This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2013/jun/14/queens-club-incredible-hulks-tennis

The article has changed 2 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
At Queen's Club it's game, set and match to the incredible hulks of tennis At Queen's Club it's game, set and match to the incredible hulks of tennis
(4 months later)
If Wimbledon is the victim of its own popularity – sweaty and rammed, impossible to get into, impossible to get out of – Queen's is, indisputably, victor. "You need to be quite a tennis nerd to even know Queen's is on," said Ben, 45, prepared for all weathers in brightly coloured corduroy.If Wimbledon is the victim of its own popularity – sweaty and rammed, impossible to get into, impossible to get out of – Queen's is, indisputably, victor. "You need to be quite a tennis nerd to even know Queen's is on," said Ben, 45, prepared for all weathers in brightly coloured corduroy.
It's not quite nerdiness, Cary, 40, elaborated later. "Wimbledon is full of normal people. Queen's is full of people with whom I have nothing in common. It's so posh, look at the uniform: double breasted blazers, brightly coloured corduroy, brown slip-on shoes. The outfit itself is an heirloom. If it weren't for the tennis, I couldn't stand it here!" Well, sure … though at the same time, if it weren't for the tennis, we would just be standing in a car park.It's not quite nerdiness, Cary, 40, elaborated later. "Wimbledon is full of normal people. Queen's is full of people with whom I have nothing in common. It's so posh, look at the uniform: double breasted blazers, brightly coloured corduroy, brown slip-on shoes. The outfit itself is an heirloom. If it weren't for the tennis, I couldn't stand it here!" Well, sure … though at the same time, if it weren't for the tennis, we would just be standing in a car park.
Pippa Middleton was at centre court to see Andy Murray, but that aside, if racing is the sport of kings, tennis is the sport of intellectuals. The players are so close, and there is so much pacing and recouping: you can peer into their faces and think you're seeing into their minds. "You're much more alone in tennis than you are in other sports," said Clay, 51. I met my first ever Clay. It pleased me that this was at a grass event, but I didn't mention it. "You can see them working their way through their dilemmas."Pippa Middleton was at centre court to see Andy Murray, but that aside, if racing is the sport of kings, tennis is the sport of intellectuals. The players are so close, and there is so much pacing and recouping: you can peer into their faces and think you're seeing into their minds. "You're much more alone in tennis than you are in other sports," said Clay, 51. I met my first ever Clay. It pleased me that this was at a grass event, but I didn't mention it. "You can see them working their way through their dilemmas."
This is an elemental human characteristic, I suppose; once you can see someone thinking, you imagine what it is that they're thinking. And even though it's most probably, "must… hit… ball… must… win… hate… to… lose", in your mind, it has become a novel. It's intimate, compelling and a bit shaming, like having a window that unavoidably looks directly into your neighbour's shower.This is an elemental human characteristic, I suppose; once you can see someone thinking, you imagine what it is that they're thinking. And even though it's most probably, "must… hit… ball… must… win… hate… to… lose", in your mind, it has become a novel. It's intimate, compelling and a bit shaming, like having a window that unavoidably looks directly into your neighbour's shower.
But if it used to look like a novel by David Foster Wallace, today it looks like one by Ayn Rand. The players are all ginormous. They disappear with a wheat allergy, and come back looking like Hulk.But if it used to look like a novel by David Foster Wallace, today it looks like one by Ayn Rand. The players are all ginormous. They disappear with a wheat allergy, and come back looking like Hulk.
Laura and Kathy, a daughter-and-mother pair who had never been to Queen's and usually went to Wimbledon, agreed, "the game's changed. They're huge. Look at Tsonga," Laura started. Kathy continued, "He's huge! He's my favourite," while Laura preferred Hewitt. "He's determined… he really gets the crowd involved." I've never seen the Australian play, and imagined something like a cross between a tennis player and a stand-up ("how're we all doing today? Anybody in from Tasmania?"). But not exactly… "He takes his shirt off, constantly."Laura and Kathy, a daughter-and-mother pair who had never been to Queen's and usually went to Wimbledon, agreed, "the game's changed. They're huge. Look at Tsonga," Laura started. Kathy continued, "He's huge! He's my favourite," while Laura preferred Hewitt. "He's determined… he really gets the crowd involved." I've never seen the Australian play, and imagined something like a cross between a tennis player and a stand-up ("how're we all doing today? Anybody in from Tasmania?"). But not exactly… "He takes his shirt off, constantly."
There are rumours, of course there are rumours, that tennis has merely gone the way of cycling; with so much money involved, so much meat needed to feed the machine, but so little in it for anybody except those at the very top, drugs are unavoidable. Unlike cycling, however, there's even more money in tennis, so even more done to keep it all quiet; the only memorable drugs bust was in 2009, when Richard Gasquet tested positive for cocaine. That was chiefly memorable for the excuse he gave – that he must have caught cocaine from kissing a girl in a nightclub.There are rumours, of course there are rumours, that tennis has merely gone the way of cycling; with so much money involved, so much meat needed to feed the machine, but so little in it for anybody except those at the very top, drugs are unavoidable. Unlike cycling, however, there's even more money in tennis, so even more done to keep it all quiet; the only memorable drugs bust was in 2009, when Richard Gasquet tested positive for cocaine. That was chiefly memorable for the excuse he gave – that he must have caught cocaine from kissing a girl in a nightclub.
In this crowd of die-hard tennis lovers, nobody believes the game has gone bad. "Everybody's more athletic, now. It's a global game, it's much faster, more competitive," said Naomi, 21, equably. Her father, Martin, 62, agreed: "Look how beefy Andy Murray is now. He used to be a bit flabby. But that's just the way the sport has gone."In this crowd of die-hard tennis lovers, nobody believes the game has gone bad. "Everybody's more athletic, now. It's a global game, it's much faster, more competitive," said Naomi, 21, equably. Her father, Martin, 62, agreed: "Look how beefy Andy Murray is now. He used to be a bit flabby. But that's just the way the sport has gone."
Martin, incidentally, has four children and divides his spare sporting tickets by lottery. This seems like an object lesson in equitable parenting, or maybe it is just nice that his children all pretend to love sport equally much.Martin, incidentally, has four children and divides his spare sporting tickets by lottery. This seems like an object lesson in equitable parenting, or maybe it is just nice that his children all pretend to love sport equally much.
If the drugs are a moot point, the money isn't; the players are so heavily branded that it looks like a metaphor for globalisation, in which, rather than France competing against the Netherlands, Adidas is competing against, oh, also Adidas.If the drugs are a moot point, the money isn't; the players are so heavily branded that it looks like a metaphor for globalisation, in which, rather than France competing against the Netherlands, Adidas is competing against, oh, also Adidas.
Watching the last few games of the beefcake Tsonga, a man with an appealing Dutch-ish accent mused, mainly to himself (it would be counter to the Leveson spirit to claim he was talking directly to me): "I'm here with two beautiful ladies, watching tennis, with some great wine, but also able to do deals on my mobile phone."Watching the last few games of the beefcake Tsonga, a man with an appealing Dutch-ish accent mused, mainly to himself (it would be counter to the Leveson spirit to claim he was talking directly to me): "I'm here with two beautiful ladies, watching tennis, with some great wine, but also able to do deals on my mobile phone."
It was, like so much in the grounds – the panama hats, the particoloured man-scarves, the sailing tans, the ironically plastic Moët glasses – a caricature of self-satisfaction, so blatant that it was almost endearing. Things might look a bit different without the tennis.It was, like so much in the grounds – the panama hats, the particoloured man-scarves, the sailing tans, the ironically plastic Moët glasses – a caricature of self-satisfaction, so blatant that it was almost endearing. Things might look a bit different without the tennis.
Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.