The Holy Grail

The first matches are being played at Wimbledon as we speak - Roger Federer has just walked out onto the court. It is somehow right that he is playing first on Centre Court, even though last year was Rafa's. Wimbledon is his ground.

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Lu Yen-hsun (Rendy) is a tough match-up, but I'm excited for this match. I don't have much to say yet - I'm going to have to do this blog at night instead of in the morning just for the sake of my sanity, otherwise I will have no sleep and will turn into a zombie, so I might be posting at some pretty weird times, so I apologise.

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What I really want to reflect on is what Wimbledon means. All four Slams are very important, but Wimbledon is somehow special. I don't know what it is about this tournament, given that it is played on possibly the least significant surface in tennis - sure, three of the Slams used to be on grass, but it's played on so little these days it's almost ludicrous. But still the grass of Wimbledon remains sacred.

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Wimbledon has a poet in residence. What other tournament could possibly do that?

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There is a weight of tradition at Wimbledon that you don't get anywhere else. The Aussie Open is fun and sunny, Paris down and dirty, the US Open like a rock concert. But Wimbledon is the tennis they played of old. Maybe it is because grass is such an antiquated surface. Would Roger Federer whip out a blazer/cardy/waistcoat at any other tournament?

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It's special.

This ramble isn't very coherent. I apologise. But it's something I'd like to keep reflecting on over the course of this tournament. What is it that makes this tournament so different? Why is Wimbledon the Holy Grail?