sport / sports
Wimbledon is the first association for many whenever talk turns to tennis, which isn’t surprising given that the tournament was first held in 1877, just two years after Major Walter Clopton Wingfield invented lawn tennis and established the sport’s rules. It was dominated by Brits for the first three decades, until Aus- tralian Norman Brookes proved victorious in 1907. When it comes to ladies, the British tradition was broken by American May Sutton in 1905. The Open Era began at Wimbledon in 1968, when the highest ranked amateurs were joined by professionals. This was genuinely ground-breaking in tennis, and the only thing not to have changed to this day is the fact that Wimbledon remains the world’s most significant tennis tournament, and the only one of the four Grand Slams to be held on grass. Strawberries and cream are also a trademark of this Grand Slam. According to historians, this tradition dates back to the start of this the world’s oldest tournament, and the few spec- tators of the 1877 tournament enjoyed these fresh fruits and sweet white cream. Nowadays, over the course of the fortnight of the tournament in London, around 28 tons of strawberries are consumed. They are picked on a daily basis, just a few hours be- fore being served to spectators. And strawberries are best accom- panied by champagne. The Wimbledon trophy has belonged to Serbia’s best player, Novak Đoković, since 2018. He celebrated victory in both 2019 and 2021, while the pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 tournament. Novak had previ- ously proved victorious in 2011, 2014 and 2015. His Wimbledon record is unbelievable: 79 victo- ries and only ten defeats. He is on a roll of 21 consecutive wins, having last tasted defeat back in 2017, when injury forced him to
počela je Open era u Vimbldonu, kada su se nabolje rangiranim amaterima pridružili profesionalci The Open Era began at Wimbledon in 1968 , when the highest ranked amateurs were joined by professionals šampionka bila Mod Votson Seven years after the Wimbledon tournament was founded, ladies also played on the grass, and it would remain recorded that the first female champion was Maud Watson 1877. 1968. Sedam godina od osnivanja Vimbldona na travi su zaigrale i dame, a ostaće upisano da je prva je prvi put odigran teniski meč, samo dve godine nakon što je major Volter Klopton izmislio beli sport i postavio njegova pravila The tournament was first held in 1877, just two years after Major Walter Clopton Wingfield invented lawn tennis and established the sport’s rules
June means Wimbledon
Two things are certain: good tennis and strawberries
The first half of the 2022 sporting year will culminate, as it should, with the world’s greatest tennis tournament, from 26 th June to 10 th July.
Zaštitni znak ovog grend slema su i neizbežne jagode sa šlagom Strawberries and cream are also a trademark of this Grand Slam
April and May. An- other major ques- tion remains over
whether we’ll see the great Rog- er Federer back on the lawns. The last match he played was at last year’s Wimbledon tournament, with the Swiss veteran battling in- juries since. He’s also stated pre- viously that he’d like his swan- song to come at the place where he’s celebrated championship vic- tory eight times. Whatever happens, there’s absolutely no doubt that we’ll enjoy top tennis once again, while fantastic English straw- berries will also be enjoyed by those who are fortunate enough to be at Wimbledon.
retire from his quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych. Count- ing only his matches since 2014, Đoković has a breath-taking re- cord: he’s celebrated victory in a total of 41 of 43 matches; he conceded to Berdych and the only player to have succeeded in beat- ing him on grass during the last eight years is Sam Querrey. That was back in 2016. And this year …? It’s difficult to predict who could lift the tro- phy in London. Đoković is three- time consecutive champion, but 2022 has been an extremely tur-
b u l e n t year for
t h e wo r l d No . 1 . Deport- ed from Australia and subsequently not
allowed to compete in ATP Masters tour- naments in the USA, in Indian Wells and Miami, he then had viral infection prob- lems of his own in
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