Rosewall honoured
Every year, Tennis Australia hires a house near the All England Club for the two weeks of the Championships. It’s also the venue for the Aussie Barbecue, held on the first Friday, when many of the country’s legends gather to catch up and celebrate one of their group’s many achievements. This year, the centre of attention was Ken Rosewall. The Sydneysider, 90 in November and the winner of eight grand slams, never won Wimbledon but it is 70 years since his first final here and 50 since his last, which he reached at the age of 39. Rod Laver, 86 , was among the 240 people who braved the rain to attend.
Morozova back
Speaking of 1974, the runner‑up in the women’s event that year, Olga Morozova, has been back at Wimbledon, popping up in the coaching team of Harriet Dart. The presence of Morozova, who lost to Chris Evert in the final 50 years ago, caught everyone, including the LTA, by surprise but she had an instant impact when Dart beat Katie Boulter in round two. Morozova had a hand in the development of Andy Murray, so perhaps the instant impact should not be a surprise, even if Dart bowed out to Xinyu Wang of China on Saturday.
Making a name
The junior competitions are well under way, offering a tantalising glimpse at some players who may become household names in the future. Slovakian Renata Jamrichova and American Kaylan Bigun are the top seeds in the girls’ and boys’ singles respectively but there are also one or two well-known surnames in there. Jagger Leach is in the boys’ event, the son of Lindsay Davenport, the women’s champion in 1999, and Rick Leach, the former doubles player, who won the men’s doubles title in 1990. And look out for William Rejchtman Vinciguerra of Sweden, the nephew of Andreas Vinciguerra, who peaked at world No 33 in 2001.