I was heavily sedated on the morning the LTA released tickets for the ATP event at The Queen’s Club this year; 11 February.
By the time I regained my compos mentis…to the extent that my mentis is ever truly compos…Pinky, my brand-new hip was in place, my non-functioning, organic right hip had gone…and so had most of the decent-looking seats for the ATP at Queen’s.
“No matter”, I thought, in what might have still been a drug-induced state of relaxed acceptance. Ground passes are just £30 a pop and I’m sure I’ll be able to get good seats for the Queen’s WTA tournament when they come out…which I did:
This seemingly unfortunate timing turned out to be a jolly good thing, as Janie and I had a super day at Queen’s without “troubling the stewards” of the main Andy Murray Arena.
On Court One, which ground passes cover, there were to be two excellent looking doubles matches. Although I got very confused as to how many players we would actually see.
First Match: Three Gentlemen Against Two – Arévalo González & Pavić v Mektić & Venus
The problem with modern trends away from the use of punctuation is that you can never be entirely sure where you stand.
Had the reading source I chose stated: “Arévalo-González & Pavić v Mektić & Venus” I’d have understood. I’d also have understood had they used the Oxford comma: “Arévalo González, & Pavić v Mektić, & Venus”. But in the absence of punctuation I assumed we would be seeing three gentlemen against two – which was, after all, a perfectly regular mode of tennis play in Baroque times…
…and which I thought might explain why Arévalo González & Pavić are the top ranked team in the world at the moment.
Anyway, the scoreboard on Court One was quite clear that we were to see “Arévalo & Pavić v Mektić & Venus, so it was not a complete surprise when only four players emerged.
The Appliance Of Science To Avoid The Inferno
Inspired by Galileo’s mathematical/geometric analysis of Dante’s Inferno, as explained in the previous evening’s Gresham lecture…
…I did some complex geometrical analysis of my own, ahead of setting off to Queen’s, to ascertain which area on Court One was likely to be in the shade the earliest.
Until my treatise has been peer-reviewed I shall not be disclosing my methods. Suffice it to say that my theory played out in practice, which was a real blessing on such a hot day.
Janie and I took turns to go out and refill the water bottles and/or get some iced coffee. We also scoffed our smoked salmon bagels with impunity, once we were in the shade, soon after 14:00.
The young stewards on and around Court One were very friendly and also very helpful.
It was rather a long wait for the second match of the day on Court One; Jacob Fearnley needed to finish his singles match and rest a while before it could start. But from our point of view waiting around in the shade was well worth it, not least because we had spent a full day at Queen’s the week before during the WTA, so had no great desire to look around the exhibition stands.
Second Match: Two Brits & Fritz
Those helpful young stewards started to “advertise” the impending doubles match to inquisitive passers-by as “two Brits & Fritz”. I wondered whether we were to see two gentlemen against one – otherwise known as Canadian Doubles.
After all, but for the unfortunate absence of Señor González earlier in the day, we’d have seen three gentlemen against two, so this sort of made sense.
Further, Eustace Miles much preferred playing tennis two against one if he could not play singles
As a variation, the Three-handed Game is good. One
of the best Matches I have ever had was at Boston,
when I played against Messrs. Fearing and Stockton.
They have practised together as a pair again and
again, and they probably form the best working pair
and combination of all amateurs. It was capital exercise,
and I cannot imagine anything more enjoyable.
But I can count on my fingers the Four-handed Games
that I have enjoyed.
Yet, when the players emerged, Taylor Fritz brought Jiri Lehecka with him, perhaps attempting an element of surprise or ambush.
But the Brits were not to be outflanked. An excellent win for Messrs Fearnley and Norrie – they could be a formidable doubles pairing should they choose to persevere with their partnership, we both felt.
We avoided the crush at Barons Court Station by walking away the long way around and stopping for a couple of games of table tennis before heading for the exit.
The ground pass thing was very different from any day Janie and I have spent at the tennis before, but still a most enjoyable, relaxing day. Maybe I should try being sedated on the day that LTA tickets are released more often.
