Wimbledon2008

2008-06-28T07:00:00.000-07:00

wimbledon2008

No 1 seed Ana Ivanovic looks lost for words after her shock straight sets defeat to Jie Zheng of China.

The 2008 Wimbledon Championship Start from 23 June to 6 July ,2008

At the all England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club

I would love to watch all of them .

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Getting Into Wimbledon

2008-06-26T18:52:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer, swathed in a new chunky-knit cardigan, emerges onto Centre Court for his opening match.

WWimbledon
A sweet romantic
on the grass courts

Getting Into Wimbledon
by: Steve Smith

wWimbledon. It's a word that stands for tennis at its best.

Although it is first of all the name of a London suburb, for millions of tennis fans around the world it is shorthand for sportsmanship, athletic prowess, and celebrity stardom. For the half-a-million or so people who manage to see at least some of the annual championship games in person, it also means a huge social event.

One of the great things about the championship tennis tournament played every summer at wWibledomn is that it's one of the few major sporting events for which the average fan (i.e, neither rich nor well-connected) stands a decent chance of gaining entry.

Interestingly, the wWimbledon games ultimately owe their existence not to tennis but to another, more sedate, game that was all the rage among the Victorians: croquet. You see, the private club that sponsors the world's foremost tennis championship was founded originally as The All England Croquet Club.

Founded in 1868, the club did not hold its first tennis championships until 1877. Those games were witnessed by a few hundred spectators in what is described as a "garden party atmosphere."

For a long time now the club's name has been The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, and the Wimbledon championships are attended by more than 500,000 people as well as carried to millions around the world through mass media and the Internet.

The tournament starts six weeks before the first Monday in August and runs for approximately two weeks. Players from more than 60 countries regularly compete.

If you're planning to be in London during the two June or July weeks when the tournament is being played, getting in to see at least a match or two would be a marvelous experience for any tennis fan. So how can you score a ticket to this greatest of all tennis events?

If you definitely want to attend the next year's wWimbledon, you should enter the public ballot (or lottery) that is held each January for some of the Centre Court and No. 1 Court seats. You will need some luck to pick up a ticket this way, but it's worth a try. All it takes is obtaining the official application form and returning it by the deadline (the exact procedures and addresses are detailed on the Tops 4 Tennis Web site at www.tops4tennis.com/articles/wimbledon.html).

If you are successful in the drawing for tickets, you will be notified about four months before the beginning of the tournament and asked to send payment at that time.

Another way to get into the tournament is to purchase a travel package from one of the many companies specializing in tennis tours. Most of these Wimbledon packages will include transportation, lodging and perhaps some local side tours in addition to the tickets themselves. This is a convenient way to go to the tournament if you like the all-in-one approach to buying travel. If you're more of an independent traveler, it might not suit you as well.

You can find wWimbledon travel operators on the Web by searching on "Wimbledon tournament travel" or "Wimbledon travel package."

There are also a number of ticket brokers online, some of whom specialize in sporting events such as Wimbledon. They buy tickets from willing sellers and re-sell them to willing buyers, or alternatively they simply bring the sellers and buyers together to make their own deal. The brokers make their money through the fees or commissions they charge for this service.

Finally, you can also stand in line for tickets during the tournament itself.

Several thousand same-day tickets are put on public sale while the games are going on. You'll have to be present and willing to stand on line a long time to get one of these. In the end you might still miss out, but if you're in the area anyway and have patience, you should show up early and have a go at it.

If you're an avid tennis player or fan or both, Wimbledon is one event you should see in person at least once in your life.

See you courtside?

About The Author

© Copyright 2004 by Steve Smith. Steve Smith is a writer who lives near Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His Web site, Tops 4 Tennis (http://www.tops4tennis.com), includes the expanded version of the above article at www.tops4tennis.com/articles/wimbledon.html.

freedom1@mindspring.com

wwimblwdon2008

2008-06-26T05:18:00.000-07:00

Marat Safin planning his next move to try and take the scalp of the number three seed Novak Djokovic on Centre Court.

wimblwdon2008

2008-06-26T05:07:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer plays a delightful backhander during his straight sets win over Sweden's Robin Soderling.

wwimbledon

2008-06-26T05:03:00.000-07:00

Marat Safin celebrates his straight sets upset win over number three seed Novak Djokovic. Safin showed signs of the form that won him the 2000 US Open and 2005 Australian Open with a convincing display.

wwimbledon

2008-06-26T04:13:00.000-07:00

Roger Federer felt tense before facing Andy Roddick in the Wimbledon final

The Beginning

The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, which is responsible for staging the world's leading tennis tournament, is a private Club founded in 1868, originally as 'The All England Croquet Club'. Its first ground was situated off Worple Road, Wimbledon.

In 1875 lawn tennis, a game introduced by major Walter Clopton Wingfield a year or so earlier and originally called 'Sphairistike', was added to the activities of the Club. In the spring of 1877 the Club was re-titled 'The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club' and signalled its change of name by instituting the first Lawn Tennis Championship. A new code of laws, hitherto administered by the Marylebone Cricket Club was drawn up for the meeting. These have stood the test of time and today's rules are similar except for details such as the height of the net and posts and the distance of the service line from the net.

The only event held in 1877 was the Gentlemen's Singles which was won by Spencer Gore, an old Harrovian rackets player, from a field of 22. About 200 spectators paid one shilling each to watch the final.

The lawns at the Ground were arranged in such a way that the principal court was situated in the middle with the others arranged around it; hence the title 'Centre Court', which was retained when the Club moved in 1922 to the present site in Church Road, although not a true description of its location. However, in 1980 four new courts were brought into commission on the north side of the ground, which meant the Centre Court was once more correctly defined. The opening on the new No. 1 Court in 1997 emphasised the description.

By 1882 activity at the Club was almost exclusively confined to lawn tennis and that year the word 'croquet' was dropped from the title. However, for sentimental reasons, it was restored in 1899 and since then the title has remained The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

The Championships were first played under the control of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in 1877 at a ground near Worple Road, Wimbledon; the only event held was Gentlemen's Singles. In 1884, the All England Club added Ladies' Singles and Gentlemen's Doubles. Ladies' Doubles and Mixed Doubles were added in 1913. Until 1922, the reigning champion only had to play in the final, against whoever had won through to challenge him. Championships moved to their present location, at a ground near Church Road, in 1922. As with the other three Grand Slam events, Wimbledon was contested by top-ranked amateur players until the advent of the open era in tennis in 1968. Britons are very proud of the tournament, though it is a source of national anguish and humour – no English man has won the singles event at Wimbledon since Fred Perry in 1936, and no English woman since Virginia Wade in 1977. The Championship was first televised in 1937.

Wimbledon in the 21st Century

Wimbledon is acknowledged to be the premier tennis tournament in the world and the priority of The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which hosts The Championships, is to maintain its leadership into the twenty-first century. To that end a Long Term Plan was unveiled in 1993, which will improve the quality of the event for spectators, players, officials and neighbours.

Stage one of the Plan was completed for the 1997 Championships and involved building in Aorangi Park the new No. 1 Court, a Broadcast Centre, two extra grass courts and a tunnel under the hill linking Church Road and Somerset Road.

Stage two involved the removal of the old No. 1 Court complex to make way for the new Millennium Building, providing extensive facilities for the players, press, officials and Members, and the extension of the West Stand of the Centre Court with 728 extra seats.

Stage three continues. The construction of a new Championships entrance building, housing Club staff, museum, bank and ticket office at Gate 3 has left the Centre Court east side empty and will allow development to provide better facitilies for the public, increase the seating capacity from 13,800 to 15,000 and erect a retractable roof

Resource: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Championships,_Wimbledon