By Col. Sharath Bhat

[With thoughts from Manwant Walia]

[Continued from yesterday]

The day of 6th July 2023 was a beautiful day. Sun rose and the pouring clouds of the previous day had vanished. It was a crystal clear day. We both felt blessed to be alive to see the dawn of this day of our dream. Our pre-arranged time for breakfast was 9 am and the hotel being a typical English one, gave a sit down simple breakfast. Somehow our thoughts were not on the food, but at the long day at Wimbledon.

The doorman of our hotel, with whom we had already become pally was too eager to suggest the way to the nearest tube station. Being on the Manchester Street it’s not that far to Bond Street tube station. Both of us dressed in our best had a unique spring in our steps. I was sporting all white with a Nehru jacket and a white cap while my bosom friend was sporting his Wimbledon jacket, lovingly gifted by his son especially for this event. With bit of walking to reach the tube station and then a change of trains, we reached the Wimbledon Station. The station itself had a sea of people moving towards the exit, we got out of the station, to a mesmerising scene. Big billboards with backdrops of Centre Court, colourfully dressed orderly crowds moving on foot or buses to the venue. Decided to take a pic right there to catch the wonderful sight of that train station.

Our place to pick up the tickets was closer to the venue but about 20 minutes of walk. We without hesitation took a bus to save time and then walked to the place which looked like a bungalow. On presenting ourselves at that place, we were asked for identification, given our tickets and invited for lunch and dinner at the same place. We strolled in and had a glass of champagne to cheer ourselves. Then we requested to be dropped off at the venue in a chauffeur driven Mercedes.

The staff at the drop zone were trained to look after guests and ushers escorted us to the Gates. I was surprised to see smart gentleman in Air Force uniform politely asking for our tickets. Being strangers to Wimbledon, I was mighty surprised at the number of military personnel in the Grounds. Later I came to know that the Armed Forces’ presence dates back more than 70 years.

It seems, Wimbledon suffered bomb damage during the Second World War with one of the 40 bombs that hit the area striking Centre Court in October 1940. This destroyed part of the roof and enough seats to reduce capacity by more than 1,000. When the Championships resumed in 1946, service personnel were involved in helping direct people to their seats around the bomb damage. That was the beginning of a long relationship with more than 300 members of the military working as unpaid volunteer stewards at the Championships each year. They are complemented by around 200 volunteers recruited from the London Fire Brigade, who, like the military personnel, take unpaid leave, and nearly 200 members of the public, also volunteers, known as the Honorary Stewards.

Another interesting fact is of Rufus the Hawk. Described as an “important member of the Wimbledon family”, Rufus has been scaring away the birds for fifteen years, taking over from the previous hawk, Hamish. This indeed is a very important task.

Centre Court is a magnificent building and it stares down with its all green natural façade made up of creepers. Our tickets were located behind the Royal Box and the access was from the South West Entrance. It’s the place where we see the Champion standing at the balcony and shaking the champagne to the cheering crowds down below. The game had just started and the service personnel at the entrance of the gangway, stopped us till players finished two games and went back to their chairs.

Thus we entered the famed Centre Court. Everything looked as big and large with game standing at one all. It was the fourth day of Wimbledon, notable matches to watch included Liam Broady Vs Casper Ruud, Elena Rybakina Vs A. Cornet competing in their second-round matches. However, the highly anticipated showdown between Andy Murray and Stefanos Tsitsipas on the Centre Court was undoubtedly the must-see match of the day. Liam Broady, an English player, was up against Casper Rudd.

One could feel the support for Liam Broadway with both playing excellently. Liam Broady thrilled us at the Centre Court, as he became the first British man to defeat a top-four seed at Wimbledon since 2013 with his upset victory over No. 4 Casper Ruud.

 Next match was the ladies one. The defending champion Elena Rybakina versus A. Cornet. It seemed to be heavily tilted towards the defending champion hence we decided to step out and visit other Courts. I never knew that Wimbledon had 18 Courts. Being a Centre Court ticket holder allowed you to go and see any match, except in Court No. 1 and 2.

The vast grounds of the Wimbledon were full of enthusiasts and families looking forward to good tennis game. To get access to the show courts, fans normally have to queue overnight. This is done by fans from all over the world and, although considered vagrancy, is part of the Wimbledon experience in itself. The All-England Club allows overnight queuing and provides toilet and water facilities for campers. Early in the morning when the line moves towards the Grounds, stewards walk along the line and hand out wristbands that are colour-coded to the specific court. The wrist band (and payment) is exchanged at the ticket office for the ticket when the grounds open. General admission to the grounds gives access to the outer courts and is possible without queuing overnight. Tickets returned by people leaving early go on re-sale at 2.30 pm and the money goes to charity. I actually met an Indian fan, who had entered around 8 pm by purchasing a resold ticket!

After we roamed the grounds seeing different matches, we decided to go back and have our dinner at the place where the tickets were given. We wanted to be back for the famed Andy Murray match with the third seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas. We reached back to the place, which had been readied for the evening party. Guests were enjoying the starters and glass of champagne. We both decided to quickly have our dinner and reached back to our seats by 6.45 pm.

The match between the Giants had begun. We were glued for the next three- and-a-half hours seeing a thrilling match between the British Sir Andy Murray (Knighted after he won Wimbledon in 2015) and Stefanos Tsitsipas. Personally I loved the game played by Andy and probably he would have won, had the match continued but as per the rules of the game, it was decided to continue the last set the next day.

Thus our day which had begun at 11 am at Wimbledon came to a close at 10.30 pm. We trooped back quietly with our share of memories and pictures, etched permanently for our remaining life time.

There was a sense of contentment and joy for dreaming about Wimbledon and realising that dream.