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Notebook Britain is caught up in 'Henmania' again
WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- Britain is caught up in "Henmania" again. The land that gave the world tennis on grass hasn't won the Wimbledon men's title since Fred Perry in 1936. Britain's last finalist was in 1938 when Bunny Austin lost in the final to Don Budge. Playing Wednesday on a Centre Court draped with Union Jack flags, Tim Henman ousted Pete Sampras' conqueror Roger Federer in four sets to reach his third semifinals in four years. The sixth-seeded Henman, who won 7-5, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 7-6 (6), plays three-time runner-up Goran Ivanisevic on Friday in the semifinals. Henman first reached the Wimbledon semifinals in 1998 - the first Brition to get that far since Roger Taylor in 1973. He was back again in '99, losing both times to Pete Sampras. Henman has never had a better chance to win at the All England Club. And he's not missing seven-time champion Sampras, his frequent practice partner. "My immediate feelings in all honesty is that it's nice that I'm not playing Sampras, because I lost to him on those two occasions and I certainly played some great tennis," the 26-year-old Henman said. "Goran, it's a pretty good story for him as well the way he's been playing," Henman added. "He's never beaten me and I've beaten him three or four times, so I feel I can keep that record going, but it's certainly not going to be easy." Four-time Grand Slam champion Jim Courier summed it up like this on TNT television: "It's a big burden for a player to lift his country to a title. This is not just about Tim Henman."
Rich history, poor payThe workers who clean the Wimbledon grounds will hold a protest Friday over what they call "miserly" wages of 4 pounds ($5.60) per hour. "It just underlines the gap between the have and the have-nots in Britain today," said the cleaners' union spokesman Geoff Martin. "People will think nothing of spending almost 4 pounds for a warm glass of Pimm's, while cleaners are having to skivvy around for an hour to earn the same amount." Union officials said it would take 60 years of working eight-hour days for a cleaner to earn the 500,000 pounds ($700,000) the winner of the men's singles will receive. One cleaner who did not want to be identified said some of her colleagues had resigned in protest at the pay, describing the wages as an "insult."
No love for tennisBritain's new sports minister is in trouble. Richard Caborn, who has been embarrassed by his general lack of sports knowledge since taking the job last month, showed up at Wimbledon and admitted he didn't like tennis. "I'm not keen on tennis," he said during a visit. "I'm not staying to watch any matches." Given his lack of sports knowledge, The Express newspaper made a suggestion. "Considering his lack of interest in the sport, we can only assume he'll be returning the two tickets reserved in his name for Sunday's men's final." Don't count on it.
Martina's quest endsMartina Navratilova is out at Wimbledon. Bidding for her 20th title at Wimbledon in an attempt to tie Billie Jean King's record, Navratilova lost Wednesday in women's doubles with partner Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario. Kimberly Po-Messerli and Nathalie Tauziat won 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Navratilova, 44, was knocked out of mixed double earlier in the tournament.
More great weatherThis can't be Wimbledon. After being soaked the last half-dozen years by rain, this year's Wimbledon fortnight has been near-perfect. Through nine days there have been three brief rain delays -- each about an hour. Wednesday was another rain-free day with temperatures near 86 degrees. Thursday could bring showers with a 40 percent chance.
Caught in the actA 20-year-old Wimbledon security guard was the star of the British tabloids on Wednesday. The man, identified as Dan Wood, 20, was reportedly caught in an "embarrassing situation" earlier this week when he sneaked off to a room in the Centre Court complex at Wimbledon with a 19-year-old woman. According to the tabloid Sun, which ran the man's photograph on Wednesday, the two were surprised by a steward who happened to walk into the room.
Crowd-watchingThe good weather has brought record crowds. Attendance is averaging about 40,000 daily, up about 5 percent from a year ago. The human crunch is most real as fans struggle for positions to watch matches on the so-called outside courts, many of which provide seating for as few as 100. Security guards on Tuesday and Wednesday were forced to close off the hillside behind Court No. 1 when more than 5,000 fans jammed it to watch a huge TV screen that was showing Englishman Henman playing. The site if a favorite picnic area during the tournament.
Drop shotsWimbledon lost its No. 1-seeded players at the quarterfinal level for the first time in the Open Era, which began in 1968. ... Goran Ivanisevic is the first wild card -- man or woman -- to reach the semifinals since the wild card system was introduced in 1977. ... Players of eight different nationalities reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
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