LONDON:
For Daniil Medvedev, it’s seeing the flowers arranged in perfect symmetry while Cameron Norrie reckons it’s worth turning up just to use the showers.
A world away from the mayhem of the US Open and the gruelling clay-court epics of Roland Garros, Wimbledon is still casting spells even if some of its traditions often leave players perplexed.
“The first day you come, it’s like, ‘Wow, this must be the best place in the world’,” said world number three Medvedev, a former champion in New York, where the atmosphere could not be more different.
If the US Open often resembles WrestleMania, the All England Club is more like a bridge club.
“Every flower seems to be in the right order, the right colour,” added Medvedev, the often eccentric Russian who was forced to miss last year’s tournament due to the ban on Russian and Belarusian players.
“The first day you always say, ‘Wow, that’s the best tournament’. The only bad thing, when you lose, you go crazy. You’re like, ‘No, I played so bad’. That’s why I want to try to make it even a happier place for me.”
British number one Cameron Norrie uses the facilities as much as he can, even during the dark winter months when the sprawling grounds, tucked away in suburban south-west London, can be eerily quiet.
“The food is so good here, even like outside of the tournament,” said Norrie, a semi-finalist in 2022.
“I just got my membership, so it was cool to use that. It’s such a nice club. It’s almost worth coming here just to have a shower — the showers they have are so good.”
British women’s number one Katie Boulter described the All England Club as a “place I can call home… it’s truly special”.
Denmark’s Holger Rune, the world number six, hailed the tournament as “clean and beautiful, it has another vibe, super cool”.
However, not all players swoon at the sight of a strawberry.
Back in 2014, French player Benoit Paire not wait to hop back on the Eurostar to Paris after a first-round loss.
“I’m not at all sad to leave this place where the atmosphere displeases me greatly,” said Paire.
His mood had not improved seven years later when he was heckled by the crowd for an apparent lack of effort in another opening-round loss.
“You’re wasting everybody’s time,” shouted a fan.
Former world number one Marcelo Rios famously described the grass only being suitable for cows.
“Grass is not a surface to watch tennis or to play tennis — it’s really boring,” he said, adding the tournament was over-rated.
Britain’s Heather Watson, however, believes the All England Club has the right mix of tradition and moving with the times.
She hailed the decision this year to allow female players to wear dark-coloured underwear rather than white to alleviate period anxiety.
“I feel Wimbledon gets the balance right — this was a big decision for them,” she said.
“I love the tradition and history they keep but also with the facilities this year, the new entrance is futuristic.
“Everything is pristine. They always try to make improvements, make the experience better.”
The tradition of camping out overnight to join the queue for precious Centre Court and Court One tickets remains a fixture.
Katrin Causch, a lawyer from Germany, flew from Berlin to join the queue for the fourth time.
She arrived on Sunday equipped only with a sleeping bag and no tent.
“It’s just Wimbledon. It’s just unbelievable, it’s great,” she said.
“It’s the famous tournament and they make it possible for people to queue to get tickets, instead of paying very high prices.
“It is amazing in the queue to meet people from all over the world.”
