- Title: UK: WIMBLEDON 2002 PREVIEW.
- Date: 20th June 2002
- Summary: WIMBLEDON, UK 1. WIDE SHOT TENNIS COURTS GREENKEEPER'S MOVING TENNIS COURTS 2. WIMBLEDON TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS SIGN ON BUILDING 3. CENTRE COURT ENTRANCE 4. SIGN POSTS OUTSIDE CENTRE COURT 5. NUMBER ONE COURT 6. WIMBLEDON 2002 FLORAL ARRANGEMENT 7. FLOWERS IN BLOOM ON THE REFEREES BALCONY 8. FRED PERRY STATUE 9. SOUNDBITE (English) WIMBLEDON'S TOURNAMENT REFEREE ALAN MILLS SAYING: "It's the tournament that most players would like to win, they all seem to come back, especially a certain type of players seem to come back. We're having a little bit of difficulty at the moment with what I call the clay court players. Some of the top clay court players, who sadly feel that they can't play on grass, which I think is wrong because these courts now are so hard that they can play their normal game and still come up with the good results". 10. ANDRE AGASSI PLAYING A PRACTISE MATCH 11. SOUNDBITE (English) ALAN MILLS SAYING: "We have a formula here which actually rewards grass court performances over the previous years and because they either hadn't played or hadn't done too well they actually dropped down in the seedings, obviously they didn't like that. Now we have agreed this definite formula and we thought that was alright, but all of a sudden something like 7 or 8 (clay court players) have withdrawn for various reasons - but no of them citing anything to do with the tournament itself." 12. TIM HENMAN PRACTISES HIS SERVE 13. SOUNDBITE (English) ALAN MILLS SAYING "Well I think this year it's probably as open as it's ever been. Yes certainly Tim is one of a group of 6, 7, or eight players who are definitely in with a very good chance of winning". 14. VENUS & SERENA WILLIAMS WALKING AWAY FROM THE PRACTICE COURTS IN AORANGI PARK 15. SOUNDBITE (English) ALAN MILLS SAYING: "Well that's what it's looking like at the moment. I mean the way they played in Paris, let's face it, they're two very powerful young ladies. On a grass court as well with those fearsome serves that they both have, it's going to be very difficult to stop them. Having said that, Jennifer Capriati always play reasonably well here, Monica Seles is back to her old fighting form. Again, on a particular day I think that anything can happen". 16. FENCES AROUND THE COURT BEING PAINTED 17. LAWNS BEING MOWED 18. WHITE LINES BEING PAINTED ON THE LAWN 19. SOUNDBITE (English) HEAD GROUNDSMAN EDDIE SEAWARD SAYING "It wasn't too good until a couple of weeks ago when it started to change. We started to cover the courts a little bit earlier than we would normally do just to dry them out. Then, thankfully, we had a few hot, sunny days and now they're very, very dry. Apart from that it's been OK, the rain was a little bit of a nuisance because we just couldn't work on the courts for a days, but nothing more than that". 20. MORE COURTS BEING MOWED 21. SIGN FOR AORANGI PAVILION 22. VARIOUS SHOTS OF ANDRE AGASSI PRACTISING 23. VARIOUS OF TIM HENMAN PRACTISING 24. VARIOUS OF YEVGENY KAFELNIKOV PRACTISING 25. VENUS & SERENA WILLIAMS CHATTING ON THE PRACTISE COURTS 26. SERENA WILLIAMS PRACTISING 27. WIDE OF PLAYERS LEAVING THE COURTS Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 5th July 2002 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM
- City:
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVABG12X7T6ZI7ERAMPCEIZP0NWT
- Story Text: The lawns are mowed to perfection and the white lines
are in place, Wimbledon 2002 is about to begin.
The incessant hum of a lawnmower can be heard in SW19,
this can mean only one thing: the final preparations for the
most prestigious event in the tennis calendar are being
carried out.
As the third Grand Slam of the tennis season, Wimbledon
attracts the world's top players and an enthusiastic crowd.
"It's the tournament that most players would like to win,
they all seem to come back, especially a certain type of
players seem to come back. We're having a little bit of
difficulty at the moment with what I call the clay court
players. Some of the top clay court players, who sadly feel
that they can't play on grass, which I think is wrong because
these courts now are so hard that they can play their normal
game and still come up with the good results".
Although many players relish the opportunity of returning to
tennis' grass roots, some have been quick to criticise the
seeding system used at Wimbledon.
"We have a formula here which actually rewards grass court
performances over the previous years and because they either
hadn't played or hadn't done too well they actually dropped
down in the seedings, obviously they didn't like that. Now we
have agreed this definite formula and we thought that was
alright, but all of a sudden something like 7 or 8 (clay court
players) have withdrawn for various reasons - but no of them
citing anything to do with the tournament itself."
Spain's Alex Corretja and Albert Costa withdrew on the eve
of Wimbledon 2000 claiming it was unfair they had not been
seeded. They thought that their success on other surfaces over
the previous 12 months should qualify them as Wimbledon seeds.
In 2001 Corretja was at the fore of a pressure group of top
players which helped to introduce the changes to the Grand
Slam seeding system.
This year's tournament has seen an incredible number of
withdrawals from some of the top players in the ATP. Amongst
the illustrious role call are Gustavo Kuerten, Tommy Haas,
Sebastien Grosjean, and reigning champion Goran Ivanisevic of
Croatia. This leaves the tournament more open that it has been
for years.
Single-handedly carrying the hopes of a nation, Britain's
Tim Henman heads into Wimbledon stronger, fitter and bursting
with confidence as he bids to become the first home-grown
men's champion in 66 years.
The last time a British man held aloft the All England
Club trophy was in 1936 when Fred Perry donned his long white
flannels, slicked back his Brylcreemed hair and wielded his
heavy, wooden racket with power and authority to annihilate
Gottfried von Cramm 6-1 6-1 6-0 in the final.
Alan Mills concurred that: "Well I think this year it's
probably as open as it's ever been. Yes certainly Tim is one
of a group of 6, 7, or 8 players who are definitely in with a
very good chance of winning".
As the tournament begins, Venus and Serena Williams sit at
either end of the women's draw, ranked one and two in the
world. Whilst Serena beat her elder sister in the final of the
French Open in Paris two weeks ago, Venus is the star of the
show when they step on to the Wimbledon stage. Should she win
the tournament this year, Venus would become the first player
since Steffi Graf in 1993 to complete three wins in a row.
Alan Mills seems to think that she's more than capable of
achieving her goal to win, though he doesn't rule out the
other serious contenders for the women's crown:
"Well that's what it's looking like at the moment. I mean
the way they played in Paris - let's face it, they're two very
powerful young ladies. On a grass court as well with those
fearsome serves that they both have, it's going to be very
difficult to stop them. Having said that, Jennifer Capriati
always play reasonably well here, Monica Seles is back to her
old fighting form. Again, on a particular day I think that
anything can happen".
The same could be said of the notoriously unpredictable
British weather. Every year the Wimbledon ground staff work
hard to ensure that the lawns are manicured to prefection in
time for the tournament.
Head Groundsman, Eddie Seaward comfirmed that the task is
always complicated by the inclement climate:
"It wasn't too good until a couple of weeks ago when it
started to change. We started to cover the courts a little bit
earlier than we would normally do just to dry them out. Then,
thankfully, we had a few hot, sunny days and now they're very,
very dry. Apart from that it's been OK, the rain was a little
bit of a nuisance because we just couldn't work on the courts
for a days, but nothing more than that".
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