I love Wimbledon. Don’t know if I’ve mentioned that. And watching it on tv is a constant reminder of why I love the BBC. No adverts. Just tennis, pundits, more tennis, more tennis. No power drink adverts, no on-line gambling (its SOOOOOO easy; just nick mum’s credit card and you’re OFF!!!!), no feminine hygiene products, four-wheel drives or supermarkets. Just tennis.

And such tennis. Which really doesn’t exist anywhere else. Because grass courts are different. Faster. Bouncier. Less predictable. And greener. Although considerably less green than they were 10 days ago. All those East Europeans bouncing around on it doesn’t keep it in the best of condition. But I don’t mind them bouncing.

I mind them screaming. And shrieking, whining, groaning, cruchsing and warbling. I was so relieved yesterday when Venus beat the young Latvian prodigy Jelena Ostapenko because the kid, however wonderful, emits a high-pitch squeal with every shot. Sounds like a firework. A flying bomb. A kettle boiling (remember whistling kettles?). And its simply fucking awful.

In Konta’s quite amazing match yesterday we were graced with a groaner at one end and a shrieker at the other. A win-win. In some of the rallies it sounded like a constipated cat was being gang-raped by foxes. I turned the sound down. But I like hearing the ball hit.

Johanna Konta is the best ‘English’ woman of the last 6 generations. Virginia Wade was never that good. Not sure anyone from her generation could match the new breed anyway because the game has evolved so powerfully. Could Chrissie Evert’s genteel, elegant style have competed with Serena’s strength? Doubtful. But Johanna is wonderful and she’s ours. Well, she’s ours for the time-being. She started off as decidedly theirs, having 2 Hungarian parents. Then she was emphatically someone else’s because she played as an Aussie, where she did her growing up. But now she’s English. As English as the Queen. Well, as English as Greg Ruzedski anyway.

Today Murray plays Quarrey and I kind’a hope he wins just for the fans. Among whom I don’t number. But Federer playing Raonic is the big one. The massive Canadian beat Fed last year in the semis. But Roger is revitalised following his 6-month break and back to his imperious best. And I love him dearly, which counts and adds at least 4 points each set.

Everything to play for. Whatever that means.

Happy Wednesday

A xxxx