Mr Wilson-Phillips' Wimbledon Post Script

wilsonphillipsFirst of all, dear reader, let me apologise. When I agreed to cover the All England Club’s Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Tournament for The Dunblane Informer, I had expected I would be able to attend each and every match featuring our local champion, Mr Andrew Murray. After the Final, I was to set sail for the United States of America to report on Mr Murray’s defence of his All-American Hard Court Open title. All well and good!

However, as the more diligent of you will have observed, I was not able to report from the Semi-Final or the Final. The blame for this gross inadequacy lies with my manservant – or should I say, former manservant – Chesterfield, who, in an act of extreme stupidity, reserved my voyage to New York for the day before the Wimbledon Final!

I could scarcely believe it!

Indeed, thanks to the delays caused by the Reverend Jeremy James insisting on closing the roof of the Centre Court conservatory during the Semi-Final with Mr Murray, I even missed the end of that match!

Fortunately, I did not incur any financial loss during this appalling fiasco. I was able to sell my tickets for the Final (for only a few guineas less than face value) to none other than the Governor General of Scotland, the Rt Hon. Mr Arthur Samuel. (The man drives a hard bargain, let me tell you!) I sincerely hope that he enjoyed the match and did not engage in any tomfoolery in the pavilion after the match.

And so, I sail ever westwards (I think we are due to pass Ireland any day now). All that remains is for me to congratulate Mr Andrew Murray on his fine victory over the First Gentleman of Tennis, young Mr Neville Johnstone – in straight sets, no less! Let us not forget, either, his remarkable achievement in becoming the first player in 77 years - the first since the legendary Don Federico Pérez - to win the Championship in short trousers. I look forward to watching Mr Murray on the hallowed concrete of New York’s Flushing Meadow. Do keep reading The Informer for exclusive reports and analysis from the Colonies. Until then, keep taking the Pimm’s!

 

Mr Edgar Wilson-Phillips is a former Lawn Tennis Champion of the Dunblane and District Gentlemen's Lawn Tennis and Cribbage Society, and is the author of several books on gentlemen’s tennis, including “The Modern Gentlemen's Guide to Playing Lawn Tennis Splendidly” and “The Great British Lawn Tennis Champions (Volumes 1-5)”.

 

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