July » Jul | 105 Jul July Tekst/Words: Jelena Pantović Fotografije Photography: Profimedia.rs WIMBLEDON TOURNAMENT BEGINS In 1868, the All England Club was established on four acres of meadowland on the outskirts of London. The club was originally founded to promote croquet, another lawn sport, but the growing popularity of tennis led to an 1877 announcement in weekly sporting magazine The Field: “The All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Wimbledon, propose [sic] to hold a lawn tennis meeting, open to all amateurs, on Monday, July 9th and following days. Entrance fee, one pound, one shilling.” Twenty-two men registered to participate in the tournament, but only 21 showed up for its first day on 9th July. The final was scheduled to take place on Monday, 16th July, but – in what would become a common occurrence at future Wimbledon tournaments – the match was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for 19th July. In a final lasting only 48 minutes, 27-year-old W. Spencer Gore dominated with his strong volleying game, crushing WilliamMarshall. The Wimbledon Championships, as the only major tennis event that is still played on grass, is held annually in late June and early July to this day. 9 . J U L / J U LY 1 87 7. Zelena trava Vimbldona Davne 1868. godine osnovan je All England Club na četiri hektara livade izvan Londona. Klub je prvobitno osnovan za promociju kriketa, još jednog sporta na travi, ali sve veca popularnost tenisa dovela je do toga da je 1877. godine klub objavio saopštenje u nedeljnom sportskom časopisu The Field, u kome je pisalo: „All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club, Vimbledon,predlaže održavanje teniskog turnira otvorenog za sve amatere, u ponedeljak, 9. jula i narednih dana. Ulaz – jedna funta i jedan šiling.“ Dvadeset i dvoje ljudi se prijavilo, a 21 se pojavilo tog prvog dana, 9. jula. Finale je trebalo da se održi sedam dana kasnije, ali ga je odložilo nešto što će obeležiti buduce turnire na Vimbldonu – pala je kiša! Finalni meč odigran je 19. jula, trajao je samo 48 minuta, a 27.godišnji V. Spencer Gor dominirao je svojom snažnom volej igrom i ubedljivo pobedio Villijama Marsala. Šampionat Vimbldona, jedini veliki teniski događaj koji se još igra na travi, do danas se održava svake godine krajem juna i početkom jula. Prvi finalni meč odigran je 19. jula i trajao je samo 48 minuta The first final match was played on 19th July and lasted only 48minutes
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