OMG – how good did it feel yesterday to walk back through the gates of the AELTC and have a long awaited day out at Wimbledon Tennis??
Amazing – like seeing an old friend that had fallen off your radar, but when you hook up again you realise how much a part of your life they should be.
And it felt bizarrely normal, despite there being lots of people around (although far fewer than in a regular year – quite the added bonus when not queueing for the ladies loo!). First step was Janine & I proving our COVID statuses while in the queue outside the grounds – quick look at the NHS app and you're then given an orange wristband – and ten mins later a quick scan of the phone for your online ticket, a bag check and BOOM – we were in!!!! Hello Wimbers my old friend.
Oddly few people on No.2 court – we were the only people in our entire row although the spacing looked quite erratic around the whole court – some pretty full rows and some big gaps. Still, we were happy with our 'private' seating!
The day started with Dan Evans beating his Spanish oppo – first Brit success of the session, so very good to see. Then we had Coco Gauff playing Fran Jones (what an interesting story she has – bloody good for her!) in her first ever Wimbledon appearance – a very close match and really good. Shame to see a GBR player lose, but she got resounding applause and I'm sure will be back next year. Last game was Cam Norrie, who had set point and managed to lose it five minutes later – by which point it was 8.30pm and too dark for any more.
Ironically Mr H had tickets for No.1 Court, but actually I think our line up on Court 2 was better. OK, so we spent 3 hour sheltering from the June downpours in the middle of the day, but still got at least 6 hours of tennis in, plus watching the matches on the roofed-courts in between.. Met him & Alex McDonald for a Pimms – where for the first time you could actually walk up to the bar, should tot shoulder and order directly rather than from a table or via an app. Nice.
So, a great day out with J – and for a change, no need to doze on the court as I usually end up doing, having spent the night with minimal sleep in a tent, to get our usual Centre Court tickets. This online lark was really rather civilised! And here's to a different experience next Friday as we'll be back for a second visit, clutching J's brilliantly nabbed Men's Semi-Finals virtual tickets on our myWimbledon apps!! Fingers crossed that the lovely Roger Fed might still be in by then.
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