We had a drink and saw John Isner in action before heading onto our seats on Center Court to watch the 1st of 3 games lines up on court, with Ken Nishikori taking on Cameron Norrie, the Brit. The vibe and atmosphere inside the Center Court cannot be expressed in mere words. The entire etiquette of behaviour and the decorum of expression was emphasised time and again to the entire crowd. No jeering, only clapping, no shouting in between points and play, not being able to get up from your seat till the players take a break were just some of it; but any true fan of Tennis would be more than obliged to follow this to the T; or Ace it down the T in Tennis lingo.
While the first two games were pretty straight forward wins, the game we were about to see had the inkling of a long-standing rivalry; with Nadal being set up to take on Nick Kyrgios. What followed was a razmataz of crazy shenanigans by Kyrgios, including a bout of underarm serves; and when the match was tied at one set a piece, the entire crowd felt like we were in for a classic.
But that is where Nadal showed his class and temperament. Just watching him go through his business of preparing for the next point in between each point was a testimony to his professionalism and determination. The next two sets, Nadal took his game up several notches and a frustrated Kyrgios could watch on in a hapless state as Nadal took the game-set-match 3 sets to 1.
A standing ovation to the champion and legend; we had heard that Federer and Serena were drawn to play at Court No. 1. Since the order to play at Center Court was over, we headed onto the other end to try our luck with some return-tickets. Returned-tickets are tickets that can be bought through a return-ticket-box; where any person who has to leave early put his/her ticket up for sale. Proceedings from this go to charity and hence they are priced very reasonably.
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While there were none available at Court No. 1, we met a couple who were leaving the court and wanted to give their tickets to someone willing to watch a game in their place. My best guess it they were fulfilled watching Federer and Serena play; as luck would have had it, we got hold of these Court No. 1 tickets and saw Andy Murray in his comeback game. London being London, it became murky and rainy; which meant the newly constructed roof at Court No. 1 was also used for the first time ever. What luck!
I’ve seen football live in Munich, seen two F1 Grand Prix’s live at a track, witnessed a host of cricket games live including an India-Pak game; but nothing has come close to the entire experience and exuberance that I went through while spending the day watching tennis at the Center Court at Wimbledon. This place is the epitome of a sporting experience and I am quite unsure if any other experience will be able to beat the one at SW19.
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That is why, it is the 3rd Holy Grail, after all!