Tennis: Quiet, Please! Wimbledon preview

The first ever Wimbledon, contested in 1877, featured a line-up of 22 competitors. In those days, British tennis players usually won - but then again, the entire draw was made up of players from the United Kingdom. Two hundred spectators attended and a ticket for the final cost 1 shilling. Spencer Gore won the final in straight sets.

Last year, those lucky enough to receive an offer to purchase from the ballot had to fork out £104 for the cheapest seat at Centre Court.

Fast forward to the 125th Wimbledon Championships. The women's draw this year is wide open. The Williams sisters have won 9 out of the last 11 championships, but come into the tournament lacking match fitness. Maria Sharapova could be one to watch, or Li Na might fancy her chances following her brilliant run at Roland Garros. Marina Erakovic will fly the flag for New Zealand.

With all the talk of a John Isner and Nicolas Mahut rematch this week - the American won 6-4, 3-6, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (3), 70-68 in 11 hours and 5 minutes - it's easy to overlook the important Wimbledon stats:

- Last year 31,360kgs of strawberries were used over the fortnight.
- 18,000 Yellow Mini Tennis Ball Keyrings were sold at the Wimbledon merchandise shop in 2010.
- On average 300,000 cups of tea and coffee are served each year.
- More than 65kms of racket strings are fitted to 2000 rackets over the course of the Championships.

The focus for the men's draw will be on the top four seeds: Rafa, Roger, Andy and Novak. But expect Andy Roddick to provide high-quality entertainment... from his phone. Keep an eye out for tweets like this one from last year: "met the queen of england today... she said she loved me in the american pie movies."

Novak Djokovic told 'journalist' Caroline Wozniacki at a press conference this week how he plans to bounce back after his 43-match winning run came to an end.

"You know what? I will try to look up to some women players who have been so consistent with their wins, for example like Caroline Wozniacki."

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- HERALD ONLINE