Jo Konta’s dream run into the semi-final and poncho man are the main focus of the international media.
Nick Bollettieri has coached 10 No.1 players, so he knows a thing or two about tennis. Here he is, writing for The Independent, about Konta’s win over Simona Halep.
“Holy mackerel!” the American said. “Holy cow! Holy smoke! If I’ve ever seen a better women’s match than Johanna Konta’s victory over Simona Halep then I’m struggling to remember it.”
“Yes, there have been matches with even greater drama on bigger occasions than a Grand Slam quarter-final, but in terms of the ball-striking and athleticism of the two players this was something else.”
Could we see a British double at the weekend? “Johanna Konta raises British fans’ hopes at Wimbledon,” said a headline in the New York Times. "We’re born waterproof here, so we’re used to this,” said one fan, who watched Konta in the rain from what the paper calls Henman Hill.
Sometimes Sam Querrey, Andy Murray’s next opponent, wished he was British instead of American. “It seems like he [Murray] is the guy over here,” the Herald, in Scotland, quoted him as saying. “If a bee stings him, everybody is going to know about it. I think his hip was probably bugging him early, but he seems to be fine now. These two weeks, it’s all about him.
“The entire country seems like they watch Wimbledon. In the US, whether it’s football, baseball, basketball, tennis, a lot of people watch, but not 100 per cent of America watches even the Super Bowl. I doubt people in LA even know what’s going on over here,” he added.
“Who are the real unsung heroes of Wimbledon?” the Daily Telegraph asked. No, it’s not the players, ball children or even Rufus the hawk. “The real unsung heroes of Wimbledon are the spectators, and a certain genre of spectators in particular. It is the supporters who sit patiently beside the outside courts even when it is pelting down with rain, getting merrily soaked for no good purpose.”
The real unsung heroes of Wimbledon are the spectators, getting merrily soaked for no good purpose
Take one spectator on No.1 Court , who was filmed by the BBC trying to put on his rain poncho: “For more than half a minute he grapples with the white sheet as if it was a task on The Krypton Factor. Is that a hood or a sleeve? Is that the front or the back?” With a bit of help from his female companion, he eventually managed to put it on.
John McEnroe wouldn’t be where he is now had Hawk-Eye been around in his era, according to the Guardian, citing a conversation between the three-time champion and BBC radio. It was after all his “You cannot be serious!” outburst to an umpire over a line call during one Wimbledon match that made him a household name. “I’d have been a 20 per cent better player, but 40 per cent less infamous,” McEnroe said about the introduction of electronic line calling.
