Henman another IMG client has been chauffeured around in a special Jaguar of racing green

Henman, another IMG client, has been chauffeured around in a special Jaguar of racing green. No common courtesy car for him.Whatever Tim achieves there will always be Henman Hill, but it’s only a small part of McCormack Monument Anyone for business?. For the third time in 14 years Wimbledon’s traditions were shattered as the All England Club were forced by dismal weather to announce play on the middle Sunday of The Championships, a day normally regarded as sacrosanct to offer a rest to competitors, officials and the residents of the area immediately surrounding the world’s greatest tennis tournament. Another 7,000 tickets at £15 will allow access to Courts 2-19.The decision to open up Wimbledon today was made, said the chief executive Chris Gorringe, after consultation with the local authorities. “It is obviously a huge inconvenience for a lot of people,” Gorringe admitted, “not least our neighbours in this residential area of London.”We are encouraging only people who live relatively close to Wimbledon to turn up on Sunday. We are only going to be able to sell unreserved tickets on the day and everyone will have to pass through the main turnstiles in Church Road. There will be extra security staff on duty to get people into the ground as quickly as possible.”Late yesterday there were still hopes of being able to stage a limited amount of play, not least in order to avoid the full ticket cost refund to which Wimbledon are committed by a complete wash-out.

But the scene at the All England Club was a depressing one, with spectators circling the walkways aimlessly and umbrellas being furled and unfurled every few minutes under a uniformly dark grey overcast.When the decision about today’s additional programme was taken, players due on court in matches later yesterday were sent home. Among them was Tim Henman, whose third-round contest with Hicham Arazi had been scheduled third on Centre Court behind matches involving the two defending champions, Roger Federer and Serena Williams.At least Henman had seen some gentle activity in the morning when Sir Roger Bannister lit the Olympic Torch in the Royal Box on Centre Court and it was passed on to Henman for a ceremonial lap of the Wimbledon real estate before being handed over to Virginia Wade, women’s champion in 1977, for the next leg of its journey through London. Appropriately, considering the weather, the flame promptly flickered and died as Henman took possession and needed to be relit before the British No 1 jogged circumspectly through the grounds, a broad grin masking his concern that any further spillage of fire from the torch might ignite his tracksuit.The tent cover on Centre Court was lowered for the ceremony, attended by many personalities from the world of sport on what has become established as Sportsmen’s Day on the middle Saturday of the tournament. However, it was soon erected again with the rainfall varying from steady to spots-and-drizzle, watched by such as Lord Coe, jockey Pat Eddery, golfers Ernie Els and Retief Goosen, athletes Jonathan Edwards and Colin Jackson, Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson, Jane Torvill and, from the world of tennis, Monica Seles.The referee, Alan Mills, said that 262 matches had been completed so far, when about 380 should have been played, with another 400 still to go, including events like the junior tournament.”So far this year we are ahead of 1991 and 1997 in matches completed,” said Mills. “But I try to make sure that singles players play their matches on the right days and get a day off. If we didn’t play tomorrow [Sunday], some of the girls will have played four days in a row going into the semi-finals and then just one day off between the semis and Saturday’s final.”In this sort of championship that’s asking too much.

And if some of the girls are playing doubles and mixed, then there would be absolutely no chance of those events finishing by next Sunday.”This year, for the first time, we cut the mixed doubles entry from 64 to 48, and that helps a lot in this situation. Then, when we start the junior events, we could play the early rounds of junior doubles as one pro set or something like that.”Gorringe explained the reduction in capacity for the two show courts today as a safety precaution “We don’t want too many people coming. In 1991 I was probably the first ever tournament director urging people not to come to his event.”One of the biggest differences between 1997 and now is the heightened level of security that we’re all living with. The Championships used to be played over 12 days, now it’s 13 days We’ve done that pretty successfully over our history.

Napoleon described St Mark’s Square as the “finest drawing room in Europe” and its daily Rialto market is a riot of local colour. The best thing to do in Venice, however, is to throw away your map and get lost in the labyrinth of streets and alleyways.Getting there: Cresta (0870-33 33 303; ) offers two-night breaks in Venice at the Hotel Centauro from £304 per person, based on two sharing, including return flights from London Gatwick to Venice, and breakfast.. The “island” of Venice is actually a mosaic of 118 tiny islands. These are intersected by the Grand Canal linked by three bridges, most famously the Rialto. The Hotel Gennarino a Mare (00 39 077 180 071; ) juts out over the water in San Pietro, with its own moorings, and offers double rooms with breakfast from €180 (£128) per night. 10 Venice “La Serenissima” is, as everyone knows, an island of pure romance. With its gondolas, canals, hidden passageways and opulent palazzi, its charms never fade.