Henman Hill

The fans were out in great numbers today, and Henman Hill was rocking. This is an area on the grounds of the All England Club officially known as Aorangi Terrace. However, during Tim Henman’s playing days fans with day passes would gather to watch the match on the giant TV screen, it was dubbed Henman Hill, and the name has stuck.

It’s a beautiful sunny summer day, and the grassy hill is packed with spectators cheering on Andy Murray. They bring blankets, lunch, babies, and books… check out the woman in this photo calmly reading while everyone around her is glued to the televised action. The pints flow freely, and a holiday spirit fills the air. Fans know that the TV cameras often scan the area, and bring hand painted signs greeting their mom’s cheering on Murray, or telling the world they (heart) Wimbledon.

They were there for Andy, but their hearts still belong to Tim. A huge cheer rose when the British favorite appeared briefly in the royal box before taking up the microphone to do commentary on the match for the BBC

Wonder if they will rename it Murray Hill? Broadcasters have tentatively tried Murray Mound, Mount Murray, and Murrayfield, however most people still prefer the tag Henman Hill, so it looks like it will stick even though he is retired.

Someone told me that they allow six thousand fans to queue for tickets, and by the look of the site today, they came close to capacity . It’s near impossible to get even close to any of the outside courts. A lot of people have given up and are napping on the grass in Aorangi Park. Of course this could also be due to alcohol consumption which is high here.

I see that the Bryan’s have lost the first set, so I try to get onto court 14 .. . this can only be done with grim determination, but I learned from my friend the German photographer a couple of day’s ago, to just keep going and don’t look back. I make it onto the court, but its really difficult to make a doubles photo from the sidelines, so I nail off a couple of frames just so I’ll have something in case they loose, and move onto center court for the end of the Murray Haas match.

Murray seems to be in good form, not loosing his cool, and Tommy is obviously frustrated. Tommy Hottie as the women on the tour call him, has been one of the unluckiest players on the tour in the last few years, suffering numerous injuries, and having to retire from two matches because of food poisoning. He said once that Wimbledon was his favorite tournament and winning here was always a goal, but he’s 30 years old, so that looks like an impossible dream.

The Scot has blown 2 match points in the fourth set, and I started worrying that it was going to go five, but an error from Hass finished the match, and Murray will move into the fourth round matching his previous Wimbledon record..

My big plans to have a night out in the village last night did not work out as I ended up staying here until 12:30 AM.. Actually that was the earliest I have gotten out of here this week .. Any way, I’m bailing out tonight ..Determined to have some laughs and a life. Tomorrow is a day off. The middle Sunday. We all love and look forward to this day off like kids whose parents have promised them a trip to Disneyland. However, I will still be blogging so check in with me tomorrow.