IT’S SUMMER AND Wimbledon is upon us once more.
The first round proper will begin tomorrow, here’s the tournament in numbers:
11 – The number of hours it took for John Isner and Nicolas Mahut to complete their match last year, which was the longest-ever recorded game in tennis history. Incredibly, the two have been drawn together again to meet in the first round this year.
1 – The number of Irish players to have appeared at Wimbledon during the Open era. Sean Sorensen was then comfortably beaten by Rod Laver in the first round.
256 – The number of athletes who will participate in the singles tournament this year if you include the ladies’ and gentlemen’s events.
14 – The age of American Jennifer Capriati when she made her Wimbledon debut in 1990. She is the youngest player to ever compete in the tournament. She was also the youngest player to ever break into the the top 10 in the world, again when she was only 14.
1,500 – The number of dollars John McEnroe was fined in 1981 after he described the umpire in a game as ”the pits of the world” before swearing at the match referee. However, it did not stop McEnroe from winning the tournament that year, as he beat Bjorn Borg in four sets in the final.
7 – The highest-number of single Wimbledon titles won by a player – a record shared by America’s Pete Sampras and Britain’s William Renshaw. Roger Federer will equal the duo’s record this year if he triumphs in the competition.
