Quick stop for the hotdog/Dutchee nonsense and we strolled into the larger Wimbledon shop where a lovely person ran off to the security gates and came back with two sleeves. Once we got up to the court, I constructed something for her to have the ticket in – if she loses it from there, then I despair!
Quite cloudy and breezy in the court today – had to hit the fleece before play even got started!
Using the iPad got me the attention of a friendly RAF officer who wants to buy one for his daughter, but he was saying they're clamping down a lot on phones this year because of match betting. So remains to be seen how we get on tomorrow, up in the gods where there are more of the Honorary Stewards of bumptiousness!
Alison Lang in the chair and the court beginning to fill up which was nice to see.
Warm applause for Serena who was looking pretty focused as she came out.
From the start (serving) Serena seemed to be struggling to find her range, and Rezai wasn’t wasting time, sending down some good passing shots. Early in the game, some random alarm seemed to be echoing around the court – they looked to be able to hear it on the court, because we could see Alison Lang looking around and getting on the phone to the supervisor. But none of the stewards (honorary or otherwise) seemed at all bothered, so we had to assume that it was nothing serious. It went on for a good few minutes, and when it finally stopped there was a ripple of applause!
Serena was back to her foot-faulting ways – 2 in one game, and both of them were producing some good rallies – a good test of Serena’s lung capacity early on.
Rezai broke with a cheeky drop shot, and held her own serve with no real isses.
Serena steadied the ship, at least, on her second service game to keep things to a single break.
This good start by Rezai didn’t last long as she was broken to love, Serena’s trademark serving returning to form.
Things went from bad to worse in the next games for Rezai who had an attack of the yips on her serve, with constant Lets and the odd DF thrown in, and Serena broke (disturbingly throwing in a spinning Ana-like fistpump, and held in the next game to really turn things around.
Rezai was able to get a game back, and Serena went on to squander a 40-0 lead with faults all over the place, before finally clinching the first set 6-3.
Rezai had a bit of a battle to hold her serve in the opening game of the second set, but settled in the third with some big serving to keep things on serve.
Things were much closer in this set, and there was some real meat behind Rezai’s serving, pinning Serena back. In other news – it was absolutely FREEZING… so while struggling to put on a fleece, I attracted the observations of the Navy steward. I mouthed to him that I was freezing so he offered to give me a hug! More on him later!
Serena handed Rezai a break with a nervy DF and we were seeing some good running play from Rezai – swinging for the fences, and finding herself leading Serena 5-2. Although Serena managed a hold in her next game, a wayward shot gave Rezai the second set.
Things progressed with serve in the third, with Rezai stepping up the aggression and looking really pumped.
She did, however, get broken and in the next game they had an astounding rally which had Serena at full stretch returning a smash with a desparate lob that left Serena prone on the court and Rezai stranded midcourt as she’d left it and it dropped in, behind her.
Rezai began to unravel a bit by then, and some of that intensity that she’d shown to take the second set just evaporated. The rest of the third set became a tutorial in Serena’s serving and she won the match very convincingly.
It was very touching to see her so overcome with emotion at the end… after everything that she’d been though for the last year, she was still quite tearful at the BBC interview. But she is on her way.
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