Wimbledon: Simona, Olympia and Rufus: Sweet winners and honest losers

Wimbledon is special – Wimbledon is unique: The first half of the 132nd edition of the lawn classic at the venerable All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club (AELTC) is behind us. There were sweet winners and honest losers. And not only that!

By Ulrike Weinrich from Wimbledon

ALEXIS OLYMPIA OHANIAN – is the ten-month-old daughter of superstar Serena Williams. And this adorable little girl wraps the tennis world around her little finger. AOH already has 3871 followers on Twitter. And since the days of Wimbledon we finally have our own XXS racquet bag. From the mother’s sponsor, of course. She has a guilty conscience when she has to leave the offspring alone for too long. For example, when matches are on the agenda. “But when I come back, Olympia will shine on me. There is nothing nicer,” Serena Williams said these days.

RUFUS, THE HAWK – is actually a desert buzzard. But Rufus is kind of more than that. For many, he is the secret star of Wimbledon. Rufus drives away the pigeons from the complex on his flight rounds, who love to nest themselves under the roof of the Centre Court and leave their unattractive traces. The famous buzzard is part of the official staff and even has his own accreditation. More than 10,400 Rufus fans follow him on Twitter. His falconer, Imogen Davies, is pleased.

ALISON VAN UYTVANCK – is one of the last sixteen players. The 24-year-old Belgian, who among other things eliminated defending champion Garbine Muguruza (Spain), recently came out. Partner Greet Minnen is in the box in Wimbledon. And the first one to get a kiss after winning. “I am simply relieved that I can stand in public as a lesbian woman,” said van Uytvanck. But her outing has not changed anything about her appearance on the court.

THE WEATHER – was simply wonderful so far. In the first week the sun shone almost without exception, temperatures of up to 31 degrees Celsius were reached in the southwest of London. In the lawn mecca you are used to something completely different. Since 1877 there have been 32 “wash outs” so far, i.e. days on which not a single match could start. This was last the case in 2004. At that time even two whole tournament days fell into the water.

ANGELIQUE KERBER – was lucky. In her strong third round performance against Naomi Osaka from Japan (No. 18) Sir Bobby Charlton sat in the Royal Box and watched the Kieler’s match on the Centre Court. The extraordinary: The 1960 World Cup winner thus missed the TV broadcast of the World Cup quarter-finals between “his” English and Sweden (2-0).

SIMONA HALEP – had to sack Su-Wei Hsieh from Taiwan in the third round. The world number one went to court with herself after the bitter end and did not turn her heart into a murder pit. The French Open winner struggled with her “unprofessional” attitude on the court. “I was too negative to myself, complaining too much.” Halep was one of the winners, at least in terms of self-criticism.

+ THE EYE – Eat with me, they say. Also in tennis the fans love the players with that certain something. Nick Kygrios, Benoit Paire and Fabio Fognini were three of the most charismatic players in the tournament. Perhaps they are very happy that someone like Kyrgio’s “Bad Boy” is no longer in Wimbledon. Because: With the impulsive Australian you never know what happens next when it comes to coping with frustration etc..

NOVAK DJOKOVIC – was somehow lucky in misfortune, but was at least shortly before a loser. A “triple-fault” of his opponent Kyle Edmund was simply overlooked in the third round duel. After a stop of the Serb, tournament champion of 2011, 2014 and 2015, the Briton only reached the ball after the second bounce, then even touched the net slightly – and the ball also landed wafer-thin in the out. But the referee still gave Edmund the point. The “Djoker” raged – in vain. Afterwards he won the match 4:6, 6:3, 6:2, 6:4.

ENGLANDS FUSSBALL-FANS – get virtually nothing of the World Cup on the paradisiacal course. No pictures from Russia flicker on the screens. Critics fear an empty centre court for the men’s final, as the World Cup final will take place at the same time. Mary Pope, chairwoman of England’s largest tennis fan association, spoke of a real “dilemma”, as those responsible at the All England Lawn and Tennis Club were “too stubborn in tradition”. Last Saturday, two thirds of the Centre Court was left empty in the quarter-finals of the “Three Lions” against Sweden (2-0).