Hello former students!
Because it is about 95 degrees out and there is nothing to do except stay inside at this point, I figured I would give you all a timely reflection on my trip to the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 2007. I went by myself on the first weekend of my study abroad term in England, and it ended up being absolutely incredible! Since the Wimbledon is heading in to the last weekend of the tournament, here is a look at the last weekend of the tournament two years ago!
Of course, to get anywhere as a traveler in London, you have to take the Underground subway system! It is really easy to get around, once you get the hang of it. I was lucky in the 2007 trip, because I had already been to England 3 times previously, and knew all about it.
Of course, because Wimbledon is the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world (and one of four "Grand Slams"), it was really expensive just to get in! This is my ticket - £14 was about $28 in 2007, though now it is a bit less. This was just to get access to the grounds - it did not allow me to go to any of the big matches, because they were all extra (and sold out)!
On this particular day, the last Saturday of the tournament, American Venus Williams was playing Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli for the women's singles championship. Here is the famous lawn where people can watch the tournament on the big screen - remind you, everyone here had to pay just to get in!
Because I almost immediately realized that I would not get to watch much actual tennis (and I didn't feel like sitting and watching a TV when I was about 200 feet away from the actual match), I started roaming around! I was SO EXCITED when I saw this! As some of you may know from the NBC commercials for "Breakfast at Wimbledon" which will air this weekend (you can hear the theme music, which I love to hum here), strawberries and cream are a huge tradition at Wimbledon, and I didn't care if it cost $4, I was going to get some!
Tell me that your mouth isn't watering! So good! This was possibly my favorite moment of the day - I can say I've had strawberries and cream at Wimbledon! Cool article about the tradition of them here: NYTimes.com - Where the Strawberries Are a Smash.
After the delicious strawberries and cream, I wondered if there was any possible way that I could check out what was happening at Centre Court, where Venus Williams was dominating and about to win another championship. I just walked up to it, and underneath were the ballboys and ballgirls, waiting to go on the court when the match was over! You can watch the end of the match and some of the presentations afterward here. See if you can find me (I have no idea if I am even visible, but I doubt it)!
Once the match was over, people started going down the stairs and out of the stadium, so I took the opportunity to go UP the stairs, and PRESTO, here I was at Centre Court, the most famous place in tennis, about to watch Venus Williams get her trophy! The two hats in the foreground are the two guards who were protecting the stairs, but they didn't seem to care that I was standing right behind them, snapping away!
My camera at the time was super small and had a pretty grainy zoom, but still, you can see Venus Williams on the right there, holding her plate!
Another grainy picture - this one is of Venus's Mother and Serena Williams, her hugely successful younger sister!
Seriously, isn't this incredible! I mean, look at that sky! Perfect day, at the most sacred place in all of tennis! So sweet!
After finding my way out (the guards eventually turned around and told me to move, haha), I came back to the center of the All England Lawn and Tennis Club, to figure out what to do next.
I eventually made it over to sit down and watch a match that I WAS allowed to be at, a random boys doubles event. They were crazy good though - I think they were only 16 or 17 too!
At some point in the day, I also went and bought these - the money went to charity. For about $6, I got these MATCH USED balls! I have no idea who played with them, because they were randomly put in the cans, but I don't really care! I like to think that Roger Federer was swinging them around the day before. Needless to say, I still have them, and no, I have never actually played with them!
Needless to say, it was a pretty amazing day! So amazing, that this guy was camping out overnight for tickets to the Men's Final between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal (Federer won that year, but Nadal won last year). I love this picture! That guy is the man!
Overall, it was an absolutely incredible experience! I actually never played tennis in high school, but as everyone knows, I am a huge sports fan so I have always followed it. I took up playing tennis much more in college, and now it is probably my second favorite sport, next to basketball. Anyway, thanks for allowing me this trip down memory lane! Be sure to watch the finals of Wimbledon, tomorrow and Sunday! Venus Williams is back the women's final, playing against her sister, Serena! Also, in the men's final on Sunday, Roger Federer is going for his record breaking 15th Grand Slam, which would beat Pete Sampras. American Andy Roddick is going to try to give him a good match I am sure.
Start times are 6 AM PST on NBC for both matches, with the Williams sisters playing tomorrow (on the 4th), and Federer v. Roddick on Sunday. If you don't feel like getting up that early, there is a good chance they will still be going when it reaches the time Period 1 at Westview starts, 7:45 AM. Do yourself a favor and take in some excellent tennis!
Hope all is well - have a an amazing holiday weekend! Enjoy the fireworks!
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