It will soon be that time of year again when everyone hopes for lovely long sunny evenings in SW19. Yes Wimbledon is nearly upon us everyone is hoping for another great year this year. The new roof on centre court proved to be a great hit last year and almost got people more excited than the matches in the first week of the tournament. Wimbledon is the only tournament that players do on grass as the grass court season is so short in tennis and so everyone is slightly unpredictable as the surface has such an effect on the way that they play the game. The courts can change in feel depending on the weather, they can be very dry and hard or if the weather is wet they will be softer and they can get greasy if it is humid. This makes the game exciting for players and fans alike and always creates some controversial points that add to the excitement of this tournament. The tradition of the tournament is also something which people really enjoy and although some of the traditions have changed recently, with players no longer bowing to the royal box if royalty is present, there is still the old building, the compulsory wearing of whites and of course the strawberries and cream!
Who will win Wimbledon this year
Everyone always wonders who might win Wimbledon this year. Of course Federer and Nadal are the two that everyone will be watching and it is highly likely that one of them will win the trophy. However, it is not worth ruling out any of the top seeds as Brit, Andy Murray will have the crowd on his side and Djokovic and Roddick are playing well at the moment as well. It is always exciting to see who will play well, especially in the first week because seeded players have been known to be knocked out very early on and sometimes even by low ranked players, wild card entries or even qualifiers. This is what helps to make the tournament such an exciting one and the big one that everyone wants to watch. The ladies game has tended to be ruled by the Williams sisters over the years but there are other girls who could be in with a chance. With the Williams sisters playing less tennis than the girls on the rest of the circuit there is always a chance that lack of match play will effect them, although it does not normally tend to. There are women in the top 20 who have played Wimbledon many times and some past champions and so it could be a very exciting year.
Getting ready for Wimbledon
If you are intending on watching Wimbledon this year, on the television then it is well worth getting prepared well in advance. There are so many games that take place, that you need to make sure that you have a lot of free hours to watch them in. It is a good idea to consider booking time off work, especially in the second week, if you want to watch as much as possible. Make sure you find out what time matches will be showing and therefore you will be better prepared. If they span mealtimes then make sure that you cook well in advance and have meals in the freezer or fridge that you can warm up in the oven. Make sure that you have no visitors that fortnight organise no social events, at least at times when the matches are on. You may need to make sure that you have done all of your shopping well in advance as well and get in any special foods that you like to eat when you are watching – maybe lemon barley water, strawberries and cream! Most important of all get plenty of sleep for the few weeks beforehand as you do not want to risk falling asleep in the middle of a match!
The best way to enjoy Wimbledon
If you are looking forward to Wimbledon then it is time to start thinking about preparing yourself for the tournament. The best way to enjoy it would obviously be to be there, at Wimbledon for every single match but it is unlikely that anyone has the money or time to do that and most people cannot even afford one ticket. It is therefore worth thinking about watching it at home. Make sure that the television channels you get will be showing the tournament and if not then you may need to try to arrange viewing on line, perhaps through the Wimbledon website. Think about what you like to eat and drink while you are watching the matches and buy in the appropriate things in advance to save you having to it last minute or worse doing it once it is on. Of course it is the finals that are the most important days to be available and so make sure that you do not book anything up for that first weekend in July. Lastly try to find out as soon as possible when your favourite players are playing and free up those dates as well if you can. They do tend to schedule matches just the day before and the weather can mess it up so you may just need to be free for the whole of the fortnight.
Which tickets to buy
If you are buying tickets to Wimbledon then it is important to think about what you want. The price will vary and of course if you have a very small budget then you may end up just getting a ground pass and watching the matches on the big screen on the hill. This will be a great atmosphere but not the same as actually being there court side. If you have a big budget then you may be trying to decide whether to but a show court ticket late in the second week or buy a selection of cheaper tickets. In the first week you can get some fairly big names in singles playing on the smaller courts. In the second week you may get to see juniors or veterans playing there as well as doubles. If you want to be guaranteed seeing a big name then you will need to be on a big court but it all depends on whether you care who you see or just want to see a good game of tennis and if this is the case then any ticket will probably provide you with that – unless it rains then only Centre is guaranteed matches.
Leave a Reply