- Wimbledon Diary
A right royal mix-up
Royalty, Chris Evert told the Wimbledon Diary, is one of the reasons for this tournament's global appeal. So it is just as well that the Queen's grandchildren are more interested in this tournament than she is.
Since the monarch's Silver Jubilee year in 1977, when she watched Virginia Wade win the women's singles title, she has attended the tournament once, which was in 2010. It's clear that her appreciation of forehands and backhands doesn't come close to her love of horses.
On Wednesday, though, two of her grandchildren were in the Royal Box - Prince William, who was accompanied by his wife, the Duchess of Cambridge, and Princess Beatrice. There's no doubt that William and Kate, who were seated in the front row, enjoy this sport - they used to play together when they were students at the University of St Andrews and have been seen on the grass courts across town at Queen's Club. The Duchess is now an honorary member of the All England Club, meaning she can play here whenever she pleases.
While Beatrice's sister, Princess Eugenie, was not in SW19, the player named after her, Canada's Eugenie Bouchard, continued to make an impact as she reached her first Wimbledon semi-final.
Federer draw
Andy Murray's departure is unlikely to clear the walk from Southfield Tube station to the All England Club of ticket touts. According to one tout the Wimbledon Diary spoke to, it's Roger Federer who drives the market; as long as the Swiss is still in the tournament, fans will continue to pay a multiple of the face value for the opportunity to be on Centre Court.
Girls just want to have fun
There's a reason that Simona Halep is playing the best tennis of her life, and that's because she's having some fun. "If you're feeling too much stress on court, you need to learn to take pleasure from the game and not the results," the Romanian, who has made her first Wimbledon semi-final told Diary.
"It's important to feel good on the court, and not to feel too much stress, as when you're stressed, you can't move your body. I've had those experiences when I can't move my body or hit the ball, and that was because I was too stressed."
Mark Hodgkinson is the author of Lendl: The Man Who Made Murray and is writing daily pieces for ESPN during Wimbledon
