SW19’s diversity bubble bursts
One of the things the Diary is always saying is that Wimbledon crowds are more diverse than you’d think. Gender, ethnicity, nationality – class is more difficult to ascertain – it compares favourably to a number of British summer institutions (Glastonbury, we’re looking at you). So thanks to whoever let the side down during the Potapova-Andreeva match on No 3 Court.
Just a single point into the first set, a loud popping sound from the stands caused umpire John Blom to issue the following warning to the crowd: “Ladies and gentlemen, please, if you are opening a bottle of champagne, don’t do it as the players are about to serve.” The official Wimbledon Twitter account labelled it “the most Wimbledon warning ever”. The diary is hoping it was a bottle of Tesco cava.
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Injury and defeat lead to Greek tragedy
The Tsitsipasity is over. What once appeared a distinct possibility – that Stefanos Tsitsipas, the men’s No 5 seed, would compete on every court, in every draw, all at once – is now no more. The laws of physics are resting easy after first Paula Badosa withdrew from the mixed doubles due to injury, and then the Tsitsipaseses, Stefanos and his brother Petros, were beaten 7-6, 4-6, 2-6 in the first round of the men’s doubles by the French pair Arthur Fils and Luca Van Assche on Sunday.
This leaves the Greek with only a fourth round men’s singles tie against Chris Eubanks to play, but while cynics had dubbed the attempted Triplipas as nothing more than a publicity stunt, those who want all Tsitsipas, all the time, can still head to Instagram, where he has his own account and a joint number with Badosa, his girlfriend since April and “soul mate”. The “tsitsidosa” account hasn’t posted since 2 July, but given the extra time in their schedule the pause should only be temporary.
Bublik channels his inner Kyrgios
For those missing the idiosyncractic quirks of Nick Kyrgios at SW19 this year, Alexander Bublik did his best to oblige during his fourth round match with Andrey Rublev. Not only did the Kazakhstani No 23 seed treat the crowd to a few sarcastic gestures and disdainful drop shots, he also produced an underarm serve – and won the point.
All of that, however, was topped by the rather reckless decision to step in off the baseline to receive a Rublev second serve. The Russian averages 95mph on his second, but Bublik took the point and went on to win the third set on a tie-break.