Wimbledon 2012

Late last year Ross and I decided to apply for the Wimbledon ballot - something taken very seriously by the All English Lawn Tennis Club (we had to register for the electoral roll so they could verify our address).  We have both watched Wimbledon for as long as we can remember, so we were thrilled when we were offered tickets for the Round 3 sessions on Court 1, and the day did not disappoint!

We arrived well before play started on our court to soak up the atmosphere and see some of the earlier games on the outside courts and were greeted by the most polite security bag checks we've ever experienced ('I'm so sorry for this, I'll repack your bag when I'm done') - not your regular sporting event!

We were lucky enough to stumble upon Djokavic warming up on the outside courts while trying to decide on the best vantage point for the doubles match - quite surreal to stand 5m from the world number 1 as he smashes out a few serves.  

Djokavic warming up

Unfortunately not long after that the rain started and was on and off - the ground staff are well practised with the covers!  The matches on Court 1 were scheduled to start at 1pm and miraculously at 12:55pm the clouds mostly cleared and the sun came out - game on!

First up was the rest of the Querry v Raonic match, followed by Sharapova v Hsieh, and Clijsters v Zvonareva.  Not too bad!  

Sharapova took out Hsieh, despite some great winners by Hsieh and being a little rattled by the wind - and Clijsters was all set to win when Zvonareva retired after taking a medical time-out.  We weren't that interested in the last match on Court 1 so went off to see what else we could find and ended up with front row seats for the Huber/Raymond v Stosur/Dellacqua match - not bad!  The power in Stosur's arms and legs is just incredible and Dellacqua hit some cracking baseline winners - a treat to get to see them so close!

Maria Sharapova vs Su-Wei Hsieh, Court One

Kim Clijsters vs Vera Zvonareva, Court One

Dellacqua/Stosur vs Huber/Raymond, Court Six

Stosur and Dellacqua, Court Six

I also managed to spot Alicia Molik in the crowd on her way back from the gym - she is so tall!

Such an enjoyable day (despite the variable weather) and another thing off the bucket list!

Strawberries and Cream at Wimbledon