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The walk from the Competitors’ Dressing Room to the doorway to Centre Court takes two and a half minutes.
“It is the same walk every day of the Championships, and it is always very exciting to do that walk with the players before a match, but it is a different walk today,” says Dan Bloxham. “However relaxed we try to make it, there is a totally unique atmosphere.”
The Master of Ceremonies was anticipating his role in escorting Andy Murray and Milos Raonic through the corridors of the All England Clubhouse, past photographs of previous champions, down the stairs within glancing range of the trophies and the Winners’ Board, to the point where they pause for precisely 20 seconds before strolling out on the dot of 2pm to engage in the battle to claim the 130th Gentlemen’s Singles crown in Wimbledon history.
The cameo is familiar to millions of television viewers. Dan describes it as “the most exciting walk a player will have into a tennis venue”.
To capture every last minute of the countdown towards the gladiatorial contest, a cameraman walks backwards in front of the posse, every step of the way. “We are filmed all the way on Steadicam.
I am aware 150 million are watching, but my pulse rate now is normal compared to the first few years I performed this duty. The camera is about two feet from my nose, and the players are two feet from each other. There is not much banter!”
However relaxed we try to make it, there is a totally unique atmosphere
Like Lorrayne Gracie, who is the Master of Ceremonies for the Ladies, Dan is an All England Club member. As such, their role is to be the friendly face who invites the players to come and play on Centre Court.
“We bridge the gap between the Championships’ Referee and the players. We try to make them as comfortable as possible. We are faces they recognise. Today I am in my suit, with Club tie and badge, but throughout the Fortnight I wear my tennis kit for as long as I can. I keep them updated on the weather, and whether or not the roof is likely to be used. They often ask if they should bow towards the Royal Box.”
On the days of the finals, Lorrayne and Dan are responsible for getting the players to the Court on time.
Players used to spend the last minutes in the dressing room, but now they are to be found in different parts of the Competitors’ Warm-up facilities.
We try to make them as comfortable as possible. We are faces they recognise
“I have to time it so that I signal to both players to come up to the dressing room. There is a lot of taping of fingers, tightening of shoelaces, putting on bandanas. No fuss or panic. They collect their bags, and then go!
"We walk past the Royal Box, the history as told in the photographs on the walls. The walk through the heritage is a bit of a fairytale. The dream is to walk out at exactly the moment the Rolex clock ticks over on to 2pm. I emphasise punctuality beforehand. I sell the idea of British eccentricity: it is a Club tradition to start matches on time.”
When the match starts, Lorrayne and Dan sit in their office, just behind the screen under the Royal Box, ready to escort a player if they want to take a toilet break. Inside their office is a small round table, covered in a Union flag, ready to be carried out at the match’s conclusion to support the winner’s trophy, the runner-up’s trophy and the umpire’s medal.
“During the award ceremony, we stand by the umpire’s chair to watch the proceedings and keep an eye on the trophy. Today Lorrayne will take the runner up back to the dressing room, and I will take the winner with Richard Lewis, AELTC Chief Executive, up to the balcony, and take the trophy into the engravers. “
The role is repeated with the mixed doubles’ final, though the prize-giving is staged not on court, but up in the Royal Box. The atmosphere is fantastic up there, but there is only one winner and one loser. Sometimes players can be upset to have lost the battle. There’s a lot of emotion. At all times, we aim to be warm and friendly but not encroach on their personal space.”
