Wimbledon fans get on the Pimms after queuing for TWO DAYS to get into tennis tournament
TENNIS fans have got on the Pimm’s today after queuing for two days to get into Wimbledon.
Eager people waited in line for 48 hours for the gates to open – with one keen man getting to the queue in Wimbledon Park at 5.30am on Saturday.
Stuart Bere has managed to be first in line three times since 2011, this year beating second-place father and son team Neil and Shaun.
They set off from their home in Barry, near Cardiff, at midnight on Friday.
Neil said: “As the years have gone by, because we’ve made some good friends here, we see it as a week’s holiday.
“It’s almost now that a large part of it is catching up with friends.”
The temperature remains high today for the first day of the tournament, with a ball boy fainting in the sun on Court 12 earlier today.
More than 3,30,000 glasses of Pimm’s are expected to be sold in the next two weeks – eclipsing the amount of champagne and lager quaffed combined.
Twins Sue and Helen Love, 55, originally from Scotland, brought books, cards and even a portable DVD player to keep themselves amused in the queue since Saturday.
“Everybody is in good spirits, I think because of the weather,” said Sue.
The pair, heading to Number 2 Court to watch up-and-coming Greek player Stefanos Tsitsipas, are also big Andy Murray fans.
Helen Love said: “I don’t think he will make it back as a singles player, but he’s enjoying himself which is the main thing.”
Hibiki Manai, 25, from Okinawa in Japan, camped for two nights with his friend Sora Arathoon, 25, a British Japanese student in Belgium.
“To be honest, it’s not comfortable for me, but I think it’s a very good experience for me,” Mr Manai admitted.
Mr Arathoon, returning for his fourth year, said Wimbledon represented a “dream place” for tennis fans around the world.
Last year, a total of 473,169 people attended Wimbledon across the 13 days of the tournament.
The competition has kicked off today with Novak Djokovic beginning the defence of his men’s singles title on Centre Court at 1pm.
And Heather Watson has already stormed through for the Brits and took the first set of her opener against Caty McNally, saving two set points before clinching it 7-6 (3).
People certainly need sun cream, plenty of water, hats and sunglasses
Met Office
Meteorologist Marco Petagna said of the weather today: “[It] is a dry day with some cloud bubbling up through the day – so fairly sunny first thing and turning hazier with sunny spells.
“There will be a much fresher feel… with a high of 22C – which is about where it should be for the time of year.”
Mr Petagna said temperatures “will warm up a little bit through the week” – up to around 25C – with sunny spells and some cloud each day, and “fairly clear skies” by Thursday.
“Pretty good for playing I would have thought – gentle winds,” he added.
But, he warned that pollen counts would be “generally very high for the next few days”, and that meant UV levels would also be high.
“People certainly need sun cream, plenty of water, hats and sunglasses,” he added.
Wimbledon remains one of the only major sporting events in the UK that still sells tickets on the day of play.
All you have to do is get down to the All England Club and, in true British style, get in the queue.
A limited number of tickets are available daily for Centre Court, No.1 Court and No.2 Court – except for the last four days on Centre Court, when all are sold in advance.
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Each day there are also several thousand ground passes available.
The All England Club is set to host the annual grass-court Slam as World No1 Novak Djokovic aims to win a fifth title.
After a fortnight of competition, things ends with the men’s final on Sunday, July 14.
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