COURT REPORT
BYE BYE, BENOIT
BENOIT PAIRE caused a bit of a stir following his first-round defeat on Tuesday when he told French newspaper L’Equipe that he hated Wimbledon and that the atmosphere ‘displeases me greatly’. The Frenchman will be delighted, then, that he was also beaten in the first round of the men’s doubles yesterday when partnering Poland’s Tomasz Bednarek.
MARTINA’S GUY
RICHARD KRAJICEK talked on BBC Radio 5 Live about the recent engagement of his half-sister Michaella to German doubles expert Martin Emmrich. Listeners may have been surprised to hear Martina Navratilova (above) reveal that she used to go out with Emmrich’s dad Tomas in the 1970s — before becoming one of sport’s first openly gay figures when she came out in 1981.
DOUBLES DELIGHT
THE Wimbledon mixed doubles is the most prestigious of all the Grand Slams, featuring a 48-pair draw compared to 32 at the other three majors. Former Wimbledon champion Martina Hingis (right) was undoubtedly the showpiece name in the draw which was made yesterday, the 33-year-old teaming up with Brazilian Bruno Soares.
LET’S BE FRANK
AN iPad-wielding employee was spotted at the Aorangi Park practice courts quizzing players to gauge how they are finding the facilities. Players are usually complimentary about their experience at SW19, although it would be interesting to find out the answers of Frank Dancevic (above) after he blasted the facilities in qualifying at Roehampton in a Facebook rant last week.
STOPOVER FUN…
WHAT better way to spend a few hours in London than here? On his way home from the World Cup, where he had watched Japan v Greece and Chile v Spain, one Japanese man headed to the All England Club. He spent much of his day in a queue, eventually getting into the grounds around 2pm, before continuing his journey home in the evening.
MURRAY TARGET
FORMER mixed doubles champion Jamie Murray may have entered the event with Australia’s Casey Dellacqua this year but his focus is on the men’s doubles. Murray (right), after teaming up with Aussie John Peers to beat Dan Evans and James Ward yesterday, said: ‘I’d rather do well in the men’s doubles. Mixed is there to play and try to win, what happens, happens.’
A REPORTER? NA…
LI NA may be the second seed here, but at 32 she is entering the twilight of her career and has already considered what she will do when she hangs up her racket. The Chinese player (right) has a degree in journalism, but don’t expect to see her asking rather than answering the questions. She said: ‘For my dream after I retire, I want to be a housewife.’