Amongst the delight of getting such a passionate crowd into Centre Court for the third ‘People’s Sunday’, a few words of warning:<br /><br />- Number 1 court was only about 1/3 full, despite the billing of Capriati and Roddick/Dent. Roddick is number 2 in the world and the US Open champion, for heaven’s sake. Where were the fans? Either the price for tickets (�35 for centre, �30 for #1) was too high, or people really are just interested in Henman. Which is a surprise – the first people’s Sunday in 1991 was a sell-out to see Connors and Sabatini, plus #1 court was also packed. So what if Henman hadn’t been playing? Hmm.<br /><br />- Cheering and flag-waving and chanting at the change of ends is fine. But one or two “fans” went over the top. Best example was during the last game of the match, when Henman hit a defensive lob. Arazi had a long time to think about his smash, and the crowd were silent. Then one idiot yells out “CHOKE” just as he hits the ball. Predictably, it goes in the net. Perhaps he would have missed anyway. But it was very ugly. Another crowd member kept screaming during the rallies for seemingly no reason. Shame. Stewards ejected one or two of the worst offenders, but people should have a bit more respect for the players.<br /><br />On a brighter note, there were almost no mobile phones going off. Seems that the corporate crowd can’t find the ‘slient’ mode like the rest of us.
Leave a Reply