Thursday marks a changing of the guard. While for many this might mean electing a new prime minister, at Wimbledon, tens of thousands queued for a chance to bid adieu to Andy Murray and cheer on the next generation of British tennis stars.
Murray is due to compete alongside his older brother, Jamie, in the men’s doubles this week in his final Wimbledon showing. There had been hope he would play in the tournament’s singles, but he pulled out on Tuesday after being unable to sufficiently recover from the back surgery he underwent 12 days ago.
On Thursday morning, just after the gates to the grounds opened at 10am, there were about 12,000 people waiting in the queue for tickets. Many were there to see Murray play his first doubles match on Thursday afternoon. At noon, people were advised not to travel to the grounds to avoid disappointment.
Stephen Young, 50, was among those eager to see Murray’s Wimbledon swansong. “He’s my No 1, he always will be,” he said, after joining the queue at 5am.
He had travelled to London from Glasgow with his wife and daughter for the tournament. On Wednesday, his daughter queued from the early hours to snag tickets. The family were back again on Thursday to see Murray play in his final Wimbledon.
“It’s sad, but at the same time he’s had a tremendous career, we’re very proud of him, all of Scotland is,” Young said. “It’s a shame that just as he was getting to the top of his game is when the injuries started to happen. I’m sure he’s absolutely devastated, but what a career he’s had.”
Murray’s goodbye comes as history is made elsewhere at the tournament. Jack Draper, the new men’s British No 1, is due to take on the No 2, Cameron Norrie, while the women’s No 1, Katie Boulter, is facing the No 2, Harriet Dart. This marks the first time that the British No 1 and No 2 in both the men’s and women’s rankings have faced off at Wimbledon.
Young is eager to see Draper succeed. “He’s doing great. I hope he takes the mantle off of Murray. I think he’s the next big Brit. I hope he does well today,” he said.
John and Caroline Atkinson, 58, were optimistic about Britain’s chances this year. “It’s amazing. Usually by the Thursday there’s not many Brits left in but there’s plenty around today. We’re pretty excited about seeing them,” said John.
“On the women’s side it’s been brilliant. I think the men have been a little disappointing this year,” he added. “While it’ll be good that a Brit will make it to the next round, it’s disappointing that one is going to get knocked out.”
The pair are also feeling the Murray fever. “The whole places buzzes when he’s here,” said John.
Among the Wimbledon veterans in the queue were also some newcomers. Alex Nairn, 22, had travelled from Edinburgh to see Murray on the court. She had never been to SW1 before. “It’s once in a lifetime,” she said.
If she was unable to snag Centre Court tickets, she hoped to watch the Scot on Henman Hill, where large screens will be showing the match. “It’ll be fun regardless of how he plays,” she said.
Nijla Mingo, 32, and Emeka Ezugwu, 37, are visiting London from New York. They joined the queue at 5am. “We thought we’d be getting here early but we’re about number 3,000,” said Ezugwu.
Ezugwu, who is British but lives in the US, said: “Andy Murray is around my age in terms of generation. It’s always great to see a British icon. Hopefully he’s strong enough to get through the round and get as far as possible.”
