BRIT-FREE ZONE IS A CALAMITY
AyeaR on from the day she beat Simona Halep and electrified Wimbledon — and a TV audience of 7.4 million — to make the semi-finals, Jo konta was taking time off in London.
The physically unready andy Murray, meanwhile, turned up yesterday on the BBC’s coverage. He has one foot in the commentary box.
If you wanted to see a Brit in action at The Championships you needed to scour the outer courts for our best juniors, or a doubles survivor.
Singles hopes disappeared with kyle edmund on Saturday, and the lack of a home contender makes up one part of a double whammy for Wimbledon 2018.
The other, of course, is the World Cup, with its final converging on the same day.
The combination has had an inevitable effect, notably on socalled Manic Monday. Usually among the best days at Wimbledon, there were some great players on show, but it felt flatter than one of the marble-top croquet lawns at the all england Club.
even though this is a truly international event, the absence of a Murray, konta or edmund has been felt keenly. Nothing peps up the atmosphere like a British hopeful.
Wimbledon can hardly be blamed for the unexpectedly stellar showing of Gareth Southgate’s men in Russia. Nor can there be many arguments about the sense of the extended threeweek gap between this and the French Open, which has caused the clash of finals.
However, the all england Club could do more to nurture the presence of a home challenge in the latter stages, something which would have been more valuable than ever this year.
It comes down to the complex, somewhat dysfunctional, relationship between Wimbledon and governing body the Lawn Tennis association.
The LTa are annually given the surplus from the running of The Championships to use for the betterment of the British game. However, very few people are aware that in the past 20 years this funding has, in real terms, been roughly halved.
In 1998 the sum handed over was £33.078million, while last year it was £33.678m. Still a handsome sum, but much reduced when inflation is considered.
This is despite growing revenues from The Championships, which has robustly maximised its commercial worth in the past 10 years.
Unlike the other three Grand Slams, Wimbledon is a separate entity from the governing body, and does not always act in concert.
Wildcards are a high-profile example of this. The LTa gave Dan evans help with entries into their events, while Wimbledon did not. Naomi Broady was again given one for the main draw, despite her continuing refusal to play for GB in the Fed Cup.
One of the most pressing items for LTa chief executive Scott Lloyd is to try to negotiate a more co-ordinated relationship. Wimbledon’s headache, when it comes to allocating its wealth, is that more space and larger stadiums are desperately needed.
In the long term, the all england Club want the land from nearby Wimbledon Park Golf Club, but its acquisition and development will be expensive.
at the same time, the overshadowing effect of england’s World Cup success should focus minds on the need for a collective effort to help British tennis grow and to produce more elite players.
In the meantime, Wimbledon has to accept a distant second billing with senior figures at SW19 adamant that there will be no rescheduling of the men’s final from 2pm, even if Southgate’s team make it to the 4pm final.
a similar clash could occur in 2020 when Wembley hosts the final of the euros on July 12, the same day as the men’s singles final, albeit at 8pm.
Regardless, everyone will gain if there are more British players providing a counter-attraction.