WIMBLEDON DIARY

Other Wimbledon stories in brief

McEnroe outlasts British hope

SUE Barker, Boris Becker and Tim Henman were in studio yesterday filling in air time as it rained. But Tim wasn't saying anything because he had lost his voice. In the middle of the two-way discussion, John McEnroe barged into the studio: "I can't believe you've lost your voice. You've only done three matches and you had Sunday off." He then left, leaving a pleasantly stunned silence.

French star turns on the style

IT'S not like the All England Club to allow anyone run around on their roofs and perform back-flips and cartwheels on their manicured lawns. But yesterday the gymnast Sébastien Foucan was doing just that, much to the delight of the bored crowd, who were waiting for Roger Federer and Mario Ancic to come back on court after a rain break.

The name Foucan may not ring a bell but for those who saw the last James Bond movie, Casino Royale, the opening scene involves a chase over buildings and cranes between Bond and the bad guy. That's Foucan, now world famous for what is called "free running".

Everything cool as rain arrives

THE one scorching-hot day Wimbledon had this week was Tuesday and over 50 people fainted, according to the ambulance and first-aid personnel. Of course it then rained yesterday 30 minutes before play was supposed to start on Centre Court, with the temperature dropping from a 28-degree high in some parts of London to 20 degrees as the umbrellas were unfurled.

 Freebies given short shelf life

AMBUSH marketing is still alive and well on Church Road, the main route to Wimbledon from Southfields tube station. But yesterday the free dried fruit bars and juice were piling up in large mounds at the security gates as the free items were being confiscated by officials. All bags are checked going into the site and no one was allowed in with the offending material. But according to the green policy in operation at the championships, it wasn't totally wasted. Everything is binned and recycled.