By Cynthia Lum
The Gates to Tennis Heaven are open. The sun is shining. The purple petunias are in full bloom and it’s a perfect opening day for The Championships. Yes, the official name is “The Championships, Wimbledon,” not just “Wimbledon.” Must be proper here in the UK.
I arrived this morning after a ten hour flight… uneventful, but saw a great classic movie! Twelve Angry Men, with a cast of Hollywood greats lead by Henry Fonda. Love it!
Had a little confrontation with the woman at immigration. When ask why I was here, I told her I was a photographer working a Wimbledon, she then asked if I had a work permit for England. This has never happened in the past, and I told her that I’d been covering this event for fifteen years, and have never been ask this question. She continued to interrogate me about who I was working for and made a point that they were concerned about people coming in and taking work from the British. I assured that I would not deprive any of her countrymen of photo sales and she let me pass.
Needless to say I was very happy to see a driver holding a sign with my name on it when I finally passed through the doors into the outer world. Car service is a necessity not a luxury if you are coming to Wimbledon. The only taxi’s that are allowed to pick up passengers at the airport are the “Black Taxi’s” which are outrageously expensive. Other options are to take the Underground…I have much too much luggage for that, or the fast train into central London then cab it out to Wimbledon.. way too much of a pain.
And what about Federer going five with the Columbian, Alejandro Falla? My word! What is going on here? Falla with an ATP ranking of No. 60 and won the first two sets and was up 3-1 in the fourth. He actually served for the match at 5-4, but couldn’t pull if off. As I was shooting that game, the question went through my mind, “does he have the courage to win this?” Apparently not. Roger won 6-0 in the fifth.
Bottom line, this is what separates the top guys from everyone else. The ability to pull yourself up from the gutter, and have the faith and guts to bear down, bring your game up a notch, and win the match. The best thing is, I did get one Federer photo that I really like.
Nikolay Davydenko finally finished a 3-6, 6-7, 7-6, 7-5, 9-7 win over Kevin Anderson. Are they kidding? The match was FOUR HOURS AND THIRTEEN MINUTES. Someone needs to tell them that this is Wimbledon, they are playing on grass. Paris and red clay are done, over, so stop this slow play.
Lots of photos to edit after Day One of The Championships!
Tune in for more from the Big W tomorrow.
[nggallery id=12]
Cynthia Lum is one of the world’s most celebrated sports photographers and has traveled the world covering all the major tennis events for 18 years. In addition to tennis she is currently shooting horse racing, golf, surfing, and beach volleyball. Visit her on-line photo archive at www.cynthialum.com where her photos are for sale for professional and personal use. She is available for hire for corporate and editorial clients. She is based in Hermosa Beach, Calif.