Federer & former champions celebrate 100 years of Centre Court

LONDON: Wimbledon marked 100 years of its Centre Court on Sunday with a musical celebration and a parade of former champions.

Eight-time men’s champion Roger Federer, who is not playing this year because of a knee injury, said he hoped to play at the famous arena one more time in the future.

“It is great to be here with all the other champions,” 40-year-old Federer said. “I’ve been lucky enough to play a lot of matches on this court.

“It has given me my biggest wins and my biggest losses, and I hope I can come back here one more time.” Wimbledon stalwart Sir Cliff Richard and British singer Freya Ridings performed to the crowd, on the first scheduled middle Sunday of the tournament, and there were guest appearances from a host of famous faces. Martina Navratilova, who holds the Wimbledon record with nine singles titles, tweeted she was gutted that she had to miss the celebration after contracting Covid-19.

Also present at Wimbledon on Sunday were Covid heroes in the NHS and social care, along with refugees from Ukraine, Afghanistan and Syria who have settled in Merton and Wandsworth. The Championships moved to its present site on Church Road in 1922, the same year Centre Court was opened.

Built in just nine months, it is now the sixth-largest tennis-specific stadium in the world, with a capacity of 14,979.