On Wednesday I was lucky enough to get a pair of tickets to centre court at Wimbledon for the following day. Even better, my favourite tennis player Roger Federer was scheduled to play on centre court on Thursday and I was super excited.
I took my mum (another Federer fan!) and we took the tube to wimbledon on Thursday morning. We arrived about 11:30 after walking fifteen minutes or so to the tennis club. It was so hot and sunny and all of the houses on route had turned into shops, selling everything from ice cold drinks to sunglasses and hats.
Play was not due to start on centre court until 1pm and having not been to Wimbledon before, I thought we might be a little bored hanging around. However as soon as you walk in to the grounds you become immersed in this exciting and buzzing atmosphere and just walking around, soaking it all in, is enough to keep you entertained.
With an hour to go until the first match we grabbed some drinks, a pimms for my mum (naturally!) and I opted for a refreshing cucumber and mint presse, before heading in to the centre court building.
Our seats were close to the back but we still had a good view and it was nice to be sheltered by the roof - it was so hot that we were glad of the shade!
The first match was Kyle Edmund (GBR) v Gael Monfils. It was a great match and the crowd enthusiastically cheered on Edmund, who played well despite losing.
Before the ladies match started, we popped out, planning to grab some lunch. However, on route we found the little booth from which they sell the tennis balls which have been used during the tournament. It was about 2.45 and the ball sale was due to start at 3, so we decided to wait. At that point there were only a couple of people in front of us and we chatted about the matches and the wimbledon experience. The man in front of us had camped for two nights ealier in the week to get tickets for centre court on Tuesday! By 3 o'clock the queue for tennis balls reached longer than I could see, but the queue moved swiftly and within a minute we were done and tennis balls used by Federer (or so I like to think!) were in the bag.
By now, the second match was due to start so we just grabbed some sweets and Haagen-Daas ice cream and returned to our seats, ready for Magdalena Rybarikova v Karolina Pliskova. Following another great match which saw Rybarikova beat the No. 3 seed Pliskova, we popped out again to stretch our legs and grabbed a tasty pizza from the pavilion and strawberries to take back in. (Is it really Wimbledon without strawberries and cream?!)
Finally, at 6pm, it was time for Federer v Lajovic. By now, the empty seats on court had all filled out and the atmosphere was electric.
It was so exciting to watch the match as it happened rather than on the screen and you couldn't help but gasp at close shots or clap along to hawk eye!
In just three sets it was all over, and watching my favourite sports person win was a lovely end to the day.
By the time we got out of the court it was about 8pm and after taking a couple more photos we headed out of the grounds and on our way.
It was such a lovely day which really exceeded my expectations and I felt so lucky to get tickets so unexpectedly, especially to see three great matches and my favourite player! I would jump at the chance to go again and would definitely recommend it to anyone who has the chance to go.
