I woke up, alive and refreshed from the worries and trials of the past few days. I went on a brief run in the morning, had some breakfast, and then gathered my stuff for the day ahead.
It was time for more Wimbledon!!!
Thanks to Darci, I was able to find out who I would be seeing in today's centre court matches. The matches featured:
Serena Williams (USA) vs. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
In other words: SOLID.
I got my travel card, my ticket, and my new camera and ventured off toward the metro station. I took the same Victoria to District line switch and made it to the village with about an hour to spare. I walked the same path and saw the same sights, but I took more pictures because of the camera that was now lost. I checked through security and made it back to the same, great area that captivated and inspired me just four days prior. Before entering the court, I scouted the area for food. I bought a British Banger (a sausage wrapped in bread) and a vegetable pastry. As I entered, one of the volunteers stopped me at the last minute to check my ticket. He told me that he though I was a player at first. I asked him which player he thought I looked like, and he said Roger Federer. I took that as a great compliment.
I took my seat (a little closer this time) just three games into the match. Serena was winning 2 to 1 in the first set. Darci was sitting in the row right across from me. For the next hour or so, we watched Serena put on an absolute CLINIC. Since leading 2 to 1, she completely overwhelmed Vera in every way possible. I did not see her lose a single game. The final score was 6-1 6-0. Poor Vera looked so defeated and emotional out there. During timeouts, she would cover her face with her towel. She would throw her racked against the ground about fifteen times before the match ended. I almost thought the line judge was going to disqualify her. After Serena's match, we had a little delay before the next match so the court could open its roof (it was raining earlier). Once it opened, Djokovic and Hewitt came out to warm up. However, in the middle of the second game, with Djokovic up 1-0 and Hewitt leading 40-30, it started to rain again. Darci and I facepalmed, wondering why they bothered to open the roof in the first place. After about 30 minutes of delay, the match began once again. Hewitt managed to break Novak early and win the first set. For being well past his prime, he was playing some inspired tennis against the world Number 2. In set two (Darci had left around this time to get some food), Djokovic's two breaks outweighed Hewitt's break to win the set 7-5. In the third set, Hewitt was clearly gassed. Djokovic raised his level and pulled away from the Australian, 4-6 7-5 6-1. I loved the support that Hewitt received throughout the match. There were many chants of "Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy!" erupting throughout the arena. He got a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the building.
Next up was Murray against Baghdatis. The arena was (finally starting to reach capacity, as spectators poured in from left and right to see Great Britain's great hope in tennis. Andy started off slowly, losing his first two games and then losing three straight after taking a 3-2 lead in the set. He lost the first set 6-4. In the second set, Murray raised his game to another level. After he got an early break of Marcos' serve, I decided to take a quick bathroom break and grab a snack. I ate a British ice cream cone with "exploding" candy inside. Delicious! I returned to my seat to find that the third set had already begun. Andy won the second set 6-1. He got an early break, but had to hold off Baghdatis every step of the way to finally win the match (4-6 6-1 6-4). In just five days, I had managed to see Serena Williams and three of the top four men's players in the world all win matches. I had an amazing experience at Wimbledon and I wish to return someday for the actual Wimbledon tournament. Before I left, I took a couple of last-second pictures, including some of former women's Number 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who was making her way onto the court to play a late match. Definitely not losing these...
After a long metro trip, I made it back to the King's Cross area, tired from all of my adventures. I went to a fancy restaurant down the street, called Casa Mamma's, and increased my low energy supply with some much-needed carbohydrates. Thank the Lord for Italian food! I returned to the hostel afterward to blog a bit when Laura passed by and told me that she was going to Starbucks for a bit. She offered for me to come along, and I accepted. I used the free WiFi available there and she read her bilingual bible (she studies the French language). We talked about a lot of different things, including our faith and how we came to know the Lord. We went to the store and bought little containers of milk to drink. We also checked out the train station to see if there were any feasible trips we could take in the next few days. The station closed when we got there, however, so I decided to check back later.
Back at the hostel, I did some ab exercises and read the bible for a bit as I prepared for bed. I did not actually get to sleep for a while, however, because there were some guys in the group that were pre-gaming. Once they left, I managed to fall asleep, smiling at the thought of how wonderful God is and how He has blessed me and the others on this trip
It was time for more Wimbledon!!!
Thanks to Darci, I was able to find out who I would be seeing in today's centre court matches. The matches featured:
Serena Williams (USA) vs. Vera Zvonareva (RUS)
Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs. Lleyton Hewitt (AUS)
Andy Murray (GBR) vs. Marcos Baghdatis (CYP)
In other words: SOLID.
I got my travel card, my ticket, and my new camera and ventured off toward the metro station. I took the same Victoria to District line switch and made it to the village with about an hour to spare. I walked the same path and saw the same sights, but I took more pictures because of the camera that was now lost. I checked through security and made it back to the same, great area that captivated and inspired me just four days prior. Before entering the court, I scouted the area for food. I bought a British Banger (a sausage wrapped in bread) and a vegetable pastry. As I entered, one of the volunteers stopped me at the last minute to check my ticket. He told me that he though I was a player at first. I asked him which player he thought I looked like, and he said Roger Federer. I took that as a great compliment.
I took my seat (a little closer this time) just three games into the match. Serena was winning 2 to 1 in the first set. Darci was sitting in the row right across from me. For the next hour or so, we watched Serena put on an absolute CLINIC. Since leading 2 to 1, she completely overwhelmed Vera in every way possible. I did not see her lose a single game. The final score was 6-1 6-0. Poor Vera looked so defeated and emotional out there. During timeouts, she would cover her face with her towel. She would throw her racked against the ground about fifteen times before the match ended. I almost thought the line judge was going to disqualify her. After Serena's match, we had a little delay before the next match so the court could open its roof (it was raining earlier). Once it opened, Djokovic and Hewitt came out to warm up. However, in the middle of the second game, with Djokovic up 1-0 and Hewitt leading 40-30, it started to rain again. Darci and I facepalmed, wondering why they bothered to open the roof in the first place. After about 30 minutes of delay, the match began once again. Hewitt managed to break Novak early and win the first set. For being well past his prime, he was playing some inspired tennis against the world Number 2. In set two (Darci had left around this time to get some food), Djokovic's two breaks outweighed Hewitt's break to win the set 7-5. In the third set, Hewitt was clearly gassed. Djokovic raised his level and pulled away from the Australian, 4-6 7-5 6-1. I loved the support that Hewitt received throughout the match. There were many chants of "Aussie Aussie Aussie! Oy Oy Oy!" erupting throughout the arena. He got a standing ovation from the crowd as he left the building.
Next up was Murray against Baghdatis. The arena was (finally starting to reach capacity, as spectators poured in from left and right to see Great Britain's great hope in tennis. Andy started off slowly, losing his first two games and then losing three straight after taking a 3-2 lead in the set. He lost the first set 6-4. In the second set, Murray raised his game to another level. After he got an early break of Marcos' serve, I decided to take a quick bathroom break and grab a snack. I ate a British ice cream cone with "exploding" candy inside. Delicious! I returned to my seat to find that the third set had already begun. Andy won the second set 6-1. He got an early break, but had to hold off Baghdatis every step of the way to finally win the match (4-6 6-1 6-4). In just five days, I had managed to see Serena Williams and three of the top four men's players in the world all win matches. I had an amazing experience at Wimbledon and I wish to return someday for the actual Wimbledon tournament. Before I left, I took a couple of last-second pictures, including some of former women's Number 1 Caroline Wozniacki, who was making her way onto the court to play a late match. Definitely not losing these...
After a long metro trip, I made it back to the King's Cross area, tired from all of my adventures. I went to a fancy restaurant down the street, called Casa Mamma's, and increased my low energy supply with some much-needed carbohydrates. Thank the Lord for Italian food! I returned to the hostel afterward to blog a bit when Laura passed by and told me that she was going to Starbucks for a bit. She offered for me to come along, and I accepted. I used the free WiFi available there and she read her bilingual bible (she studies the French language). We talked about a lot of different things, including our faith and how we came to know the Lord. We went to the store and bought little containers of milk to drink. We also checked out the train station to see if there were any feasible trips we could take in the next few days. The station closed when we got there, however, so I decided to check back later.
Back at the hostel, I did some ab exercises and read the bible for a bit as I prepared for bed. I did not actually get to sleep for a while, however, because there were some guys in the group that were pre-gaming. Once they left, I managed to fall asleep, smiling at the thought of how wonderful God is and how He has blessed me and the others on this trip
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