On the flip-side, it was scenes of ecstasy and euphoria for Novak Djokovic, winning his first Wimbledon title. And although at the time I wasn't quite able to feel happy for him (I tend to be a sore loser when Nadal loses), reading about the reaction his win had in Serbia, and what it meant to him and his country-men (and women!), I can now congratulate him on his win. He was by far the better player on the day (as much as it guts me to say that).
But, I should start at the beginning! Last Sunday, 3rd July, was the men's singles' final at Wimbledon. Eager to simply get into the grounds (no tickets for Centre Court are sold for the last four days of the tournament), I got up ridiculously early (5.30AM), caught at taxi to SW19 and arrived about 1o to six AM. And was 3oo-and-something in the queue. Hmmm..... perhaps needn't have gotten up so early? Anyways, over the next four hours I chatted to the lovely Sri Lankan family next to me in the queue - the parents used to queue back in the 70s, read my book, and tried to catch-up on some sleep.
Upon entering the grounds a little after ten, I fuelled up with some supplies and sat myself down on Murray Mound - and didn't move until the umpire called 'Game, Set, Match'. I was surrounded by a bunch of lovely women - the lady in front of me was, from all places, New Zealand! And she shared her Jubes with me. I think I really didn't need the sugar :P She was supporting Nadal, as was one of the girls to my left (her friends were backing Djokovic).
Although it is something to be on the show courts, and it would have been amazing to have said I had sat on Centre Court for the men's final, there is something about sitting in a crowd of people on Murray Mound. I think it's something to do with the fact that you can really get into it and let your emotions show - yell, scream, chant, at any moment, not just at the end of a point or during a sit-down. I was thoroughly entertained by the people (including myself at times), yelling at others in front to "SIT DOWN", and by the large group of Serbian men yelling 'Nole, Nole' (countered by about four girls yelling 'Rafa, Rafa' - they applauded our efforts!).
However, in the end, Djokovic was too good. Reminding us all why he's only lost one match this year and why he is now, deservedly, the No.1 men's player in the world. He bet Nadal 6-4, 6-1, 1-6 (Nadal's fight-back, in the third, although short-lived in the scheme of the match, was amazing to watch), 6-3.
And so, another year of Wimbledon has come to a close. Who knows, perhaps next year I'll get to cover a bit of it!
