Day three of Wimbledon: Thousands line up as seven Britons set to play
thousands of tennis fans joined Wimbledon queue on Wednesday in hopes of getting their hands on it tickets to watch Jody Burrage, Katie Boulter and Jan Choinski in action after a wet Tuesday put many people off.
69 matches were cancelled All England Club on Tuesday due to torrential rain all day. Matches scheduled on Center Court and Court One – the two courts with roofs – were the only ones that could go ahead.
On Wednesday, stewards helping to manage the Wimbledon queue said the bright weather had brought in bigger crowds.
Monday was Wimbledon’s busiest day since 2015, with 42,815 people through the gates of the All England Club – 11,500 of whom queued.
Michelle Dight, Wimbledon’s operations manager, said there were 6,000 people in line by 7am on Monday. At 10 a.m. Tuesday, she said, “We haven’t reached that number yet.” A total of 38,441 people visited the site on Tuesday.
But by 8.30am on Wednesday, officials said there were 8,000 people queuing – meaning it could be another record day for SW19.
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Spectators who have attended Wimbledon in previous years said Monday’s queue was the “worst” they had seen, with many complaining of long delays to get onto the court.
Organizers said extra checks – introduced due to concerns about protests – and high demand were to blame for the slow queue.
Michelle Dight, Wimbledon’s operations manager, said: “We had 11,500 people in our queue yesterday. On the first day of the championship, we had our highest attendance since 2015. Many reasons why the demand was so high – the number of ballots was incredible, the hospitality was sold out. Everyone wants to come on the first day.
“We pride ourselves on being an affordable event, so the only way to get a ticket is to queue. Also, you are aware of the environment around us. We have 100 percent baggage screening for the safety of everyone who passes through our gates. It took a little longer. This caused more delays than expected.”
She said additional measures – including more staff and better informed queues – were put in place as early as Monday evening.
“We are back to the plan. We are confident that we have thought through a number of processes. We are very sorry that so many people stood in this queue.”
Tennis fans Farah and Mohamed El Kazzaz from Surrey said they were “lucky” with the weather at Wimbledon.
El Kazzaz, 52, told the PA news agency: “We were lucky today – we thought the weather would be good.
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“We would have come anyway.”
The pair arrived at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in south-west London shortly before 5am to join a queue of around 1,400 people who they were told should get tickets for the two courts.
Mrs El Kazzaz, 49, said: “It was very nice.
“The weather helps, I think, that it’s not raining. The sun comes out.”
On Wednesday, seven Britons will look to continue their rivalry with 24-year-old Beraj taking on Russia’s Daria Kasatkina on Center Court.
Boulter, 27, will resume her match against Australia’s Daria Saville after play was suspended on Tuesday.
Arthur Ferry, Heather Watson, George Lofhagen, Sonai Kartal and Choynski are also set to star.
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/wimbledon-day-3-thousands-join-queue-as-seven-brits-set-to-play-b1092278.html
