On June 9, 1877, residents of a modest London suburb called Wimbledon saw two dozen gentlemen play nearby - participants in an equally modest lawn tennis tournament. Spencer Gore was the winner and first prize winner of 12 guineas. In the Open Championship of England under number 127, the dates of which were June 24-July 6, 2013, almost all the strongest "rackets" of world tennis were already playing for much more money.
What is Wimbledon?
The Wimbledon Championships in English is considered the oldest and most prestigious of the four professional Grand Slam events. The rest are held in Melbourne, New York and Paris.
Wimbledon annually takes place where it started for more than 120 years - on the grass courts of the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club. For prizes many times greater than those for which Spencer Gore fought, participants in modern championships argue in two singles, in two doubles and in one mixed category.
Who are you inviting?
The selection for the tournament, which is considered the most "monarchical" in Great Britain and the world (after all, someone from the British royal family must attend and present the main prizes), the prerogative of the largest tennis organizations in the world WTA (Women's Tennis Association) and ATP (Association of Professional Tennis Players) … Therefore, the entire ladies' section, taking into account its rating, was organized by the WTA. And colleagues from the Asia-Pacific region were exclusively engaged in the selection of the strongest male players. This is how it was done.
First of all, they identified a list of 32 players who topped the Association's rating compiled a week before the start (that is, June 17). Additionally, the leaders received points for other performances on the grass, but only in the last 12 months. In addition, 75% of the points scored by him in the best “grass” tournament for himself were added to the “piggy bank” of each tennis player. Based on all this intricate arithmetic, the list of "seeded" tournament-2013 was formed, which was headed by Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and seven-time winner of the English Open Roger Federer.
Roger Federer managed to become a co-author of one of the most "high-profile" sensations. Having lost already in the second round (1/32 finals) to Ukrainian Sergey Stakhovsky - 7: 6, 6: 7, 5: 7, 6: 7, the famous Swiss left the championship ahead of schedule.
How many in total?
The organizers included 256 people from 44 countries in the main draw. 128 women represented 36 countries, 128 men - 35. Moreover, 27 federations, including the Russian one, presented participants in both singles.
Eh, Masha
Most athletes came out to play under the US flag - 25. Among them, 14 women and 11 men. France took the second place in terms of population - 22 people (7 + 15). One of seven French women who shone on the London courts was the singles winner Marion Bartoli. The third place is occupied by Spain, which was represented in London by 21 tennis players (8 + 13). Finally, 19 athletes (8 + 11) competed for Germany, including Sabine Lisicki, who played to the final in singles and became one of the discoveries.
The fifth in terms of the total number of players was Russia. She delegated 15 tennis players to the capital of world tennis (8 + 7). Including the 2004 champion Maria Sharapova, who sensationally lost in the second round, and Dmitry Tursunov, who covered the racket already at the start.
The strongest of the Russian tennis players turned out to be Mikhail Youzhny. In the fourth round (1/8 finals), he lost to future champion Andy Murray - 4: 6, 6: 7, 1: 6. Ekaterina Makarova, who has passed only two rounds, became the best among women.
Tennis player not in daddy
It is curious that the host of the competition, the united Great Britain, put up only 10 athletes (7 + 3) for the home tournament. The most famous of them are the winner in the men's singles category Andy Murray and the daughter of the ex-defender of Dynamo Kiev and the USSR national football team Elena Baltacha, who played only one match. Both, by the way, live in Scotland.
Beautiful flying hawk
Ball-boys can be considered full-fledged participants of the tennis benefit in the capital of the British Empire. Or 250 boys and girls specially trained to collect balls and towels flying in different directions and passed a serious selection the day before. As a result, only one of the three young applicants earned the right to work alongside sports stars.
And the owners of the British hawks were absolutely unique VIP-persons, especially during the preparation of the competition. The official duties of these formidable birds included a very tough job. They were tasked with destroying pigeons that could stain the snow-white tracksuits and dresses of trophy seekers and fans.
