Thursday, June 25, 2009

Wimbledon ball girls unexpectedly hit spotlight on Court 1

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Two Wimbledon ball girls found themselves in the spotlight Thursday after unexpectedly taking center stage on Court 1 during a second-round match the previous day.

Michael Llodra had to retire from Wednesday's match against Tommy Haas after colliding with the umpire's chair and then tumbling over ball girl Erin Lorencin.

In an attempt to please the crowd, Haas then started playing against another ball girl instead, knocking balls with Chloe Chambers for about five minutes.

The 15-year-old Chambers was given a huge ovation, and was crowded by reporters Thursday and asked to describe the experience.

"I'm just over the moon that I got to play with Tommy on Court 1. It was just amazing," Chambers said. "I was very nervous, to play on Court 1 in front of thousands of people. I just didn't want to muck up."

She seemed less nervous facing the media, and made clear that she enjoyed her unexpected fame.

"To be handed the racket, and to get this much publicity over it, it's amazing," she said. "Words can't even describe how lucky I was."

Lorencin escaped unharmed from the collision with Llodra — who helped her back up and gave her a hug — but said it wasn't the best way to end up on TV.

"It is really embarrassing," she said. "My little brother was very pleased and laughing."

Royal fan: Andy Murray's recent success is apparently being followed closely by Buckingham Palace.

Murray said he received a letter from Queen Elizabeth II congratulating him on his win at the grass-court tournament at Queen's Club this month.

Murray became the first Briton since Bunny Austin in 1938 to win the Wimbledon warm-up tournament — making expectations even higher for a first British men's title at the All England Club since 1936.

"Got a nice letter from the Queen saying well done for winning Queen's," Murray wrote on his Twitter feed. "Put it in its own pile away from the bills."

Murray told the BBC Thursday that the Queen also wished him "good luck" at Wimbledon.

Buckingham Palace said the letter was private and would not reveal more about its content.

Grave situation: A Wimbledon church had to apologize after letting tennis fans park their cars in a graveyard.

The St. Mary's church had been charging 20 pounds to let cars park at the graveyard during the first week of the Wimbledon championships, but drew criticism after pictures were published of vehicles parked between the tombstones.

The church apologized Thursday, saying it has used an adjacent field as a parking lot for years during Wimbledon, and always gives the proceeds to charity or church activities.

"Sadly, this year, some cars were parked in inappropriate places," the church said. "St. Mary's is investigating to see how this happened and no further car parking will be allowed in the churchyard. ... The vicar of St Mary's is sorry for any offense that has been caused."

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