A day out at Wimbledon

OK for all you tennis fans out there here's the lowdown about Monday at Wimbledon.

Cycled over to the back of beyond where they house all the overnighters way away from the Wimbledon courts themselves. Perhaps thy think we'll make too much noise and annoy the neighbours? Anyway 4.30 a.m. meant I was actually in time to get a no.2 court ticket rather than a ground pass. Saw Cilic's match if you could call it that. Nishioka was hopeless so not the ideal start. Next up was Venus who struggled a bit but is still worth a £1 or two for the title.
Yes, there are younger players out there but the only players to have beaten her in the final there (please correct me if I am wrong) are little sis Serena and Mugu last year I believe.

Next up was Monfils and Gasquet. Gael is my idea of a tennis player- so talented. Gasquet was Gasquet. All backhand and bugger all else. Still it made interesting viewing. Have very little to say about Svitolina she was crap and wanted to take a medical timeout. Went off to watch Gorgeous Goerges instead. Didn't stay till the bitter end as I'd only had an hour and a half's sleep.


All in all £42 well spent for a guaranteed seat. Much better value than the £25 ground pass IMHO. Lots of fans who can't get a main show court ticket turn their noses up at a court 2 ticket. More fool them.

Glad you enjoyed your outing, NB!

Nice report Newballs, though I would say the £25 ground pass is still excellent value for money during the 1st week. Just compare and contrast with the end of year ATP Masters at the 02 where you are paying more than double the price and only get to see 1 singles and 1 doubles match, and get your food and drink confiscated for 'security reasons'.

Agree that No 2 court shouldn't be sniffed at - often get some v good matches there, with a few upsets (its still occasionally referred to as graveyard of champions). I was fortunate enough to get pair of Centre Court tickets for yesterday in the ballot, which I was entered in from participating in Local Tennis Leagues tournament - a worthwhile option for those not in an affiliated club. Saw plenty of outside court action too including Del Potro on Court 3 - this court has its own queueing system, open to all ground-pass/show-court holders, to the large sections of unreserved seats and is worth a visit.

MrInvisible wrote:...and get your food and drink confiscated for 'security reasons'.

... so they can sell you the same food 'inside' at 10x the price to fund the million £ prize money.

The worse abuse is at Security scanners at airport, which are capable of sniffing explosive material, but will not allow water through the otherwise 'sophisticated' scanner systems.

I've personally found grounds pass to be great value in the first 4 days, but after that you want to avoid if you want to get decent men's singles. Grounds pass is still decent value on days 5 and 6 and the middle monday if you are OK with women's singles and doubles but no (decent) men's singles.