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A fortnight ago Tsvetana Pironkova lost to in the second round of qualifying for Eastbourne.

Incredible.

The achievement of world number 344 Watson, who triumphed in three sets on the south coast, is nicely illustrated because Pironkova is some player and a worthy winner over Williams.

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For the bargain price of £20 (£14 after 1700 BST) you can enter Wimbledon, cruise around at leisure, sit where you want to sit, see who you want to see.

I remember perching on a park bench by Court Five, ground pass in pocket, watching come from two sets down to beat Jim Pugh in 1991, just as clearly as my first Centre Court experience.

The trail around the outside courts is a voyage of discovery. The park benches remain, the concourses are always packed. Doubles players leap and lunge, juniors get a first taste of the famous grass.

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I never liked being tall. I always thought that 6 ft 4 ins was just a little abnormal.

My Dad assured me it would be useful, particularly on the and as I craned my neck on the balcony above Court 18 I was thankful again for those extra inches.

and were down there somewhere - down there, through the throng, between the man with the camera and the lady on tiptoes -

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Hi everyone! My Wimbledon 2010 blog is going to be a mix of thoughts from the day's play, insights from the 5 live commentary box and a few nuggets of gossip and chat from behind the scenes. It should appear every couple of days, please send me your comments!

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At least is being up front and honest with us.

Rather than let the question of Davis Cup commitment drag on and fester during Wimbledon, to break the bad news.

Rather than waiting until the week of the tie in July and exaggerate a muscle strain or something similar, Murray has wisely decided to call it early - and call it as it is.

Britain should be able to beat Turkey without him, just as they without him.

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And so Rafael Nadal is back ruling his clay-court kingdom and we shouldn't be remotely surprised.

To close the red-shale season unbeaten, with a perfect record from his seven matches at Roland Garros, emphasised his superiority on the slowest surface.

also emphasised that his - his only loss in six years here - probably requires an asterisk in the history books.

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It was the perfect demonstration of the sporting value of perseverance.

, who turns 30 on the third day of Wimbledon, is the second-oldest first time Grand Slam champion in the open era, behind in 1969.

And the .

Her major championships have, more often than not, ended in the first week .

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After the recent domination of Belgians and Russians and Serbs and Williams, completely out of the blue.

, is the first Australian woman to reach a major final in 30 years, while the appearance of , means Italy is represented in a women's Grand Slam singles final for the first time in history.

to add to her previous conquests of Justine Henin and Serena Williams.

The Aussie played well again but what was Jankovic doing?

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One of the most important men in British tennis is also one of the least known.

As Wimbledon approaches, and the annual assessment of the state of the game is conducted, Steven Martens will be coming more to the fore.

- performance director in old money - and has risen through the ranks as an almost unstoppable force in the past four years.

The Belgian was appointed as technical director in 2006 before , and as other members of the LTA leadership team jumped ship, Martens gained more control of various departments. He is now effectively running the show.

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A colossal tennis match, full of heavyweight hitting with lines being struck consistently by both men, ended with

It brought crashing down.

After reaching the semi-finals or better in his last 23 Grand Slam championships, this was .

I hope this sequence is never forgotten - it will almost certainly never be repeated - because it's the ultimate statistical record of Federer's dominance, fitness and ability to peak at the right time.

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