KIDS WANT THE WORLD THESE DAYS
Wimbledon’s the best. I love to spend time with the fans... but please don’t make me choose between my boys
You’d think the Wimbledon schedulers would have worked it out by now.
For the past 16 years I’ve been travelling to London’s SW19 for the world’s biggest tennis tournament.
And nearly every year I face the same dilemma.
Jamie or Andy?
There is almost always one day of the Championships where the boys’ matches are on at the same time. And that gives me a bit of a headache.
You’d think someone would notice that the two surnames are the same, and deduce the two players might be related!
I bet the parents of Serena and Venus Williams have faced the same dilemma many times too.
Wimbledon is pretty vast and the crowds are huge. That makes it impossible to get from court to court quickly so I’ve created a strategy so no one thinks I’m playing favourites.
I go to whoever’s match starts first – and when that finishes, I’ll head to the other’s. Andy and Jamie have been going to Wimbledon since they first got into the Junior event in 2002, so I’m a bit of a grass court veteran now.
I used to watch a lot of tennis when I was there – especially when I was captain of the Fed Cup team. Then I would be watching the British women and scouting their opponents. But nowadays I’m more than a bit saturated with tennis so it’s only my boys I’ll go to watch.
I keep myself busy with work in the mornings. I enjoy taking part in tennis clinics for kids and fans on the mini pop- up court opposite the All England club. I usually do these with former British No 1 Tim Henman, or Goran Ivanisevic, Wimbledon champ in 2001. I even did one with Anton du Beke last year which was hilarious. It’s great fun and I love it!
If I’ve got some free time in the afternoons I stay away from the courts.
I’ll go for a run on Wimbledon Common or sit in the garden with a good book but in the evenings I’ll try to go for dinner with friends. It’s impossible to plan too far ahead because you don’t find out the schedule for the next day until around 6pm.
Wimbledon Village has a couple of restaurants I’m looking forward to visiting once again – The Ivy and the Thai Tho.
The village has a real party atmosphere during the tournament. Hanging out there is one of the things I’m most looking forward to this week.
That, and the strawberries and cream!