THE NUMBERS GAME

Unless you were at the bottom of a coal mine on Mars with earplugs in, you will know that Andy Murray won Wimbledon. He did it convincingly and is now everybody's favourite Scot.

Something which might have passed you by however is the significance of the number seven in this momentous event in British tennis.

Murray achieved his win on the seventh day of the seventh month of the year, seventy seven years after Fred Perry did so.

The last British woman to win Wimbledon, Virginia Wade, did so in nineteen seventy seven.

This was Murray's seventh grand slam final.

He has been dating his greatest fan, girlfriend Kim Sears, for seven years.

Finally, both Murray and Djokovic were born in nineteen eighty seven, seven days apart. 

Spooky!

COURT IN THE ACT

I love playing tennis but sadly my playing days are over since I got golfer's elbow. Obviously I assumed it was tennis elbow but the medics assure me that it is the smaller ball version even though I was playing tennis at the time.

My tennis 'career' started at the Bristol Cathedral school. Whilst I never quite made it into the Olympic team, you will be impressed to hear that I was 'house' tennis captain at school and our house ('Abbots') finished just outside the medals in fourth place. The other three houses were called 'Deans', 'Canons' and 'Priors'.

Tennis facts and trivia:

1. Though the modern game is British in origin, the original game came from France and was called 'tennis' from the French word 'tenez' which means 'hold'.

2. At one time, the strings of the racquet were made from cow or sheep guts.

3. The fastest ever serve so far has been recorded at 156  miles per hour or about 120 miles per hour faster than mine.

4. The first women to play at Wimbledon wore full length dresses.

They could probably have beaten me even though I was in proper tennis kit.

ANYONE FOR TENNIS?

Wimbledon is a superb spectacle. The setting is so wonderfully English with the intimate feeling that the show courts give, the strawberries, officials and those in the royal box dressed in their finery, the purple and green livery and the amazing views across the wonderful city of London. Even non-tennis fans can enjoy the atmosphere, especially on a sun-soaked day during a perfect English summer.

Now it is even better with the addition of a roof over the Centre court to allow play to continue on the all too frequent wet days and the lighting allows for late finishes which is good for the crowd and for players who do not relish having to restart a match the next day.

Most of the players regard it as the one to win - a special event. It seems to bring out the best in players and we are treated to superb matches. I am not alone in thinking that tennis players are tested for stamina to a much greater degree that most other sports players. Footballers for instance, play for only 90 minutes whereas a tennis match can last for 3 or 4 hours. In addition, players are constantly engaged during the play of a tennis match while footballers spend a lot of time strolling round the pitch waiting for the ball to come near. Cricketers too, spend a great deal of time waiting in the field or off the pitch for their moment to arrive.

So tennis is a great test of courage, skill, stamina and agility. The players are tremendous athletes and offer themselves as wonderful role models to youngsters. The Wimbledon officials provide competitions for young players in the form of the girls and boys events and also for those past their prime who may still compete in veterans events.

I would urge you though to look beyond these competitions to the wheelchair tennis. Many people, you may be among them, have no idea that during the Wimbledon fortnight, wheelchair tennis is played to the full. Along with Para-Olympics, this is an amazing spectacle as the players not only have to wield their racquets skillfully to win their matches, but have to use their arms to propel themselves around the court. It is incredible to watch and leaves the observer speechless with admiration at the human qualities displayed by these talented and brave people. Indeed it makes you feel proud to belong.

GUERILLA GRANNIES

Just got back from my tennis tour. Sorry - my tennis four. Tuck it! Why are 'T' and 'F' so close together! There's me and these three little old ladies. OK you can stop sniggering. I know what you're thinking..."These men! They can't bear to lose! Have to have soft opponents." Well no, I can't bear to lose - but I do - often.

When I get there we go through the routine of who plays with who by spinning racquets several times and trying to hide the result. Whoever gets me says nothing but has that look which means 'Why me? Did I do something bad in a previous life?' It's like those times at school when the two captains picked teams. The highlight of your day was when there was just you and 'Nerd minor' left and you got picked ahead of him.

Time was when I would hold the door open for little old ladies in case they didn't have the strength to open it. Or give up my seat on the bus in case their skinny little legs snapped as we swung round a corner. Well its no more Mr. Nice Guy. Once they get on the court its like they are on tennis Viagra! A gentle waft of their racquet and the ball whistles past like a sniper's bullet.

Its not as if they are any good at the game. If the ball is within range I carefully hit it so it goes near one of the old dears on the other side of the net so she can hit it back again but does she do the same? No. She clearly has no control over where her shots go because her returns are usually well out of my reach. Where's the fun in that? I spend most of the time fetching balls from the back of the court.

Actually, one of them does have some control over where her shots go. Knowing that I'm a bit precious about my new spectacles, she seems to have an uncanny knack of aiming her shots straight for my face. This prompts me to do my impersonation of a wimpy girl who's got a wasp in her hair doing the boogie. It also loses me the point.

So here's the deal. I need you to hit the 'comments' button below and give me some tips on how to beat these muthertucking guerilla Grannies. Next time we play, I want to use my tennis racquet like a machine gun and wipe them off the court.