Tuesday Notebook

Centre court cover almost takes out Venus

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) -- No one was surprised when the rain came Monday -- and again Tuesday -- at Wimbledon: It had been seven years since the last rain-free fortnight.

The Centre Court cover weighs just under 2,000 pounds and takes 16 people about 30 seconds to place over the court. Sometimes faster, as Serena Williams and British chair umpire Jane Harvey found out.

The Centre Court workers moved so rapidly they nearly knocked over Williams, and Harvey was trapped in her chair as the covers were put in place midway through the women's singles match Monday between Williams and Chanda Rubin. Williams won the match in straight sets.

FAN CLAIMS POOR SECURITY: An Australian tennis fan said Tuesday he walked past three Wimbledon security guards and into the players' lounge before having his photograph taken with Russian player Anna Kournikova.

"I could not believe how easy it was," Sean Piper, a 32-year-old Sydney carpenter, said of the incident last Friday. "There was a guard at the bottom of the ramp and two more outside the players' lounge but I just walked straight past them all. I had no pass but was not questioned at any point.

"Anna let me have a photo taken with her before she immediately left the premises and I just wandered back out."

It's the second security breach for the club during the tournament. Two men got onto Centre Court last week and played a couple of mock shots. The pair managed to leave the club without being questioned or apprehended.

A spokesman for the All England Lawn Tennis Club, speaking on the customary condition of anonymity, said he could not confirm the incident involving Kournikova.

"But we will be interested to hear from the gentleman as to exactly what happened so we can take steps to prevent it happening again," he said.

FAMILIAR FACES: Lleyton Hewitt and Sjeng Schalken are friends off the court and also have seen a lot of each other recently across the net.

When the two Wimbledon quarterfinalists play Wednesday -- weather permitting -- it will be the third time in five weeks they've met. Hewitt won in four sets on clay in the third round at the French Open and beat Schalken in the semifinal at Queen's, where Hewitt won his third consecutive title.

Hewitt has won all 11 grass-court matches he has played in 2002, not including his defeat by walkover in the quarterfinals 10 days ago in the Netherlands when he pulled out of the tournament with a stomach virus. Schalken won the Dutch title, his seventh career win and first on grass.

SECOND SERVES: Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador, who plays Argentina's David Nalbandian in an all-South American Wimbledon quarterfinal, has had three five-set matches this tournament. Before this year, he never got past the second round. He missed last year's Wimbledon with an elbow injury, breaking a string of 17 consecutive Grand Slams. ...

Always outspoken Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion from Australia, says British hope Tim Henman is "average" and Cash doesn't expect Henman will be able to handle the pressure of winning the title. Cash, a BBC commentator, has promised to do a future telecast wearing a dress belonging to fellow commentator and former British player Sue Barker if Henman wins the title.

 

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