IT’S MURRAY TIME
Is it really two years since we sweated through Andy Murray’s Wimbledon triumph? Here we go again, with a campaign that starts on Tuesday against Mikhail Kukushkin, of Kazakhstan, and, with plenty of provisos, could take in Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. It also kickstarts the BBC’s extended slo-mo coverage of Kim Sears watching her husband – and any blunt comments mouthed in the direction of the opposition. Murray’s record as a married man: Won 20, Lost 1.
FRESH PUNDITS
Wimbledon will be a BBC affair – as it has been since 1937. For the first time Andy Roddick (TV) and Justine Henin (Radio 5 Live) bring the knowledge of their eight grand slam wins to the Beeb’s punditry team. “I still get asked about Wimbledon every two days of my life from somebody,” says Roddick, three times a beaten finalist. “I have zero bitterness about it all. I really don’t. It’s the place where I have some of my biggest heartbreak, but I certainly appreciated even the chance to get after it. I don’t harbour any weird feelings. That’s the biggest hole in my résumé. It’s one that I wish I could fill.” As ever, the first star of the show will be that evocative theme tune; impress your friends by knowing it is a piece of music called Light and Tuneful, composed for the BBC by Keith Mansfield, who also arranged the famous Grandstand theme.
EVENING CROWD
Another BBC change: Clare Balding replaces John Inverdale as host of the evening highlights programme, which will be rebranded as Wimbledon 2Day, instead of Today at Wimbledon, and feature an audience in its 8.30pm slot. Inverdale, fresh from anchoring coverage at Eastbourne, will still be involved with BBC coverage.
NEW FOR 2015
The All England Club is undergoing another programme of redevelopment, which will, if all goes well, lead to a roof on No1 court by 2019 (planning permission was granted in December). This year’s updates are more modest, though the players will enjoy their bigger locker-rooms and player lounge, with added ice baths and an additional warm-up and stretch area. Courts 14 and 15 are being used again after they were dug up last year to install facilities for ballboys and ballgirls beneath them, and the spread of Hawk-Eye continues. Players on Courts 12 and 18 will be able to mount challenges for the first time, meaning six courts will now be equipped.
WHY SO LATE?
The 29 June start is later than usual because an extra week’s rest has been added to the tennis calendar between the French Open and Wimbledon. The weather looks good for the first week at least, though prepare for sporting overload in the second week when the tennis clashes with the first Ashes Test. Is it too late to book the week off work?
CASH IN HAND
A whopping £26.75m in prize money is up for grabs over the fortnight, with the winners picking up £1.88m of it, £120,000 up on last year. (By comparison, the winner of golf’s Open Championship at St Andrews, a week after Wimbledon, will pick up £1.15m.) Just being here is enough for a significant payday – first-round losers in the singles will net £29,000.
