Jon.
I think you’re referring to a period a while back when the game was dominated by big players so games were over in 4 points. It’s not like that now. And I would dispute that it’s all about winning, though no doubt it’s more competitive than it used to be
I have no interest in any sport, including tennis. I am the sort of person who really doesn’t care if England beat Germany at football, or whether the rather miserable-looking Scotsman beats a young man from Georgia.
However, I do have a tenuous connection, as I lived in Wimbledon from 1978-1985, just the other side of the park from the tennis courts. Some of my neighbours would take their holidays during the tennis fortnight, and earn ridiculous amounts of money renting out their houses to players or TV companies.
One year, we had Tracy Austin living opposite us. I didn’t know who she was, until she won the doubles and I saw her photo in a newspaper. 🙂
Best wishes, Pete.