Wimbledon 2009 Day 9: Aorangi Practice Courts/Outside Courts - Knowles/Bhupathi & Hewitt

So here it is then .... the final blog from Wimbledon from Rozzie this year!

I managed to get a return ticket online (having had NO luck really this year with them) as did a couple of good friends from am.com.
The key with these tickets is to get to the gate as early as possible as the seats are allocated when you collect them...
Ironically I found myself leaving not that much later than my friends (who live in the Midlands!) to get there for 9:30am

Now... as most of you have read.. the Rozzie Blogging Machine tends to also be the Rozzie Blagging Machine... and having gotten through rush hour traffic... I managed to get myself on the STAFF BUS at the Park and Ride. heee!

I had fingers, toes and eyes crossed that I'd get a good ticket and thanks to a moany old grandma who was tired of standing at the gate, they let the four of us queueing early that morning in VERY early - around 9:30! However - I got my ticket in Row X... so more titchy pics for Ros today!
I sat myself down to wait for Dave and Fiona as they were experiencing Rush Hour Tube Travel. For the first time. In a Heatwave. Nice!
So I was chilling, chatting on the phone when I heard an almighty shriek-and-holler of "DAVE!!!" I ambled up to door and asked if I could check/say hello to my friends, and once they got their tickets... I realised that the holler had come from... our very own Michael... who'd been in the queue that morning.
There was another am.com-er who'd been behind him a little way and she's managed to get through (without us seeing her) AND get herself up to the ticket resale queue (about 30th in the queue!)...

Anyway - in all the (cough) many (cough) years I've been coming to Wimbledon on and off, I have NEVER gone to the practice courts! When Cilla and I went to the Centre Court Roof thingy, I remember her saying she always heads there... anyway - after a bit of chatting we headed off there to see who we could see...

Mark Knowles/Mahesh Bhupathi









I also spied Ruano Pascal, Wes Moodie and Dick Norman but they were all a little too far and their courts were along a really active and very thin corridor so there was a fair bit of jostling.

We headed back to the nearest food court for some beverages as we were getting close to sitty-downy time... but as the tourney gets towards the end - you often find people practicing on the outside courts in the main grounds... so as we were heading back to Centre Court we just stumbled across Lleyton Hewitt as well!





Still.. time to head to the seats... thankfully me, Dave and Fiona were just one staircase away from each other.
Michael scooted off to camp on Court 4...

And off to watch the... well I hesitate to use the word "match" between Fed/Dr Ivo....