- Thousands came in the early morning to show their support
- By 10am those in the queue were told they would not get in till 5pm
- Laura Robson and Elena Baltacha both suffered defeat
Last updated at 5:42 PM on 24th June 2011
With three British stars on show at Wimbledon today it was always going to draw in the crowds.
But so many descended on SW19 today hoping to watch the last three home players in action that fans were told to stop queueing.
By 10am those outside the ground were told they would not get in until 5pm. Shortly afterwards late-comers to the queue were told they had no chance.
But unfortunately those hoping to see a British treble were left disappointed as Laura Robson and Elena Baltacha both suffered defeat.
Those losses meant Andy Murray was the only British player left in either singles draw.
The lucky spectators who were up early enough are ushered into Wimbledon this morning
Home support: British fans on Centre Court wait for the chance to watch Andy Murray
It was a squeeze for fans even to watch games on the outside courts - but at least they gained entrance
Tournament officials said it was the busiest they had seen it all week, while former British number one Tim Henman said it was 'brilliant' the public were so behind the trio.
Five hundred tickets were made available for each of the main courts - Centre, One and Two.
The 68 tickets were quickly snapped up by fans desperate to see world number four Andy Murray return to Centre Court against Croatian Ivan Ljubicic after being relegated from it on Wednesday.
Punters were also forking out 58 for Court One tickets to experience of bit of history - teenage sensation Laura Robson's first second round Grand Slam match.
But the The 17-year-old, who was first on the court agaisnt former world number one Maria Sharapova, was defeated in straight sets by the 2004 champion.
And those hoping for home victories were also left disappointed by British women's number one Baltacha losing to China's Shuai Peng in the first game on Court 18.
But furious fans voiced their anger at 'Queen of Screams' Sharapova, claiming her excessive grunting was putting Robson off.
There were 500 tickets available this morning to see Laura Robson, left, take on former Wimbledon champion Maria Sharapova. Unfortunately the 17-year-old was unable to give the fans a British victory
Robson found herself outgunned by the 2004 champion Maria Sharapova
The world number six shrieked throughout her straight-sets win over the 17-year-old - with spectators saying the grunting gave her an unfair advantage.
Wimbledon's Murray Mount became Robson Rise as thousands watched the battle on SW19's giant screen.
A reporter's gruntometer recorded the Russian at 116.9 decibels during the second round contest.
Yvonne Nicholas, from Gloucestershire, said: 'I find it very irritating and it must be quite off-putting.'
Dave Gittings, 56, from London, said: 'I think it is ridiculous. It is just not necessary.
Meanwhile, Wimbledon organisers have managed to anger a number of top players over apparent inconsistencies in their approach to scheduling.
While Robson on Maria Sharapova on Court One, Caroline Wozniacki - the women's number one seed - will play her third round match in the relative wilderness of Court 2.
It will add fuel to the argument that there is bias in favour of home players.
Unusual headgear was the order of the day for British tennis fans
Play should start under blue skies meaning the Centre Court roof is unlikely to come into play today
Andy Murray will be back on Centre Court today after playing his last match on Court 1, while Serena Williams has accused organiser of bias towards the men after she was relegated to Court 2
The decision comes the day after Serena Williams lashed out at tournament chiefs for relegating her and sister Venus to outside courts - claiming that it was the women's game that was the target of snub.
And it seems the organisers really can't win. While home fans were angered at the decision for Andy Murray's second round game to be played on Court One, others expressed anger that it was only the second time Murray has not been given a Centre Court spot since making his debut five years ago.
The All England Club like to give each top name a match away from Centre Court to avoid accusations of favouritism.
Their regulations state they aim for 'efficient and imaginative scheduling'.
Meanwhile, Serena, the defending women's champion, was sent out to Court 2 for her second-round clash with Romania's Simona Halep, which she won 3-6, 6-2, 6-1. So was Williams' sister Venus, the five-time singles champion, for her opening match on Monday.
Magic view: Rupert Grint enjoys the action today on Centre Court
Laura Robson tries her hand at planking in a photo she posted on her Twitter page
OLD BALLS, PLEASE
Britain's last-remaining tennis ball manufacturer told yesterday how he is defying competition from cheap imports - with handmade balls on 1950s machinery.
Family firm J Price Ltd was set up in 1936 - the year Fred Perry, the last British men's champion, won Wimbledon.
But fierce competition from abroad has seen the company's weekly output plummet from 80,000 balls during its heyday in the 1970s to just 3,000 today.
All other British manufacturers have fallen by the wayside but current owner Derek Price, 80, has survived by branching out into 'niche' tennis ball manufacturing.
His team of eight staff in his workshop in in Box, Wiltshire, still press the balls by hand on ageing machinery.
The company makes the balls for tennis clubs and coaches, promotional and personalised balls of all different colours - and larger, children's tennis balls.
But its relatively high manufacturing costs mean only a handful of retailers are prepared to stock them, meaning the firm produce just 5 per cent of the numbers they use to.
Derek said: 'All my old-time competitors are all gone. What we do is just about any colour, pink, orange, green, black, you name it. We basically produce what no one else does. We survived because I gave all my time and energy to make changes, and to think of new products.'
Asked if she viewed it as an insult that players such as Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic were not treated in the same way, Serena said: 'Yeah, they're never moved across.
'Venus and I have won more Wimbledons than a lot of players, even just in doubles. I don't make it a big issue - but I think at some point I should.'
Serena, who together with Venus has won 18 titles at the All England Club, added: 'But they are not going to change what they do.
'They seem to like to put us on Court 2 for whatever reason. Maybe one day we'll figure it out. I don't know.'
Serena also sarcastically pointed out that there were other disadvantages to being on Court 2 - the furthest from the players' area.
'I never have too much time to warm up,' complained the seventh seed, back playing after a year out.
'I look at the walk over there as a kind of warm-up. I say, "OK, this gets my legs moving".'
The All England Club insisted there was no agenda against the sisters, saying: 'Scheduling is a complex business and cannot be looked at in the light of just one or two matches.
'The referees team have to ensure a balanced and fair order of play from many interests, including the spectators. What a great chance it was for the 4,000 people on Court No 2 to see our ladies champion.'
Stacey Allaster, the chairman and chief executive of the WTA Tour, said in a statement: 'Serena Williams is a four-time Wimbledon singles champion, the defending champion of Wimbledon, and a 13-time grand slam singles champion. I share her disappointment.'
And while organisers will be pleased that the rain stayed away for the day, the best weather of the fortnight is set to come on Sunday - when there is no play.
The middle of the Sunday, traditionally a rest day is only used if rain has severely disrupted the matches. And despite frequent downpours this week the schedule is unlikely to have been delayed enough to warrant the extra day being used.
British number one Elena Baltacha narrowly lost to Peng Shuai of China
THESE CHAIRS ARE ACE: THE FURNITURE MADE FROM USED TENNIS BALLS
An example of Hugh Hayden's craft
It's a handy use for all those old balls.
Artist Hugh Hayden, 27, has designed a set of furniture made out of nothing but recycled tennis balls.
The self-described 'FUNature' includes handcrafted chairs, poufs and coffee tables.
Each item takes over 18 hours of painstaking labour to complete - depending on its size - and sells for around 1,500 each.
A hole is meticulously drilled into each of the 550 indoor tennis balls needed to make a single, normal sized chair - before they are strung together with a polyester cord and glued into place.
Hugh, from Dallas, Texas, said: 'There was a tennis club near to where I live now in Brooklyn who had a shed full of old tennis balls that were deemed too flat to play with.
'I went there thinking I could bring them back on the Subway - but I ended up getting taxi from there, filling it with balls and bringing them all back to my apartment. It has just escalated from there.'
Hugh, who produced his first tennis ball chair in 2009, has since sold over 50 of the chairs in his HEX Tennis Collection.
And they have not only proved a hit with tennis fans but big-hitting players too - with Andy Roddick buying one made from balls he used at the 2009 US Open for 1,900.
The 27-year-old designer added: 'Tennis balls are hard to work with because they are quite heavy and difficult to manipulate.
'But they are naturally resilient, which allows them to form to the unique contours of the user's body.
'And they have proved popular with tennis fans because they have a relevance to them.
'I have done special commissions for both Chris Evert and Andy Roddick.
'The Roddick chair was constructed out of balls he played with at the 2009 US Open. That was then auctioned off for his foundation, which aims to teach children a healthy lifestyle through tennis.'
Explore more:
- People:
- Novak Djokovic,
- Andy Roddick,
- Simona Halep,
- Chris Evert,
- Laura Robson,
- Elena Baltacha,
- Andy Murray,
- Maria Sharapova,
- Tim Henman,
- Ivan Ljubicic,
- Serena Williams
- Places:
- London,
- China,
- Romania
- Organisations:
- Centre Court,
- All England Club
Just want to say well done to Laura today. 17 years old, ranked 250+, injuries throughout the year & she came out and gave a fantastic performance against Sharapova & she was Junior Wimbledon champion too, I think we'll see great things from her in the coming years.
- Ella, The Cotswolds, 24/6/2011 18:27
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