notes from wimbledon
There is much to report on from last week’s trip to Wimbledon. For fans of tennis, indeed admirers of fine sportsmanship, it is an event unlike any other.
But there was one particular act of heroism that you will not see reported this week in the Guardian.
And therefore will have to be reported by this eye witness, Yours Truly.
It was this line judge, seen here below on the left, getting hit in the balls by Roger Federer’s serve.
I’ve never seen anything like it. Imagine a hard, spherical object traveling upwards of 130 miles per hour, aimed straight for your defenseless crotch. No mere mortal could resist flinching. Yet when the impact came, neither his face nor his body seemed to register it.
(But when the “thwak” echoed through the stadium, the audience certainly did.)
When the game ended, the linemen turned in unison and trotted off the court. And the crowd stood together and gave him a resounding ovation.
By far the biggest win of the day.
