If you?re not a tennis fan, you might be wondering why Wimbledon is such a huge draw for people who love the sport. The answer is simple: drama. Wimbledon is the best loved sport in the tennis calendar ? by the players and fans alike ? because of its history, rivalries and tensions, which have slowly built up in the All England Club?s near-150 year history. To understand it, you?ve got to watch it, and 2012 is the perfect year to start.
The drama of Wimbledon
Wimbledon is imbued with drama like no other tournament in Britain ? and I?d go so far as to say that includes football. Over the years, there have been fierce rivalries between tennis players, in both the gentlemen?s and ladies? singles. Today, the on-going battle between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal may dominate the headlines, but they?re far from the first to do so. In the 1990s, it was fellow Americans Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi, and in the 1970s and 80s, it was a three-way rivalry between John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg. In the women?s game, Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert met 60 times in championship finals; decades before sisters Venus and Serena Williams began their regular tense meetings on court.
The biggest drama to erupt in Wimbledon in recent years was the now infamous match between American John Isner and French Nicolas Mahut in 2010. This first-round match famously lasted 11 hours and 5 minutes, played over three days and over a total of 183 games. It?s officially the longest match in tennis history in terms of duration and games played. To put that into context, the average length of a men?s tennis match is around 5 hours. John Isner won and is currently the USA?s number one ranked player; so expect him to do well in 2012.
For Brits, there?s another factor contributing to the drama: the hope that we might have a chance of winning the top honour in tennis. From Tim Henman in days of yore to Andy Murray today, British tennis players always go into Wimbledon feeling at the top of their game. The atmosphere is electric, and all the hotels in London are bursting at the seams with tennis fans from around the country and the world.
But ever year, there?s disappointment ? so far at least. Murray?s had an excellent run up to the semi-finals of Wimbledon for the last three consecutive years, and he?s expected to have extra impetus behind him in 2012 since he?ll be playing in the London Olympics too. Who knows ? this could be his year.
Getting tickets for Wimbledon
Getting Wimbledon tickets can be tricky, since they?re allocated by public ballot. Canny tennis fans are usually quick to pounce and, if you?re travelling in from out of town, remember that hotels near Wimbledon fill up fast over the Championship period. It?s too late to enter the ballot for 2012, but there?s always Henman Hill where you can watch the matches on a big screen if you have a grounds ticket.
Image Credit to Roller Coaster Philosophy.
This blog post was written for Travel & Leisure, trusted timeshare resallers with 20 years experience helping people to buy, sell and rent their timeshares.
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