Here are more pictures from the 2-week-long adventure called Wimbledon.
In case you missed it, click here for Part 1.

Here how calm and peaceful Wimbledon can be in the morning before the gates open.
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Yet, here is how hectic and crowded it can also get during the day
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Fans can go to Aorangi Park tennis courts, adjacent to regular match courts, and see world-class players practice. Some of the courts are visible to ticket holders, others are too far back. Couple of those courts are right next to where tennis fans can watch them up close from a platform (such as the one with Fognini and Bolelli below).

Aorangi Park courts. Seppi and Federer are practicing in the middle court, Sabine Lisicki to the left.
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Fognini and Bolelli were not exactly painting the portrait of an intense practice session..
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Once you begin to explore the grounds, you slowly realize what a beautiful place it is and how big a role it plays in the history of our beautiful sport. Here are some examples…

Here is a view of Court 14 below, with Court 1 on the right, and Henman Hill in the background.
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If you have a Court 1 ticket, you get treated to this beautiful view.
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When the rain comes, the courts get covered in about 2 min 30 seconds (I timed it three times, that was the average). That is from the time they line up to pull the covers back, to the time they secure the covers to the sides.
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Then, there is of course, Centre Court, roughly 4 years older than Her Majesty the Queen Elizabeth II.
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But my advice to you, don’t get stuck in the big show courts and miss out on everything that you can see in and around the outside courts. In the show courts, the best players in the world showcase their talent. On the grounds, and around the outside courts, Wimbledon showcases history.

For example, the last British man to win Wimbledon prior to Andy Murray (in 1936) welcomes you if you enter through Gate 4. One of my favorite art pieces on the grounds.
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Once inside, you can visit the Lawn Tennis Museum.
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Or simply shop for Wimbledon souvenirs. If you are an American, I would urge you not to convert pounds to dollars in your head if you don’t want to ruin your shopping experience!
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However, there is one place you will not get to see: the Clubhouse of the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. Only members are allowed through that door, even during the tournament.
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The skies often turned gray during the two weeks…
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… but rarely did we have rain delays, and if we did, there were short like this one during the match between Roger Federer and Gilles Simon.
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The groundskeepers and maintenance crews do the best they can do maintain the courts

But you can only delay the inevitable for s long. In the first week, courts slowly began to lose their “pure green” color. Below is a series of photos of the progressive wear and tear on the courts, throughout the two weeks.

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Hey, look at it half-glass full. Service lines are hanging in there just fine. Where have all the serve-and-volleyers gone (with a deep sigh)?————

In the meantime, competition continued all over the outside courts.

You can see some players, such as Malek Jaziri here, put on some dance moves (!)
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On Court 2, Marsel Ilhan came close to going 2 sets up on Kevin Anderson (led a set and 6-3 in the second-set tiebreaker)
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On smaller courts, you are next to the action, although it can get a bit crowded..
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You can also walk up and ask your favorite player for an autograph, such as this Australian fan who asks one from Sam Groth after his first-round win.
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Sometimes players such as Timea Bacsinszky can get overwhelmed by the amount of fans as she exits the court.
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Random fictitious caption ==> Bacsinszky: “I am suffocating!!! Get. Me. Out. Of. Here. PLEASE..!” – The girl in pink on the right: “Oh God! Is she going to pass out?” – The little girl in the back: “Mommy mommy, what was wrong with her? She did not sign my ball!”
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These inspirational quotes by some past and current champions fill the walls on the back of Court 12
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Click here for Part 3

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Sitting Across MT Desk: Sofya Zhuk

July 13, 2015

Mertov

Prior to Roland Garros, I had watched Sofya Zhuk play only one time in 2013 (in a junior tournament in Switzerland) and I was impressed with her tenacity and desire to win, but it was nonetheless two years ago. Since then, I tried to follow her scores as much as I could and watched her results consistently improve as time went by. When I knew that the fifteen-year-old Russian was going to be a part of the junior tournament in Roland Garros, I made it one of my first goals to set up an interview with her, in order to introduce her to my readers and to other tennis fans outside of Russia, and Belgium where she practices at the Justine Henin Academy. The interview below took place on June 1st, at Roland Garros, following Zhuk’s first-round win over Australia’s Naikhta Bains 7-5 6-3.

Zhuk vs. Naikhta Bains, 1st round Roland Garros.

I can comfortably say that chatting with Sofya was a treat. She is a delightful youngster with a good sense of humor, and carried a genuine smile throughout the interview, attentively listening to every question so that she could answer as best as she could, despite the language barrier. She showed great mental maturity on the court in the way she handled different ebbs and flows of the first set at different stages, always keeping a positive body language. Unfortunately, I could only watch the first set of her win over Bains. However, I went on to watch the full match when she took on the American CiCi Bellis in one of the most thrilling matches that I have seen throughout the two weeks in Paris. For those interested, I posted my full tactical analysis of that match later that day on MT Desk, with pictures and clips.

Although I expected that Sofya would successfully introduce herself anyway to the tennis world sooner or later, I did not predict that it would be no more than six weeks later at Wimbledon, when she went on an amazing run of six consecutive wins as an unseeded player to lift the Wimbledon girls’ trophy on Saturday on Court 1.

Zhuk, coming to accept the winner's trophy from the 1969 Ladies' winner Ann Jones — Zhuk, coming to accept the winner’s trophy from the 1969 Ladies’ winner Ann Jones

So without further delay, here is the one-on-one with Sofya Zhuk at Roland Garros.

Sofya, let’s start with this match. The end of the first set got complicated when you were leading 5-3 and Bains saved couple of set points to come back to 5-5. At that point, you remained composed and positive. You did not lose your temper at all. How were you able to stay focused and not get disappointed?

Sofya Zhuk: I have improved my mental game a lot. At 5-3, I lost focus. From 5-3 to 5-5, in those two games, I began to realize that. Then, I tried to scream “Come on!” to myself when I win points because that helps me a lot. I also realized that I needed to serve well to take the advantage from the beginning of the point. Then I took control again. In the second set, it was easier because I stayed focused every game.

I apologize I didn’t see the second set since I had to unfortunately leave to go elsewhere.

Sofya (interrupts, laughs loud and adds): Yeah, but the second set was more interesting (more laughter).

Ok, let’s move on to your practice schedule. Could you elaborate on that? How many hours a day do you practice? How is your off-court training? How do you practice during tournaments, for example now? Could you give some details on those?

Sofya: Pretty simple really. I practice in Belgium usually. Around three hours a day. I do it in two sessions, 1 hour 30 minutes or 1 hour 15 minutes first, and the rest in the second session. One is usually from the basket a bit slower, the other one with a sparring partner. Fitness is usually one hour with a bit more intensity and thirty minutes just for the shoulders or other things, it depends.

Any days off?

Sofya: Yes, of course. On Saturdays, I practice sometimes and sometimes I am off. On Sundays, I am off. During the tournaments, if we have a sometime before the match, I practice 30 minutes easy. After the match, usually I am not practicing after matches, but here I have doubles anyway so I don’t need to practice.

If you have to go let me know.

Sofya: No, no, it’s fine. It’s three or four hours later (smiles).

What is the next immediate big goal for your game? In other words, what specific shot, pattern or tactic are you working on right now that you would like to have settled in your game by the end of the summer for example?

Sofya: Actually I don’t have a specific goal like this. I am improving my game, my movement. I am trying to improve everything.

I don’t know if this is something that you work on, but in your match, there were several points in which you made your opponent run and put her on the stretch. At that moment, you took a few steps in, but then you would change your mind and back up to the baseline. Is that a barrier, going forward, for you mentally?

Sofya: No, it’s not that. For example, I hit a ball and I understand that she is on the run. I see that she will have a good hitting zone, so I decide it’s not a good point to go forward. Because then, she will hit a winner or pass me. So I go back and try to make her move out of the court even more, and after that, I go to the net.

If she is really stretched and you feel like a high floater is coming?

Sofya: Yeah, something like this or just… (pauses, then smiles, and continues)… I am never actually going to the net just if I hit the ball and running to the net. Not logical (laughs again)

How many people are in your team? I mean the immediate people that surround you.

Sofya: It’s just my mom and my coach. They travel to every tournament with me. I think my mom understands tennis better than my coach (tongue-in-cheek laughter).

So you are not the first one to start playing tennis in your family?

Sofya: My brother started playing tennis, but then he had a problem with the knee because he grew up too fast. Then, he only kept practicing a little bit. He started tennis a bit late, when he was 9. He never started playing professional tournaments. He decided to go to university and he finished it. he is working now.

You had an injury earlier this year. Is that ok now?

Sofya: Hmmmm, not so much an injury, but it was like.. I just had to rest to get ready for the tournament. It was a bit of a pain here (points to the hip and leg area), so I just stopped and took a bit of time off, in order not to make it worst.

Perfect, thank you for taking the time Sofya.

Sofya: Thank you too.
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On Saturday, following her victory over Anna Blinkova of Russia – to whom Sofya has lost four times in the last two years – in the finals of Wimbledon, Zhuk said in the post-match press conference that she loved playing on Court 1 in front of numerous fans: “I love to play on this court. It was the first time I played when so much people are watching me. But I really had a pleasure to make that. I’m just in love when it’s so much people, everyone is supporting me, they’re clapping their hands when there’s a good point.”

Zhuk felt in her element in front of the big crowd on Ct 1

Sofya also said that she follows the same schedule in practice as the one she followed up to the French Open (see above my interview) and added that she was “really focused on each game, each match,” and added: “Here I controlled myself and I controlled each ball from first ball to the end.”

Zhuk in her first-round match vs Ali Collins.

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Wimbledon 2015 in Pictures – Part 1

July 13, 2015

Mertov

Majors No Comments

“Pictures tell the story.” In a time where the line between hyperboles and clichés is turning progressively blurry, this one still remains as one of the more valid clichés in the English language (or any other language one would assume). Over the two weeks at Wimbledon, many stories take place outside of the Centre Court or the main competition. Fans attending Wimbledon get treated to the “experience” of SW19 rather than simply watching matches live instead of on T.V. If you have followed my articles and live reports in the past, you would know that what interests me the most is precisely those outside stories that embody the tournaments on the professional tennis calendar. Yes, the tennis is compelling, and yes, the players and the matches still headline the media and conversations in club houses. Yet to those who may not have had the Wimbledon experience yet, here are a series of photos that may offer a glimpse into the “rest of the story.”

The adventure begins at Roehampton courts for qualifying rounds.
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At Roehampton, hard-working ball kids take much-needed breaks in between the courts.
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Lines get refreshed often, this one between the 3rd and 4th sets of a men’s match.
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Little did Dustin “Dreddy” Brown know when he was playing this qualifying match that he would go on to defeat Rafael Nadal in the Main Draw one week later, and become the centerpiece of one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon 2015.
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Meanwhile London was more than ready for the main event. The fact that Wimbledon would be the talk of town for the next two weeks in London could not be overlooked. The town of Wimbledon had signs everywhere celebrating the biggest tournament in the world, but the rest of London did not lag far behind.

Buses were advertising Wimbledon…
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… as well as the giant advertising board in one of the most famous squares in the World, Picadilly Circus.
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Pubs took the opportunity to mix Wimbledon with drinking and dining.
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This hotel’s bar had the right decoration
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People even read about and chat about Wimbledon in the tube…
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At Souhtfields tube station, Wimbledon spectators came off in clusters to take the short 10-to-15-minute walk to the courts.

At Wimbledon, on Monday morning, it was the calm before the storm…

Court 14 was ready action after being closed for renovation during last year’s tournament.
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On Monday morning of the first week, prior to the start of the matches, Roger Federer and Stefan Edberg looked ready to tackle the green grass of SW19, something both men knew well how to do.
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A Wimbledon tradition, “The Queue,” was already filled with hopeful spectators. (Side note: Did you know that there is a 25-page “Guide to Queueing” to help “Queuers” familiarize themselves with the procedure and etiquette of being in “The Queue”?)
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