PPC2Britain: "Wimbledon"

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The grass was green, the atmosphere was serene

The tall tales were more than they seem

Excluding the strawberries ‘n crème 

The pompous pims quenched my whims

Built to dawn the finest shrubbery and flower

Buildings and inhabitants alike with

Looks so sweet no upset could sour

Though many were sustained

Ranked champions remained 

(1) Sinner toppled (2) Alcaraz despite the latter’s slated tear

(13) America’s Lady crumbled as (8) Poland claimed the Ladies’ heir 

Wimbledon’s throne shown, the fact that

Wheelchair tennis was so tantalizing 

very few would have known

I now add a memory on par with the social elite

As one of the few in my lifetime to grace 

the Wimbledon grounds beneath my feet

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I had never seen so many flowers and shrubbery as at Wimbledon. They ran across the walls and throughout the grounds. The names of the highest class were mere regulars as we walked through the grounds. //Apparently Tom Holland ran behind me and I didn’t notice.

People rave about how it feels to step past those coveted walls. The chance to sit on the hill. The extravagant villas. //accidentally walked past security for one. Tip: never take off your shades ESPECIALLY if they look fancy.

The strawberries and creme are seen as a moniker or calling card for the high class event. This stems from the historically finite number of strawberries prepared for the event. However, the british blandness overtook the creme’s flavor. Safe to say, the sugar was readily available and consumed nearby. //The strawbs were certainly plump and juicy though

The famed “Pims” mixture of beer and lemonade was a highly touted surprise to me. They were relatively expensive compared to typical alcohol, yet fit perfectly with the nature of Wimbledon. The competition leading to the final championships as we arrived featured numerous upsets. The highest number of seeded players ever recorded were dropped in the first two rounds this year.

The loss of Gentleman’s 3rd seed Alexander Zverev in a heated 3-2 set match in the first round, 3 of which going into an advantage volley, and the loss of Britain's hometown Gentleman's 4th seed Jack Draper in the second round in a 3-1 set match were absolute bombshells.

There were stunning stars nonetheless that survived the volleys. Leading ranking Jannik Sinner was due to face Carlos Alcaraz. The tenth line of this poem takes special significance when accounting for Sinner’s journey to the finals. Sinner was on the verge of elimination following a different tear. Gentleman’s 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov suffered an apparent pectoral injury in their third set while up 2-0 against Sinner in the round of 16. This injury spared Sinner. He did not take this chance for granted.

Watching the American women’s finals set America back beyond the tea party as number 8 ranked polish star Iga Świątek obliterated her competition.

The crew had tickets to court one. We watched a surprisingly exciting game of wheelchair tennis. The players, fans, announcers and Tan were absolutely and enthusiastically locked into the game. 

The days within Wimbledon’s walls were like a dream. I stumbled into a villa. We ventured on a personal tour of their media center. I drank pims on the hill. The highest class of memories were instilled within me