Every year at the Australian Open, the men’s singles winner is presented with the Norman Brookes Challenge Cup.

The Norman Brookes Challenge Cup is named after Australian tennis champion Sir Norman Brookes, also known as the Wizard (1877-1968).
A former Australian champion and president of the Lawn Tennis Association of Australia from 1926 to 1955, Brookes made history in 1907 becoming the first non-British male to win Wimbledon.

The large silver trophy bearing his name was made in England and financed by the state tennis associations in Australia, following the retirement of two previous trophies awarded to the Australian champion – the Slazenger and Sun Cup.
The design for the Sir Norman Brookes Challenge Cup was based on a large Roman marble vase from the secondary AD belonging to the Roman Emperor Hadrian.
First won by Fred Perry in 1943, the diameter of the Cup is 25.7 cm and its height is 28 cm. It stands on a 15.5 cm plinth.

Right after his semifinal win against Tsonga at the 2010 Australian Open, Federer had joked that Britain had been searching for a male Grand Slam champion for about 150,000 years. In fact it’s “only” 75 years: Fred Perry was the last to win a Slam in 1936 (he won Wimbledon and US Open that year).

Fred Perry statue at Wimbledon:

The last British woman to win a Slam is Virginia Wade: Wimbledon in 1977. Not only was 1977 the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Wimbledon Championships, but it was also the 25th year of the reign (the Silver Jubilee) of Queen Elizabeth II.

Virginia Wade was born July 10, 1945 in Bournemouth, England, where her father was vicar of Holy Trinity Church. The family moved to South Africa in 1946, before Virginia was 1. After finding a racquet while cleaning out a closet at age 9, she played tennis “every single minute I wasn’t obliged to do something else.”
When Virginia was 15 the family moved back to England. By age 16 Virginia was considered the most promising junior player in England, and she qualified to play in the Championships at Wimbledon. She continued to play at Wimbledon every year through 1987–26 years in all.
Virginia won 55 pro singles titles, including 3 Grand Slam tourneys (1968 US Open, 1972 Australian Open, 1977 Wimbledon).
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I spent a few days in London for a bit of sightseeing and a bit of tennis at Queen’s, and I took the opportunity to visit Wimbledon.
Even though I’m French and discovered tennis through Roland Garros, my favorite tournament has always been (and will always be) Wimbledon. So for me it was a dream come true, I finally get to see this fantastic place. Next goal for me: obtain a ticket for The Championships, perhaps next year?

Some infos about Wimbledon guided tours:

How to book a tour?
Online or by calling +44 (0)20 8946 6131

How much does it cost?
The total cost of £20.00 includes entrance to the Museum and is payable upon arrival.

What does the tour include?
Centre Court, No.1 Court, Henman Hill, The Millennium Building and Press Interview Room
Total time for the tour and museum is usually around two and a half hours, including 90 minutes for the tour and an hour for the Museum.

Is it worth it?
Yes, yes and yes!
The guide was really passionate about the Championships and Wimbledon’s history, told lots of anecdotes and took time to answer all our questions. A must-do for any tennis fan!

The first thing you see when you enter the Stadium is the Fred Perry statue and the Centre Court:

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“For years lots of archive Wimbledon footage has been kept under lock and key. Most of it is owned by four companies, so that the public only see it when program producers at channels choose to licence it from these various companies and private owners like IMG.

Here is a YouTube video showing previews from some of the clips. There are also fantastic crowd shots, shots of celebrity spectators and behind the scenes footage of court maintenance as well as an interesting piece on the manufacturing of tennis balls.”

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Murray’s record at Wimbledon:

2005: (world ranking 312, wild card)
- R1 vs George Bastl (qualifier) 6-4 6-2 6-2
- R2 vs Radek Stepanek (14th seed) 6-4 6-4 6-4
- R3 vs David Nalbandian (n°18) 7-6 6-1 0-6 4-6 1-6

2006: (world ranking 44)
- R1 vs Nicolas Massu (n°31) 6-1 6-4 6-4
- R2 vs Julien Benneteau 7-6 6-4 4-6 6-1
- R3 vs Andy Roddick (n°3) 7-6 6-4 6-4
- R4 vs Marcos Baghdatis (n°18) 3-6 4-6 6-7

2007: missed due to wrist injury

2008: (world ranking 11)
- R1 Fabrice Santoro 6-3 6-4 7-6
- R2 Xavier Malisse (WC) 6-4 6-2 6-2
- R3 Tommy Haas 6-4 6-7 6-3 6-2
- R4 Richard Gasquet (n°8) 5-7 3-6 7-6 6-2 6-4
- QF Rafael Nadal (n°2) 3-6 2-6 4-6

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Murray’s chances were greatly enhanced by the withdrawal of defending champion and world number one Rafael Nadal. That left Murray as the top ranked player in his half of the draw.

First round: Andy Murray vs Robert Kendrick (76)
Head to head: Murray 3-0

On Tuesday 23th June, at 5.09 pm, Andy Murray opened his 2009 campaign against Robert Kendrick. All British hopes rely on Murray, who could be the first Brit to win the Championships since Fred Perry in 1936.
His first round opponent, Robert Kendrick, is a journeyman player, ranked 76 and whose ATP singles record is 15-28.
He has only won 3 Grand Slam matches during his career, but the last time he played on Centre Court, in 2006, he lead Rafael Nadal by 2 sets to 0, before falling in 5 sets.
And the match was indeed more difficult than expected, as Murray lost the second set tie-break. It was an entertaining match with big server Kendrick coming to the net as often as possible. But Murray remained solid and focused and won in 4 sets: 7-5 6-7 6-3 6-4.

About his next opponent, Ernests Gulbis: “I’ve got a very tough opponent. Gulbis has caused some upsets in the past and is a huge hitter of the ball. I’m going to need to be on my game to beat him.”

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Murray’s tweet: letter from the Queen

Andy Murray, letter from the Queen

Second round: Andy Murray vs Ernests Gulbis (74)
Head to head: 2-0

It only took 1hour and 28 minutes for Andy Murray to destroy the talented but lackluster Latvian, who was a surprise quarter finalist at Roland Garros in 2008. The Scot looked like a boss from first point of the match and played a near perfect match, hitting 36 winners for only 5 unforced errors.

Murray: “I thought I played well. It was much better than the first match. There weren’t that many moments in the match when I was under a lot of pressure. There wasn’t that much nerves and huge points”.

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Murray’s tweet: snack game

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Third round: Andy Murray vs Viktor Troicki (30)
Head to head: 2-0

Andy’s third round opponent is big hitter Viktor Troicki who is …allergic to grass: “I’m allergic to grass courts, not just at Wimbledon but at other tournaments as well, there’s something in the air that bothers me.”
Apparently he is allergic to Murray’s game too: the last time they met at Miami, Murray destroyed him 6-1 6-0. He played again a near perfect match and advanced to fourth round with an easy 6-2 6-3 6-4 win.
Interesting stat fact for Murray: everytime he beat Troicki in a tournament, he won it.

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Fourth round: Andy Murray vs Stanislas Wawrinka (18)
Head to head: 4-3

It was an epic battle for Murray and an historic day for Wimbledon: the day that night play came to Wimbledon. Murray’s fourth round match was played under the new roof (at last!) after a rain shower. Nearly 13 million Brits tuned in to watch Andy Murray’s five set thriller against Stanislas Wawrinka. And thousand of fans were glued in front of the big screen on Henman Hill.
Wawrinka is a talented but inconsistent former top 10, whose best performances were a win against Roger Federer in Monte Carlo, and an Olympic gold medal in Beijing in 2008 with the same Federer. No one expected the 18th seed to play at such a high level.
In fact, Murray had to play at an incredible level just to survive in the match. He finally prevailed 2-6 6-3 6-3 5-7 6-3 after three hours and 56minutes.
And all Andy had to say, was he was not happy with the roof.

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Murray’s tweet: pizza anyone?

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Quarter final: Andy Murray vs Juan Carlos Ferrero (WC)
Head to head: 1-0

The last wild card to reach the Wimbledon quarter finals was Goran Ivanisevic in 2001, who won the title after an epic 5 five sets thriller against Pat Rafter. But the 2003 French Open champion is not of the same caliber on grass as the big server from Split, and Andy Murray stormed into the Wimbledon semi final for the first time of his career after a victory over Ferrero.

Murray: “A semi-final is something I’ve not experienced here before but at the US Open last year I played a semi-final against the number one in the world (Rafael Nadal). I’m going to have a tough match but I feel like I can win if I play well.”

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Murray’s tweet: Beckham

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Semi final: Andy Murray vs Andy Roddick
Head to head: 6-2

Roddick had lost six of eight encounters with Murray, including the last three. But Roddick was in the form of his life: thanks to his work with new coach Larry Stefanki, he had never been in better physical shape. Fitter, faster, his game has changed , and he’s not only a big serve and an explosive forehand anymore. Murray has grown stronger and matured mentally as well. But Murray was once again way too passive, and the risks Roddick took payed off.
Like during his match against Wawrinka, Murray just tried to survive. The full packed Centre Court and Henman Hill never seemed to believe in Murray’s victory, neither did he. Roddick dashed Murray’s hopes with a 6-4 4-6 7-6 7-5 win after an impressive attacking game display.
Britain will have to wait at least another year to see a home winner triumph.

Andy Roddick: “Andy Murray has a great game and he will do great things in the future but today was my time, and I was determined to take my chance.”

Andy Murray: “I thought I played well, the statistics look good, but Andy put in a gret performance and there is no argument with that. I just wish I could have done better.”

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Murray’s tweet: thanks

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- Dark green and purple are the traditional Wimbledon colours, but from 2006 the officials, ball boys and girls were outfitted in new navy blue and cream uniforms designed by Ralph Lauren.

- “Middle Sunday” is traditionally a rest day. However, rain has forced play on Middle Sunday three times in Wimbledon history: 1991, 1997 and 2004. Each time, Wimbledon staged a “People’s Sunday”, with unreserved and inexpensive tickets. All about the first Middle Sunday in 1991.

- Henman Hill is an area on the grounds of the All England Club officially known as Aorangi Terrace. People without showcourts tickets can watch tennis matches on a giant television screen at the side of number one court. During Tim Henman‘s playing days, the area was the focal point of Henmania, where British tennis fans would fanatically support Henman.

- Last British woman to win Wimbledon is Virginia Wade in 1977. All about Virginia Wade’s triumph.

- Last British man to win Wimbledon was Fred Perry in 1936, last runner-up was Bunny Austin in 1938.
A bronze statue of Fred Perry was erected at the All England Club in 1984 to mark the 50th anniversary of his first singles championship.

- During World War II, a bomb ripped through Centre Court and 1200 seats were damaged. Play resumed in 1946 but it wasn’t until 1949 that the area was back into shape.

- The trophies are presented by the President of the All England Club, The Duke of Kent, and by his sister, Princess Alexandra.

- Wimbledon is the only Grand Slam tournament to feature a Royal Box. The first Royal to visit Wimbledon was Crown Princess Stephanie of Austria in 1895. In 1926, Prince Albert, Duke of York (who later became King George VI and father of Queen Elizabeth II) entered the doubles event with his Royal Air Force tennis partner, Wing commander Louis Grieg.
Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II has visited Wimbledon only twice, to see Virginia Wade triumph in 1977, and in 2010. In 2008, after his epic win against Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal climbed up to the Royal Box, to greet Crown Prince Felipe and Crown Princess Felizia of Spain.

- The quotation above the player’s entrance to Centre Court is an extract from the poem if by Rudyard Kipling:

“If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two impostors just the same”

- Wimbledon will host the Olympic tennis events in 2012.