Why DID members leave best seats empty? Wimbledon fans accuse owners of exclusive seats of 'not bothering to turn up' as swathes of the stands were left unoccupied
- Rows of empty members' seats during Rafael Nadal's match today
- Royal Box members were criticised for not watching Maria Sharapova play
- Some fans queued up overnight but failed to see any tennis because of rain
- David Beckham and Bradley Wiggins among sports stars in attendance
While it was all smiles under the Centre Court roof, spirits were decidedly dampened elsewhere at the tournament as rain stopped play on all other courts for most of the day.
And those sitting under umbrellas on Murray Mound were angry to see rows of empty members’ seats in the area directly behind the Royal Box during the tense match between Rafael Nadal and Mikhail Kukushkin.
Poor show: Fans were left infuriated by the empty seats in the stands behind the Royal Box
Fans accused owners of the exclusive members’ seats of ‘not bothering to show up after a long lunch’ as swathes of the stands were left unoccupied.
UMPIRE MUST LIVE IN CAMPERVAN
It is perhaps the last place you would expect an umpire to live while working at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.
But Joy Lovell has been forced to stay in a campervan on Wimbledon Common, after a friend she normally boards with had to cancel at the last minute.
Her temporary berth is just yards away from Wimbledon’s most expensive hotel, Cannizaro House, where suites during the tournament cost £1,000 a night.
Joy, who has worked at Wimbledon for 19 years, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘I am making the best of it.’
Later, Royal Box members were also criticised for not watching Maria Sharapova’s match.
Some fans had queued up overnight but failed to see almost any tennis because of the wet weather.
John Simpson, 37, a company director, from West London, said: ‘I think it’s terrible.
'The members’ seats are the best seats in the house but the members cannot even be bothered to fill them up.
‘Meanwhile, you have thousands of people outside who would kill to watch a bit of tennis.
'We have been queuing since 6am but because of the rain we have seen only 30 minutes of play.
'I think the members need to think about how lucky they are to have these seats. Tennis should be for the fans and not just for the elite.’
Karen Rispoli, 60, from Sydney, said she could see only one person sitting in the Royal Box at the start of Sharapova’s match against Alison Riske and many more empty seats in the stands.
She said: ‘It was a shame that they didn’t open them up to people who were out here. There was one person in the Royal Box at the start.’
Disappointing: Rows were left empty as tennis stars Rafael Nadal (left) and Maria Sharapova played
Ms Rispoli has seen just 30 minutes of tennis before play was suspended on the outside courts and covers pulled over to protect the grass.
Joanne Robson, 30, had travelled from Durham to watch the tennis but had to content herself with watching the big matches on the screen.
ENGRAVE SPELLING ERROR
Roman Zoltowski, 76, who has engraved the champions’ names on to the silverware for 35 years, has owned up to a spelling error. In 2009 he used a ‘v’ instead of the ‘w’ in the name of Croatian Kevin Krawietz, he admitted.
‘I’m a bit disappointed watching Centre Court because there’s lots of empty seats and we’re all sitting here in rain,’ she said. ‘I find that really annoying.’
A receptionist at the Members’ Lobby confirmed the empty seats behind the Royal Box belonged to the All England Club Members, adding: ‘They were probably having a break from watching the tennis.’
A spokesman for the All England Club did not comment.
During the Nadal match, sportsmen and women, who are traditionally invited there on Wimbledon’s middle Saturday, were glued to the game.
And David Beckham was happy to oblige a hat-trick of ladies with their camera phones during a break in play at Wimbledon yesterday.
Selfie hat-trick: David Beckham poses for a photo with three adoring fans during a break at Wimbledon today
The old charmer – who brought mum Sandra to the Royal Box on Centre Court – was at it again a little later as he and a female RAF officer seemed to be enjoying a chat about the weather.
Beckham and his mum sat just in front of another former Manchester United star, Sir Bobby Charlton, with his wife Norma.
YOUTUBE LOVE MATCH FOR LAURA
Injured British women’s number one Laura Robson may not be playing this year, but away from the court she has been enjoying an online flirtation with a young singer.
The dalliance began when Jack Rosies, 21, wrote a song and posted it on YouTube asking Laura, 20, for a Valentine’s Day date.
Then earlier this month Laura agreed to attend one of Jack’s gigs – at the famous London jazz bar, Ronnie Scott’s – but had to pull out.
Olympic cycling gold medallist Bradley Wiggins, whose famous sideburns have morphed into a full beard, sat alongside his wife Catherine.
Fellow Olympic cyclist Victoria Pendleton was also there with husband and former Team GB trainer Scott Gardner.
Others watching included: boxers David Haye and Nicola Adams; England Rugby captain Chris Robshaw; rower Sir Matthew Pinsent, former England cricketer Phil Tufnell, along with Stuart Broad and their partners; Winter Olympics gold medallists Lizzy Yarnold and Amy Williams; and retired Olympic swimmer Mark Foster.
Meanwhile, prices for Centre Court tickets for tomorrow’s matches, likely to include Andy Murray’s last-16 match against Kevin Anderson, were already sky-high last night.
On website Viagogo tickets were being offered at up to £1,900 for a pair.
Pairs of tickets for the Men’s Singles Final on Sunday were going for up to £6,500, though prices are likely to soar further should Murray progress that far to defend his title.
FURY AS WIMBLEDON THREATENS TO SACK MILITARY VOLUNTEERS
Golden boy: David Beckham charms one of Wimbledon's volunteer services personnel
Service personnel who volunteer as stewards at Wimbledon have been threatened with the sack if they sit on unoccupied show court seats when they go off duty.
The special force of 300 services personnel have also been banned by the All England Club from taking courtside ‘selfies’ at the tournament.
Last night Armed Forces members and tennis celebrities called on the club to reverse the decision. Retired colonel Richard Kemp said: ‘Our troops give so much to defend our country, including the All England Club. In return, they should have the decency to let them have these seats.’
Officially, workers at the tournament are not allowed to fill unoccupied show court seats but stewards used to turn a blind eye if members of the military took them.
This year, however, Wimbledon’s team of civilian honorary stewards have been ordered to eject anyone from the Armed Forces they catch sitting in the stands.
One serviceman told The Mail on Sunday: ‘They have been telling us to leave. It’s particularly upsetting because we were told it was because it looked like we were skiving.
‘Eventually our officers told us it was causing too much hassle and if we watched the games we would be sacked.’
Another added: ‘It’s a shame because we’ve given up two weeks of our leave to come here and volunteer.’
The volunteer added that military personnel have also been banned from taking selfies while working.’
Col Kemp added: ‘This is one of the differences between American and British attitudes to their armed forces.
This would never happen in the US, where so many organisations and individuals give special treatment to the troops.’
Oracene Price, the mother of Venus and Serena Williams, told The Mail on Sunday: ‘We value our armed forces in America so I don’t get why they can’t do it in England.’
Last night a spokesman for the club said off-duty staff had never been allowed to sit on a show courts and if it had happened in the past it was against the rules of the club.
Source: Mail On Sunday
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