Let The Games Begin

I have no idea how many hours I’ve been without sleep, and to tell the truth I really don’t want to know.

I must have been mad to book a 6:30 AM flight, meaning that I had to be at LAX at 4:30 in the morning. If you are going to be out at this hour, you should be having a wonderful time sipping cocktails and dancing the night away rather than sitting in an airport lounge.

Add to this the fact that I pulled my usual habit of having a million last minute things to finish and ended up getting 1hour and 50 minutes of sleep before embarking on this trip.

My flight out of LA was on time and I had the aisle bulkhead seat booked on both my flights, so I was feeling pretty good, but this kind of luck couldn't last.. My connection in Toronto was delayed so got to spend a lovely FIVE hours in Canada, writing e-mail, browsing the bookstore and checking my flight status. I finally touched down at Heathrow with my watch reading 7AM Monday the 22nd.

Arriving in the customs area, I’m confronted with a sea of humanity. Unbelievable. I thought there was a worldwide recession. Who are all these people traveling to London, one of the most expensive cities in the world?

It takes close to half an hour to make it through the ten long snaking lines to the customs counter. The officer quizzes me on my reason for being in London, decides I’m not a threat to security, and I pass through to try to find my driver.

The one luxury I allow myself is car service into London. The arrivals area is alive with men in dark suits waving cards bearing the names of arriving passengers.

The “Black Cabs”, those cool black cars that look like they came straight out of a film set, are the only taxi’s allowed to queue for passengers at Heathrow, and these taxi’s are very expensive so like myself a lot of people opt for the car service which is about the same amount, but you have someone waiting for you who will also help you with your bags.

You can take the tube for around 5 pounds, but I have too much gear, and am too tired to deal with it.

1:45 PM

I’ve passed through the glorious gates of tennis heaven, gotten my credential, locker desk, and am ready for business.

I’m sure everyone knows by now that the defending champion, Rafael Nadal has pulled out to give his sore knees a much needed rest. Although I’m sure players aren’t happy about his misfortune, I’ll bet that a big sigh of relief went up for those on his side of the draw. And the Andy Murray fans are ecstatic.

Will this allow the English tennis loving populace to finally have a Men's singles Wimbledon Champion? The Brits have suffered a drought in the Champion’s department since Virginia Wade won in 1977, and have never had a men’s champion in the open era which began in 1968. Fred Perry was the last British man to win the title in 1936. Seventy two years since a British male has won their own championships!

It boggles the mind to think what will happen if Murray wins. The English reserve will go out the window and celebrations will be off the charts! Murray will be biggest most popular sports star in the country.

Of course the fact that Nadal is out is no guarantee that the Scot will come through. First, the pressure will be tremendous, second, although he is now the highest seed in his half, he still has a few good players to get past.

Marat Safin is always a threat, and big serving, 6^th seed Andy Roddick is also in the top half. A match between these two could produce fireworks.

On the women’s side, we could have another sister’s show in the final, with the Williams on opposite sides of the draw. Venus gets number one seed Dinara Safina in her half, and Serena could face Sharapova and Azarenka.

So, let the games begin!

The grass is green, the fans are out,

the flowers are blooming, Champagne is flowing, ,

and we're all looking forward to another wonderful fortnight.