Chapter 1549: Unique Scenery
Perhaps, people are puzzled as to why Wimbledon, which clings to traditions that have no value or meaning, has survived to this day.
But in fact, in the world of tennis, from professionals to professional players to veteran fans, Wimbledon has always had a unique position.
Going to Wimbledon every year is like a pilgrimage.
This year, this is even more so.
The wave of "Big Four vs. Challengers" is gradually pushing to a new height. Wimbledon will become the last bastion. No matter who will eventually win the championship, the audience arriving at the scene will be the first to witness the birth of history. Just imagining it will make people so excited that they can't calm down.
Moreover, the WTA is also waiting to make history. Serena Williams has won the US Open, Australian Open and French Open consecutively. If she can reach the top of Wimbledon again, she will win the "Serena Slam" for the second time in her career - not the four Grand Slams in a natural year, but still winning the four Grand Slams consecutively.
From the fierce competition among ATP to the unification of WTA, this year's Wimbledon carries too many topics and no one wants to miss it.
As a result, countless fans flocked from all over the world and crowded into the small town of Wimbledon to witness history.
Today, as the first rays of morning light had just fallen, Wimbledon, which was gradually waking up, was already slowly becoming lively.
Over there, the line of fans waiting to buy tickets was winding all the way, and the huge line filled the wide green field to the point where it was impossible to count them.
Two thousand? Five thousand? Ten thousand?
Numbers have long lost their meaning, and the bustling yet orderly scene with people jostling for position and making noises slowly unfolds in the field of vision.
It's like a magnificent painting.
On the other hand, fans who plan to watch the game from the outside and are not in a hurry to buy special tickets, as well as fans who do not plan to buy tickets at all, also have their own way of enjoying Wimbledon. Similarly, this is a culture that the other three Grand Slams do not have: "Murray Mountain".
There is a small hill covered with green grass in the middle of the All England Club. From here you can see the giant screen of the center court, which is at the same height as the court.
Although it is impossible to feel the speed and power of tennis up close on site, watching it on TV broadcast can allow you to capture more comprehensive details of the game; at the same time, gathering outside the central court through a wall can allow you to feel the atmosphere inside the court up close and personal.
Every year, countless fans come to this hill to taste cream strawberries, bring picnic blankets, drink beer, chat and relax while watching the game. Even if they can't enter the stadium, they enjoy Wimbledon in their own way. This is an event for everyone.
Originally, this hill was not called this name, but had another romantic name, "Aorangi-Terrace".
Once upon a time, a very, very distant past, before the establishment of the All England Club and even before the birth of tennis, this was the original site of the New Zealand Rugby Club. Later, after twists and turns, it evolved into the famous All England Club today, and this century-old event was born here.
In order to commemorate and pay tribute to the New Zealand Rugby Club, the Wimbledon Organizing Committee named the hill after the Aoraki Peak in Mount Cook, New Zealand's highest peak. "Aorangi" is the Maori language of New Zealand, meaning "long white cloud", referring to the magnificent scenery of mountains and glaciers.
"Aoraki Balcony" later became a continuation of the British picnic culture due to a chance accident.
For Americans, a picnic often means vodka, whiskey and sandwiches. It starts with beer, but as time goes by, it turns into a crazy alcohol party. Anyway, people can go crazy about alcohol at any time and anywhere, but the British will not.
Of course, the British love alcohol, very much, but alcohol belongs in bars; when they go on a picnic, it is a time of leisure and relaxation, just like afternoon tea, with desserts and drinks, chatting, reading, music, and at most some beer, and then watching some movies or stage plays, tennis is also an option.
Picnic culture has always been a very important part of daily life in the UK. However, in the old days, when television broadcasting and transportation conditions were not so developed, people did not associate picnics with Wimbledon and Aoraki Terrace. It was not until the 1990s that a turning point occurred: Tim Henman turned to professional tennis in 1994 and in just two years he had grown into Britain's number one men's singles player.
In 1996, Henman carried the nation's hopes and reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, resurrecting the British hope of winning the Wimbledon championship.
Gradually, people began to come to Wimbledon spontaneously. Those who could not buy tickets or did not buy tickets gathered spontaneously on the Aoraki Terrace and brought the traditional British picnic culture here, eating strawberries and ice cream while watching the game.
At that time, people didn't even know that this small hill had an official name, and word of mouth called it "Henman Hill". Apparently, people came here to watch Henman's game. Over time, people forgot the official name of Aoraki Terrace and found a more catchy name.
It is very regrettable that from 1996 to 2004, Henman's performance was always stable and outstanding. Except for being eliminated in the fourth round in 2000, he advanced to the quarterfinals in all the other eight years and the semi-finals four times, but he was never able to break through the shackles and enter the final. The British hope of winning the championship was put on hold, just like football, and put on hold again.
In 2007, Henman announced his retirement.
At that time, Murray had already turned professional in 2005 and reached the US Open final for the first time in his career in 2008, becoming a new banner of British tennis; but when he came to Wimbledon, people were still accustomed to calling Aoraki Terrace "Henman Hill" to pay tribute to a legend.
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In 2009, 2010 and 2011, Murray reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon for three consecutive years, and had a breakthrough in 2012, first reaching the final at Wimbledon, becoming the first British player to reach the Wimbledon final in 74 years, but unfortunately lost to Federer and failed to reach the top; but then in the subsequent London Olympics, Murray defeated Djokovic and Federer successively and won the gold medal at Wimbledon.
Slowly, slowly, Murray finally took over Henman's banner, and "Henman Mountain" became "Murray Mountain" -
Now, the local fans who come to Wimbledon every year come for Murray.
In 2013, Murray reached the final for the second consecutive year and swept Djokovic to win the championship, becoming the first local player to reach the top of Wimbledon in 77 years since 1936. He was also the first local player to reach the top of Wimbledon in the Open Era, making history.
There was ups and downs, and it was filled with jubilation, and it also brought Murray's fame at home to a whole new level.
As we can see from last year, more and more fans are gathering at Murray Hill, hoping to enjoy the games of their local heroes up close.
(End of this chapter)