Pubs in Wimbledon village are bracing for a stampede shortly before 3pm on Saturday for England’s World Cup quarter-final against Sweden. The All England Club refuses to show football on its public screens – the curtains were even drawn in the media centre for England’s win over Colombia for “safety reasons” amid fears of spectators peering in en masse. W ith the village only a 10-minute walk away, pub landlords are set to strike it rich. The Rose & Crown told the diary that while the middle Saturday is always its busiest day of the year, with takings up 700% on the annual average, it will be temporarily removing all its furniture to accommodate the crowds.
Pasta and honey, anyone?
A tennis player’s diet is often of great intrigue at this time of year. John Isner says that the night before resuming his 11-hour epic with Nicolas Mahut in 2010 he was treated to an irresistible mix of pizza, chicken and mashed potato by his compatriot Andy Roddick,and last year the diary revealed the big-serving American ordered 36 salmon nigiri rolls at the players’ restaurant with his £77 per diem allowance. But the bar has been raised, with the All England Club’s head of food and drink, Anthony Davies, revealing an unnamed male player had come up with a request for pasta and honey. Whatever floats your boat.
Nadal’s plastic campaign
The war against plastic continues in SW19 with Rafael Nadal is supporting the All England Club’s attempts to reduce usage of plastics. Wimbledon has, however, come under further pressure to ban plastic bottles after images of courts full of discarded litter did the rounds on social media. Evian renewed its sponsorship last year until 2022 and recently pledged to have its plastic bottles made from 100% recycled plastic by 2025, up from 25% at present. Still, Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund have spoken out and Nadal was asked for his thoughts on reducing the plastic used at the tournament. “100% support on this. I am an ocean lover,” he said. “All the things that we do to protect our beautiful planet are more than welcome.” Commendable, though the plastic bottle sitting in front of him made things a touch awkward.
Welcome back, Bethanie
There was a heart-warming return to the Wimbledon courts on Thursday for Bethanie Mattek-Sands of the US, a year after she suffered a career-threatening injury in a fall on court 17. Mattek-Sands ruptured a patella tendon and dislocated the kneecap and only made her return to tennis in March. With hair dyed pink for the occasion, the 33-year-old paired up with Lucie Safarova – together they are known as Team Bucie – to claim a straight-sets win in their opening women’s doubles match.
