Thursday, June 30, 2016

Wimbledon 2016 - under the roof

Well thank goodness for the roof, is all we could say!

Had a fabulous day at Wimbledon tennis on Wednesday, courtesy of my very generous boss Monica - thanks for a great day.  

starting with lunch in the Renshaw restaurant under Court One.
Yum!  (salmon, beef and strawberries, if you're interested!)



I have cropped a lot of the photos but you should also be able to click on them to enlarge them to get a better view yet (but don't forget to come back and read the narrative!)




after lunch it was time to head to Centre Court, where the roof remained firmly shut all day








We did miss the start of the first match, which was a Ladies Singles

 but not all of it.  At least Shrieky Sharapova wasn't there..

Next up, Djokovic and Mannarino
he's off...



the well rehearsed ballboys and girls rush around at change of ends
the Royal Box wasn't full all day all of the time.. no major Royals in attendance apart from Prince Michael of Kent, though I see Cliff Richard appears to be there in the second row back.

a watery late afternoon sunshine trying to shine through the roof!



Although the score looks quite one-sided, it was quite a tight match and Mannarino played well, eventually taking the third set to a tie-break
at one point Novak slipped
 match point...
but in the end, won victory in straight sets


Novak saluting the crowd.


now, time for afternoon tea before the next match, Federer agains British wild card Marcus Willis



yum again!
dainty sandwiches, cakes, scones and jam/cream and of course strawberries and cream.


then back to the tennis...

the first set was over by the time we got back on court and here we catch the action up in the second.. Marcus preparing to serve...

a huge outsider, ranked 772 in the world, Marcus played with spirit and enjoyed whipping up the crowd with wild cheers every time he won a point
but all too soon it was match point for Federer
and he didn't waste his chance.


Marcus won a lot of fans on court today, and got a deserved standing ovation at the end

so, the match over, and the players leave court
 must be time for the bar again - Monica on the left with her friend Juley
and Juley's partner Mike.  more champagne...
 just to prove I was there
 the limited sun of the day sinking beyond the courts
the last few spectators beating a weary way home after a very wet day (play didn't start on the outside courts till about 5.30)

A big thank you to Monica for once again treating us (the rest of the office go on Monday)
and to Mike and Juley for lots of laughs.

(you might think this isn't as many photos as normal- I did take loads, over 250; but one leaping serve shot is much the same as the next) but was enjoying the tennis so much I didn't take as many probably as I normally do!!

6 comments:

Miriam said...

What a fabulous day and an amazing treat from your boss....I love your pics.... pleased you enjoyed your day.

Artmadnana said...

It certainly wasn't the best day for the tennis but I'm sure you managed to enjoy a wonderful day at Wimbledon. I'm so envious of all that delicious food. Hope you had a doggy bag handy! Lovely photos as per Helen.

sam21ski said...

Good job you had the roof, wasn't the best day weather wise, but at least you got to see some action - great shots xx

yoursartfully said...

What a fabulous day Helen and you managed to take some fantastic photographs too. So glad you got to see the Federer/Willis match. I was scanning the crowd to see if I could see you on TV.....like looking for a needle in a haystack!

Kirsten said...

Great photos, you certainly had a wonderful day. Thank goodness for the Centre Court roof. And I would happily eat everything on that menu.

Bleubeard and Elizabeth said...

I remember Sally watching the Federer match and she was rooting for Marcus Willis. So he won a few TV fans, too.

The royals have their own BOX? I can't believe it. OK, guess I can. Loved the photos and most of all loved the afternoon tea. I'm so impressed your boss does this for you each year. She must be a gem to work for, and a great gift giver, too.