Day 5 – 6 July 2019, Saturday
Today’s programme is pretty straightforward as we are going to Wimbledon again to catch the 3rd round (3R) matches. We have already secured our tickets for Centre Court through the worldwide ballot so thankfully, no (overnight) queuing required today, yay! And having watched the 2R matches two days ago, we now have a pretty good idea of what to expect and what to do, so we feel super relaxed today.
Even though our first match at Centre Court starts at 1pm, we wanted to maximise our experience at Wimbledon, so we left our hostel at about 8:15am and took the Tube train from Oxford Circus to Southfields, arriving at about 9:05am. From there, we took a leisurely walk to the grounds. As we walked past Wimbledon Park and the golf course, we remembered our experience three nights ago and chuckled again at the memory of how ill-equipped we were for the brutally cold night.
At 9:15am, we arrived at Gate 4 and joined the queue for ticket collection. The gate opened at 9:30am and we were ushered to the ticket office after having our bags checked. By 9:45am, we got our hands on the much-coveted tickets. Such a breeze getting our tickets compared to two days ago haha!
After getting a cup of coffee, we joined the queue for the practice courts. This was something YS really wanted to do as it provided a rare chance to get up close with the players and observe their warm up and training routines.
At 10:30am, we were allowed to enter the practice courts viewing area. There were several people ahead of us but luckily, we still managed to get a good spot as we were early. As space by the courtside is limited, people can only move forward when someone leaves and makes way for others to enter. If you come late and get stuck in the queue further behind, you’ll have to inch your way forward slowly.
The area we were allowed to stand at was quite narrow and the line could only accommodate two-persons deep. As we stood behind the velvet rope, we could see four practice courts directly in front of us and next to each other side by side, and another two courts to the left, which we could only watch from a distance.
The space between the velvet rope and the courts acts as a passageway for the players to walk through, so you will get the chance to see the players up close. I suppose it will also be possible to take a selfie with them or even get an autograph, if the players are obliging enough. However, I observed that the fans who are here at the practice courts are mostly hardcore tennis fans and they come every day. They are more respectful of the players and they’re not the kind who will scream or act all fan-ny when they get close to their idols. So bear that in mind and behave accordingly when you’re at the practice courts. This is Wimbledon after all.
At 10:55am, both Harriet Dart and Ashleigh Barty appeared and they took the courts next to each other. It was quite strange seeing them training in such close proximity, as they would be playing each other on Centre Court later at 1pm. Maybe that’s the way it has always been done, or maybe it was a tactic to intimidate the opponent, to show that there are no chinks in the armour on the eve of a battle.
After a while, Fabio Fognini also came to practise. Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal were also here, but they were at the other courts further away from us, so we didn’t have a good view of them. At about 11:10am, we decided to leave the practice courts to check out the happenings at the other courts.
We found out that there was an exclusive lounge for American Express cardmembers so we made our way there. This is AMEX’s first year being associated with Wimbledon so they celebrated in a big way. Two days ago, when we came for the 2R matches, we already redeemed a free Wimbledon Radio set by flashing our AMEX cards. We also enrolled in a promotion to receive £20 cash back upon accumulating a total spend of £120 on our AMEX cards on F&B and merchandise at Wimbledon. Today, more goodies await.
After 10 minutes of queuing, we entered the exclusive AMEX lounge at The Lookout. It was located on the second level and it had a nice view of the eight outdoor courts (no. 4 – 11). Inside the lounge, there were plush sofa seats and small coffee tables where we could enjoy beverages (at your own expense) in air-conditioned comfort. We also received a free foldable, Chinese-style fan each. Pretty neat.
We spent only around 15 minutes at the lounge because we wanted to get some lunch and enter Centre Court early to take some photos and soak up the atmosphere. Despite the short visit to the AMEX lounge, it felt good to receive some “VIP” treatment for once. Lunch was a simple and quick meal of pizza (£9.20 / S$16).
After chomping down our food, we entered Centre Court at 12:30pm. Our seats were at Gangway 523, Row ZC, Seats 429 & 430, and they were located in the sheltered area very high up in the stands. As it was still early, most of the patrons were not here yet, so we took the opportunity to go closer to the court to take some photos.
The view from the lower level is so good, with a perfect view of the court. And the Player’s Box and the Royal Box are just nearby! The most amazing thing is that the seats here are priced the same as ours. There is only one ticket price for the whole stadium (save for the hospitality packages) and the 15,000 seats are allocated randomly. Those who managed to get the seats here are really lucky.
Then I started to wonder…if I had paid for my tickets earlier, would it have resulted in me getting better seats? This is because even though I was informed on 30 January 2019 that my ballot application was successful, I only made payment for the tickets on the last day of the deadline (28 February 2019). Perhaps if I had made payment on 30 January instead of 28 February, I would have been allocated a pair of seats at the lower level. I can only speculate…
As we drew closer to showtime, the stands started to fill and the excitement mounted. At 1pm sharp, the proceedings began with introductions of the sporting legends who were invited to sit in the Royal Box today, including Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Rod Laver, Sir Mo Farah, Gareth Southgate and Eric Dier.
Harriet Dart (GBR) and Ashleigh Barty (AUS) then emerged on court for the first match of the day. We had seen both of them at the practice courts just a few hours earlier but now, they are all set for battle. However, it turned out to be a one-sided affair and the home crowd failed to inspire Dart as she fell 6-1, 6-1 to Barty in just 53 minutes.
At about 2:30pm, Rafael Nadal (ESP) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) came on court for the second match of the day. Being Federer fans, YS and I rooted for Tsonga but we also hoped for a more competitive match than the one we had just witnessed. However, Nadal also proved to be too strong for Tsonga and he easily won the match in straight sets: 6-2, 6-3, 6-2.
The third and last match of the day was the one we had been waiting for: Roger Federer (SUI) vs Lucas Pouille (FRA). The players emerged on Centre Court at about 4:35pm to rapturous applause. We were hoping for a good match and we finally got it. Even though Federer won in straight sets [7-5, 6-2, 7-6(4)], it was more competitive than the previous two matches and way more exciting. It was a real treat to watch Federer perform his magic on his favourite tennis court in the world.
When the match ended at about 6:50pm, we prepared to make our way out of the stadium. Just then, an announcement was made over the PA system, informing us that there would be another match being played on Centre Court. It would be a Mixed Doubles match between Andy Murray (GBR) & Serena Williams (USA) and Andreas Mies (GER) & Alexa Guarachi (CHI). What an unexpected bonus!
This was the first time Andy Murray and Serena Williams would team up for a Mixed Doubles event. The match was eagerly anticipated by all tennis fans, not least because Murray was just returning from a long injury layoff. Also, being a Brit and two-time Wimbledon champion means that he would always have the home crowd supporting him. And now with Serena partnering him, it was going to be a blockbuster for the ages!
I don’t usually enjoy watching Doubles matches but this match was an exception due to the electrifying atmosphere. It was probably the most partisan crowd ever as everyone in the house cheered for every single point that #SerAndy won. In the end, the pair lived up to expectations and won the match 6-4, 6-1 relatively easily.
That really was the last match for the day. As YS and I made our way back to the city, we still couldn’t believe our good fortune. We had watched four Wimbledon champions (Federer, Nadal, Murray, Serena) and a current World No. 1 (Barty) play at Centre Court today. What a perfect way to end our Wimbledon experience!