Wimbledon: Centre Court, No. 1 Court Now 100 Percent Capacity

Wimbledon
Wimbledon, Centre Court (photo: Wimbledon video)

LONDON/WASHINGTON, July 5, 2021 (by Michael Dickens)

On Middle Sunday, a day of rest at the Wimbledon Championships, the All England Club announced that beginning Monday and continuing through the rest of the fortnight Centre Court and No. 1 Court will feature 100 percent capacity crowds.

“Following the successful staging of the first week of The Championships, as agreed with the Government’s Events Research Programme and in consultation with our Local Authority in Merton, the AELTC is pleased to confirm that Centre and No. 1 Court will feature 100% capacity crowds for the Quarter-Finals, with Centre Court also at 100% for the Semi-Finals and Finals,” a statement on the Wimbledon website said.

Wimbledon marks the first full outdoor stadiums at a sporting event in the UK since the pandemic began. The capacity of Centre Court is 14,979, while the capacity of No. 1 Court is 12,345. Capacity across the rest of the All England Club grounds will be reduced according to the number of courts in play.

Alexander Zverev: Experience during second week of major is key

During the post-match press conference that followed his 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 31 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States on Saturday, No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev was asked how important experience was in the second week of a major and how confidence relates to reaching the final of a Grand Slam.

“I think it’s very important,” Zverev said. “I think that’s why the Big Three have been so dominant at Grand Slams. I think the young guys now this year have been quite dominant at the Masters and other events. But still, at the Slams, Novak has come through both in Australia and Roland-Garros.

“I think experience plays a big part. I think know how to manage your time, knowing how to manage your matches, is a big part of it. It was something that I needed to learn in the beginning of my career. I remember when a lot of people were criticizing me for this guy that was playing extremely well at big tournaments, but never at Slams.

“I hope I kind of changed my position on that a little bit. But, of course, the main goal is still to win them. I think a lot of guys are still very hungry, a lot of guys are still very passionate. I think a lot of people are looking forward to the second week, a lot of people are looking forward to playing the best, which obviously, of course, includes Novak and other guys as well.”

Zverev will play No. 16 seed Felix Auger-Aliassime Monday afternoon in the fourth round on No. 1 Court.

Ashleigh Barty: Excited to be in another second week of a Grand Slam

As women’s No. 1 seed Ashleigh Barty readies to play French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova, the No. 14 seed from the Czech Republic, in Monday’s fourth round, the affable Aussie talked on Saturday after her third-round victory over Katerina Siniakova about the excitement of playing in the second week of a major.

“Yeah, another second week of a Slam. It’s always exciting. I feel like the consistency for me over the last couple of years, two years, not including 2020, has been good. It’s been nice to be putting myself deeper into these tournaments at the Slams,” Barty said.

“On Monday, it will be no different. It’s a new challenge against Barbora, who’s obviously played some exceptional tennis over the last couple months. Another challenge I look forward to. Nice to be able to put myself in this position again to try to go that one step further.”

Three unseeded men, four unseeded women make second week

As the second week of this year’s Wimbledon Championships begin on Monday, both men’s and women’s top seeds – Novak Djokovic and Ashleigh Barty – remain in contention for the year’s third major title. There are also three unseeded men and four unseeded women still alive in their respective draws.

On the men’s side, there’s Marton Fucsovics of Hungary, Sebastian Korda of the United States and Ilya Ivashka of Belarus.

On the women’s side, there’s Emma Raducanu of Great Britain, Ajla Tomljanovic of Australia, Liudmila Samsonova of Russia and Viktorija Golubic of Switzerland.

Monday’s Wimbledon order of play

Sinner to skip Summer Olympics

On a day that Italian men were making Wimbledon history by placing two – Matteo Berrettini and Lorenzo Sonego – into the second week of the gentlemen’s singles, another Italian, Jannik Sinner, announced he would not compete in this summer’s Tokyo Olympic Games.

Sinner posted on his Instagram platform: “By no means do I take this decision lightly, but I decided not to compete in the Olympics this year. I understand it’s a huge privilege and honor to represent my country and I truly hope to do so for many years to come. …”

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jannik Sinner (@janniksin)

The World No. 23 Sinner, who lost in the opening round of Wimbledon to Marton Fucsovics, said the reasoning behind his withdrawal is because he hasn’t “performed to the best of my ability in the last couple of tournaments and I need to focus on my development as a player. I need to take this time to work on my all-around game. My goal is to be a better player on and off the court and I will never sacrifice putting the work in to do so.”

Former Italian Davis Cup captain Corrado Barazzutti criticized Sinner’s decision.“Players usually skip Olympics only if they’re injured. Djokovic is 34 years old and is looking forward to play in Tokyo. Jannik is 20 and already refused to play the Davis Cup twice and now the Games,” he said.

The same week as the Olympic Games tournament, Sinner is on the entry list for the ATP 250 hard court event in Atlanta.

By the numbers

“Quotable …”

“I think it will be really an interesting match. I mean, I never played against her before. Yeah, I mean, she’s a newcomer. She played already so many good matches. She beat top players. She’s really dangerous, especially on [a] grass court.

“I see the fire on her, as well. She’s really putting all the effort she has in every single match. So, I know that it will be [a] tough match.”

– Angelique Kerber, the only former Wimbledon finalist still left in the women’s singles draw on playing Coco Gauff in the fourth round on Monday.

What they’re writing

• Liz Clarke, Washington Post national sports features writer, on “25 years later, Wimbledon awaits a black male finalist”:

• Christopher Clarey, New York Times tennis correspondent, on “To Get Better at Being Single, Coco Gauff is Making it a Double”:

What they’re sharing on social media

Roger Federer / Final Middle Sunday thoughts

 

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