Worked in the morning and then got everything sorted before setting off around 11.00am. We were about half an hour later than planned because Tash had gone to her mum’s for some reason, but anyway, we made good time and parked without any problems about 40 minutes’ walk from the ground. Tash drove so I could work in the car, which worked perfectly as I literally stopped working as we arrived.
The walk through Wimbledon was enjoyable. It’s a really nice place and, unsurprisingly, they absolutely milk the tennis fortnight with advertising everywhere for pretty much anything and everything with the most tenuous links to the tennis!
No problems getting our picnic through security, so we made our way around the grounds and took advantage of some of the Amex offers that were dotted around. Had a drink in one of the rooftop bars and collected a load of completely useless freebie tat, but it was all part of the fun!
After a while, we made our way through the crowds to Number 1 Court and settled in for the first match. We were watching the English girl Harriet Dart, who was playing as a wildcard, and it turned into a really entertaining game. She gave it a good go, and it was great to watch, although sadly she eventually lost.
Once that match finished, quite a few people filtered out, so we stayed where we were and ate some of our picnic and had a few drinks while waiting for the men’s match between Cilic and Medvedev. I was quite looking forward to this one, but it turned out to be incredibly one-sided and was over in about 90 minutes, with Medvedev absolutely wiping the floor with him 3-0!
We left Number 1 Court and found a decent spot on Henman Hill, so we finished off the food and drinks while relaxing and watching the big screen. It was nice just sitting there for a while, taking everything in.
Eventually, we got a bit bored and decided it was time to move on, so we slowly wandered out, taking in more of the shops, tennis and general atmosphere before making a proper exit.
The walk back to the car was fine, the car was where we'd left it, and we had an easy drive home. Watched a bit of football when we got back and then headed off to bed.
End of day summary
A really enjoyable day. Wimbledon is a lot of money for what it is, but there’s something about actually being there that makes it worth doing. The atmosphere, the crowds, the courts, Henman Hill, and just wandering around the whole place make it a proper experience rather than simply watching tennis.
The weather was good, the tennis was entertaining (even if Medvedev made short work of Cilic!) and we had a lovely relaxed day together. Definitely glad we went.
