Wimbledon 2010 - Day One Diary

What the Papers Are Saying
Football-mad Rafael Nadal has gone some way to allaying the fears of the British public that the England football team might not go beyond group stages of the FIFA World Cup in South Africa. The World No. 1 and 2008 champion wrote in his column for The Times, “I am sure they'll qualify and then a whole new World Cup starts. I think they have a great team!”

Roger Federer, a winner of six Wimbledon titles and 16 Grand Slam crowns overall, admitted to The Times that “You always have to be very careful not to come across as arrogant or, like, the other way, by saying ‘Oh, I’m not that talented, I don’t know how I’ve done it, I’m incredibly lucky’ — so you walk a fine line. It’s important to stay humble but sometimes you have to accept who you are.”

Nick Bollettieri, the American coach to former World No. 1s Andre Agassi and Jim Courier, insists in his column for The Independent that “Roger Federer's years of invincibility are over. [But] if I were forced to put some cash on one player, it would be on Federer, but not with the same conviction as before many recent Wimbledons. The Swiss genius has slipped, by his own ethereal standards. But Wimbledon is Federer's domain – the draw has been kind, and let's not forget, he remains, for now, the greatest.”

Roger Draper, the chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), the governing body of British tennis, has confessed to The Guardian that he has made mistakes during his four-year tenure. "What you learn from some of those mistakes is the important thing,” he told the newspaper. “If there is a mistake we made early on, it was in failing to communicate the fact that actually it is about growing the sport. And also the timescale that this would take. People want instant results, but transforming any sport isn't going to happen overnight."

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Headline Of The Day 
“A Wimbledon Journey That Began In A Van” – The New York Times
Six years ago, Dustin Brown’s parents purchased a Volkswagen camper van and made their final payment earlier this year. In the Jamaican’s bid to reach the Top 100 of the South African Airways ATP Rankings, he got a personalised number-plate to remind him of his goal. The plate read CE DI 100 — CE for Brown’s birthplace in Celle, Germany; D for Dustin, I for Inge; 100 for the ranking he wanted to surpass. “That camper was basically my last chance,” he told The New York Times. “Maybe God himself told me a van would be the answer for everything,” his mother, Inge, said. “I don’t know. But it was.” Brown lost to No. 16 seed Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Murray Mania 
Will Andy Murray bow to the Queen? On Thursday, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II will visit the All England Club for the first time since her Silver Jubilee in 1977. World No. 1 Rafael Nadal has admitted he would be “honoured” to bow for the monarch, while defending women’s champion Serena Williams has disclosed that she is already practising her curtsy. Murray said it would be a “great honour” to play in front of the Queen. “I've never done that before so there would be a little bit of added pressure to play well.”

Earlier in the day, there was some controversy as the Scot refused to be drawn on whether he would bow to the monarch. “It should be personal preference. I'll have to wait and see,” he said. “I don't want to be bowing and the person I'm playing with walk straight past or the other way around.”  However, via his Twitter account later on, the Scot clarified: “Few stories about me not bowing to the Queen if I play in front of her. Not the case, would be an honour and privilege, of course I’ll bow.”

The custom of bowing or curtsying to a royal visitor was dropped seven years ago with the agreement of the Duke of Kent. The only exception was to be for the Queen or the Prince of Wales, neither of whom have been to Wimbledon in the intervening years.

Boris Becker, the three-time Wimbledon champion, writing a column for The Daily Telegraph, believes “Andy’s problem is that he is caught up with fighting his own demons, rather than his opponent across the net. But it would be too simplistic to suggest that his problems are simply mental. Presently, his problem is predictability. Murray cannot become a big hitter all of a sudden, but he has to evolve as a player. Murray still has as good a chance of winning Wimbledon this year as any other player in the top eight. However, he must get himself straight mentally first.”

The player himself, who is writing an exclusive column for host broadcaster BBC during the fortnight, admits, “I've trained really hard, I've been playing well in practice and I'm hoping that I can play my best tennis at Wimbledon, but if I don't I need to be ready to fight. I think I can win the tournament but I'm going to have to play really well, better than I have been the last few months, and it's down to me to do that.”

Quote Of The Day 
Jamaican Dustin Brown has a German mother, Inge, and was asked after his first-round defeat on Monday if he had any typically German characteristics?

“I'm always actually on time, and I hate people that are late. The clock on my phone is always ten minutes ahead so I don't get anywhere late.
Q.  That's it?
Basically, yeah.  And the way I look.  (Laughter.)”

Match Of The Day – Federer Lives To Fight Another Day
Six time champion Roger Federer was just three points away from exiting The Championships on Monday as he battled through a gripping five-set clash with Colombian Alejandro Falla 5-7, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(1), 6-0. It was only the sixth time in the 875 matches of his career that the Swiss had come back from two sets down to win. “I hung tough and came through. For me it's not normal to be down two-sets-to-love, especially at Wimbledon, and early on in Grand Slams,” confessed Federer. “It's something I'm not quite used to. But still I was able to find a way. That's most important right now. Doesn't matter how I felt out there. Didn't feel great, that's for sure."

Falla came close to victory twice in the match. He held four break point opportunities in the ninth game of the third set, which he was unable to convert, and served for the match at 5-4 in the fourth set, but dropped serve without holding a match point in a nervous game. Federer said afterwards he believed it was on Falla’s first opportunity in the third set that he felt closest to defeat. "That was the moment I felt was the toughest because if I wouldn't have come out of that game, I don't think I would have broken the next one. I had more belief I was going to break him in the fourth.”

Upset Of The Day
There were many five-set battles and close tussles on the opening day of The Championships, but unlike his peers, such as Roger Federer and Nikolay Davydenko, World No. 12 Marin Cilic was unable to battle into the second round. The Croatian was ousted in straight sets 6-2, 6-4, 7-6(1) by German Florian Mayer, himself a quarter-finalist at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in 2004. It is the second time the 21-year-old Cilic has fallen victim in the first round, also coming a cropper on his debut in 2007 (l. to Simon).

Statistic Of The Day
On Tuesday, Andy Murray will step out onto Court One for his first-round match against Jan Hajek. It will be the British No.1’s first time on Court One since 23 June 2005, when he lost to No. 14 seed Radek Stepanek. It was his second Wimbledon match. He has played 16 straight matches on Centre Court since then (12-4 record).

Newsmaker of the Day
Jenny Higgs, 63, started her role at the first female chief umpire in the 133-year history of the Championships, taking charge of 310 umpires in organising the adjudication of more than 650 matches. An umpire for over 40 years, Higgs is charged with ensuring that all the umpires are on the right court at the right time for their 75-minute shifts. Higgs took over from Les Maddock, who was appointed a Member of the British Empire (MBE) for service to tennis last year. There are 132 female umpires this year.