Wimbledon: Quitters, flying bugs, wins for Querrey and Venus

By Art Spander

WIMBLEDON, England — That’s what Wimbledon needed, a little plug to remind one and all that despite two withdrawals during matches at Centre Court — “Fans cheated as players take appearance fee then quit early,” was the headline in the Times of London — and despite an attack of “flying ants,” it remains the premier tournament in tennis.

“It’s like the Masters for golf,” said Sam Querrey, understandably expressive Wednesday after his 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia — not the state but the country, where Zaza Pachulia of the Warriors grew up.

Querrey grew up in the suburbs of Los Angeles, and he knows his sporting venues. He also knows how to play tennis.

A year ago he stunned the defending champion, Novak Djokovic, in the third round here, and Djokovic hasn’t won a Grand Slam since.

Of course, John McEnroe, who won a lot of Slams (three of the four, missing out on the French) and now comments on everything from the Mets (his team) to Medvedev (first name Danil, a Russian who was beaten Wednesday) blames Djokovic’s recent failings on “off-court issues with the family.”

McEnroe, who knows how to get attention, a necessity when you’re commenting for ESPN and the BBC, then tossed in Tiger Woods. “When he had issues with his wife,” McEnroe said on the BBC, “he seemed to go completely off the rails.”

John, dating back to his year at Stanford, never has been lacking in opinions. So here at the world’s oldest tennis event — it started in 1877 — there were two references to golf, if one, from Querrey, could be described as positive.

Also positive was Venus Williams’ play on an afternoon when the temperature in the greater London area pushed past 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Williams came back after being outplayed in the first set to beat Qiang Wang of China, 4-6, 6-4, “I was always thinking about how I could turn it around,” said Williams.

The All-England Club officials turned around her media post-match interview before it started, the moderator telling reporters to stick to tennis. That meant no questions, as there had been on Monday, about her auto accident in Florida that resulted in one person’s death.

The match against Wang was the 97th played at Wimbledon by the 37-year-old Venus. “Wow,” Williams said when informed. “I’d love to reach 100. That would be awesome.”  A five-time Wimbledon singles champion, Williams could hit the century mark next week by reaching the quarterfinals.

Querrey hasn’t gone that far here, but he speaks of the tournament reverently. “It’s the best tournament,” he said. “Everything about it is unique and fun. The grounds are immaculate. I like playing on grass anyway, so that helps.

“Wimbledon, it feels like a bucket-list thing, not only for players but to fans, moreso than the other three Slams. It’s had that aura around it for a long time. Hopefully that will continue.”

As opposed to the withdrawals, the opponents of both seven-time winner Roger Federer and three-time champ Novak Djokovic taking a hike before the matches Tuesday on Centre Court were played to legitimate conclusion. Each halted after 45 minutes because of announced injuries. The hurting — or least the guilty parties — were Alexandr Dolgopolov and Martin Klizan.

“A player should not go on court if he knows he should not finish,” said Federer. “The question is, did they truly believe they were going to finish?”

The ATP (formerly the Association of Tennis Professionals), the men’s tour, allows a player to twice a year withdraw before a first-round match and still collect his prize money. Once the match starts, however, no replacement can be used, so people who bought tickets get only a partial match for their money.

A second headline in the Times was “Wimbledon crackdown on quitters,” but there hasn’t been a crackdown, only discussions.

Another subject Wednesday was the insects. ”I don’t know they had them on every court,” said Querrey. He was informed his location, Court 18, in a corner of the grounds, was one of the worst.

“Never seen it before,” said Querrey. “I lost the set when the ants came. If I won that, probably wouldn’t have bugged me as much.”

Pretty good quote, Sam.