Amorous ants, Jo Konta’s epic tussle with Donna Vekic and the departure of two-time winner Petra Kvitova take centre stage in the world’s media.
“Amorous ants invade Wimbledon, flying onto courts, bags and players,” headlined The New York Times referring to an infestation of the flying bugs that made life tough for players and spectators at Wimbledon on the hottest day of the tournament so far.
“On what is colloquially known as “Flying Ant Day”- the stage in the creature’s reproductive phase when they leave their colony and start a new one elsewhere - large numbers descended on SW19,” explained the British newspaper The Daily Telegraph.
But there is a point to all this, the paper went on. “Ants tend to fly on the same few days of the year across the country,” a spokesman of conservation group Buglife told the paper. “It is presumably to increase the chances of mixing gene pools by ants from different nests meeting. Generally the weather is warm and humid on the days they fly.”
Konta’s three-hour, 10-minute win over Vekic was hailed as the best match of the tournament so far by most papers.
“This was high-quality fare and a superb advert for the sometimes unfairly maligned women’s game,” The Guardian wrote. “This was magnificent, an epic that not only launched her into Wimbledon's third round for the first time but one that might just win over the natives as well,” said The Daily Mail.
This was high-quality fare and a superb advert for the sometimes unfairly maligned women’s game
“Petra Kvitova’s dream dashed,” headlined The Independent after the two-time winner and title favourite struggled physically in a three-set defeat to Madison Brengle of the US.
But the Czech’s mere presence at Wimbledon, only seven months after a knife attack at her home, was “a triumph of personal courage,” the paper added.
An in-depth report in German newspaper Die Welt on women’s top seed Angelique Kerber revealed the world No.1 has come to Wimbledon with an entourage of no less than 14 people, including her mother.
They all share a house near the grounds. Although Kerber hasn’t had a good season, she is still enjoying life at the top of the game. “It is definitely easier to stay No.1 than to become No.1,” she said.
