Wimbledon facts 1-7

• Wimbledon - weird and wonderful facts
• Wimbledon facts 1-7
• Wimbledon facts 8-14

1) Don't complain about rain
During World War II, a bomb ripped through centre court and 1,200 seats were lost. Fortunately, they weren't filled at the time. Play finally resumed in 1946 but it wasn't until 1949 that the area was back in top shape.

2) No time for matchmaking
The last married woman to win the women's singles championship was Chris Evert Lloyd in 1981. Married to the jobs perhaps?

3) A short introduction
In 1930, Brame Hillyard became the first man to play wearing shorts. That was on court 10 - and Bunny Austin was the first to do so on centre court three years later.

4) By the letter
Goran Ivanisevic is the only Wimbledon champion whose entire name alternates consonants and vowels. We're not sure who did the research into that, but we're glad it wasn't us!

5) British bad boys
Tim Henman was the first-ever person to be disqualified from the men's doubles in 1995, after hitting a ball in anger and striking a ball girl in the process. Andy Murray, in turn, became the first British player in 106 years to be fined after swearing at a match official - although that was in a different tournament.

6) Champion eats words
Despite predictions of half a million visitors this year, when Spencer Gore became the first Wimbledon champion in 1875, he said he doubted whether the game would catch on - perhaps unsurprisingly since it cost just one shilling to watch the final and Gore received 12 guineas for his triumph. (If you're wondering? The pot now stands at 12.6m)

7) Name that game
The name 'tennis' is thought to come from the French 'tenez!' ('take' or 'receive'), a server's warning shout.

Weird and wonderful facts 8-14>>

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