I didn't notice that the article was by Ben Rotherberg, Spec.

Which might make sense because I saw him get turned away from the players' lounge - he had some accreditation thing round his neck and sort of assumed that he could go through but the guy on the door was quite thorough and stopped him and checked and seemingly his thingy wasn't the right thingy so he was rather unceremoniously barred. (Ben didn't kick up a fuss at all, he said 'fine, no trouble'. But he didn't look best pleased).

He didn't cover the question too that Wimbledon is not like the other tournaments - the grass courts take quite a beating with three days of tennis and you can't just say 'play at the main site' without taking that into account.

Enjoyed catching up on the last two days comments this morning.

Overjoyed for Alex ward, i'd wondered where things were going for him with recent injuries / results but to pull these three results out the bag have been amazing. Shame about his draw but Kyle has been chucking things away lately so if Alex keeps the pressure on you never know.

As regards Marcus I saw him at a futures event in feb' and he was in much better shape, no spare tyre then I promise you! His forehand has improved since last year and is now a proper shot rather than the paddle back that it was. I think he would have won his FQR had he not been injured.
However, I think it's time we all accepted Marcus for what he is. He is never going to be the slimmest / fittest man on the circuit, he is naturally a big guy. Nor is it likely he will be playing 25-30 events a year, there is just no point. With marriage his life dynamic has changed, he now has someone else to answer too and none of us really know how often he is allowed out to play etc.
At least much of the Marcus sycophancy is absent from the forum, but come on folks lets just leave him to get on with it from now on and enjoy any success that comes along the way.

Jay Clarke has been a real success. I feel his experience this week will stand him in better stead than a direct WC and a 1st round loss (not that he would have definitely lost of course ) and with a solid tennis playing family backing him the future can only be positive.
If Jay and Marcus take it seriously they are more than capable of making a dent in the doubles which Marcus has done much better at in the past.

Looking forward to next week with more optimism than I had a couple of weeks ago, good luck guys.

Oakland2002 wrote:

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I didn't like the changes, ticketing it meant I couldn't turn up on spec when the opportunity arose at or after work.

For entirely selfish reasons that reason alone means Wimbledon Qualifying has lost the thing that made it great, it was like turning up for a garden fete. What it needed was coconut shy's, a strawberry's and cream tent, lots of inflatables, bunjee jumping and free basic tennis clinics for kids. Some seats would be good, hopefully when the new venue is built it will have a certain amount of flexibility to give the tournament a real festival community feel that has utility through the year.

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 I liked the fact that it was less crowded - easier to see matches and move around.  But less atmosphere.  Every tennis playing kid in the area used to drop in after school with parents or coach and they made their presence felt.  Also, although the club is quite swanky, it is right next door to a large area of social housing.  I always felt there were a lot of spectators from there - groups of retirement age people with their packed lunches and folding chairs camped by the courts used by the Brits.  Clearly not tennis people at all but they cheered loudly at every winning point and groaned at every error, having a great day at 'Wimbledon'.  Really added to it.  Now maybe they weren't from the social housing but they weren't there this year and it made a difference.  And also made a rather more bland standard tennis types crowd.

There were a few tickets on sale at the door.  I assume they were from late cancellations.  Also, people were waiting outside for returns during the day.

The Optimist wrote:

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Oakland2002 wrote:

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I didn't like the changes, ticketing it meant I couldn't turn up on spec when the opportunity arose at or after work.

For entirely selfish reasons that reason alone means Wimbledon Qualifying has lost the thing that made it great, it was like turning up for a garden fete. What it needed was coconut shy's, a strawberry's and cream tent, lots of inflatables, bunjee jumping and free basic tennis clinics for kids. Some seats would be good, hopefully when the new venue is built it will have a certain amount of flexibility to give the tournament a real festival community feel that has utility through the year.

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 I liked the fact that it was less crowded - easier to see matches and move around.  But less atmosphere.  Every tennis playing kid in the area used to drop in after school with parents or coach and they made their presence felt.  Also, although the club is quite swanky, it is right next door to a large area of social housing.  I always felt there were a lot of spectators from there - groups of retirement age people with their packed lunches and folding chairs camped by the courts used by the Brits.  Clearly not tennis people at all but they cheered loudly at every winning point and groaned at every error, having a great day at 'Wimbledon'.  Really added to it.  Now maybe they weren't from the social housing but they weren't there this year and it made a difference.  And also made a rather more bland standard tennis types crowd.

There were a few tickets on sale at the door.  I assume they were from late cancellations.  Also, people were waiting outside for returns during the day.

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 What was security like e.g checking bags etc., Notts they checked all bags, and I was checked over with an electronic device once, Ilkley absolutely nothing, and I heard Manchester were very tight on security.

Bag checking was very thorough - far more than usual - i.e. every little compartment checked and glasses cases/wallets/purses etc opened etc. etc.

And, yes, there were electronic wands for personal checks.

But pretty quick and no problem.

The Optimist wrote:

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Got there!!  But why would the Bank of England upgrade its facilities for the qualifying event when they know that at soon as Wimbledon Park Golf Club's lease expires in a year or so, that the AELTC are taking back some of the land to build their own qualifying venue?

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 FWIW the WPGC lease does not expire until 2041. This confirmed by my friend David Langheim, WPGC's course manager

Coup Droit wrote:

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Bag checking was very thorough - far more than usual - i.e. every little compartment checked and glasses cases/wallets/purses etc opened etc. etc.

And, yes, there were electronic wands for personal checks.

But pretty quick and no problem.

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 Good to hear !!