Talk About Tennis 2.0

And here we are.

Quick question. Venus has entered Nottingham, which isn’t far from me at all, and I thought my dream of seeing her play live was never going to come true so I’m gonna book a ticket. Only problem is I’m snowed under that week at work and can only have one day off, which I pretty much need to book off in the coming days. So any tips on which day to book? Should I book the Friday and hope she makes the quarters? I think it’s be a safer bet to book a first round match, but then it’s pot luck if I book a Monday ticket she will be scheduled to play on the Tuesday. Is there any logic to working out when they will play her first round?

I would think that, no longer being a top player - but still considered to be a top draw (for ticket sales), she'd play on the first day. Of course, that's just a guess.
Call the tournament and ask to speak with someone in the director's office, and ask them - nothing to lose by trying.

Of course, the other possibility is that Venus pulls out before her first match. She and her sister have been known to do that.

Are there any special criteria for letting fans in - like that they must show proof of vaccination, for example?

Deuce wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 8:20 pm I would think that, no longer being a top player - but still considered to be a top draw (for ticket sales), she'd play on the first day. Of course, that's just a guess.
Call the tournament and ask to speak with someone in the director's office, and ask them - nothing to lose by trying.

Of course, the other possibility is that Venus pulls out before her first match. She and her sister have been known to do that.

Are there any special criteria for letting fans in - like that they must show proof of vaccination, for example?

Thanks for the reply. All I can find so far is that they will be using a 48 player draw format this year, and that you have to register an account with them before you can apply for a ticket (which I have just done). I agree it’s possible she won’t turn up at all, but it’s always been top of my tennis bucket list to watch Venus on grass so I’m going to try and hope for the best as anytime I’ve managed to get Wimbledon tickets I have never been on the same court that she been playing on

Liamvalid wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 7:03 pm Quick question. Venus has entered Nottingham, which isn’t far from me at all, and I thought my dream of seeing her play live was never going to come true so I’m gonna book a ticket. Only problem is I’m snowed under that week at work and can only have one day off, which I pretty much need to book off in the coming days. So any tips on which day to book? Should I book the Friday and hope she makes the quarters? I think it’s be a safer bet to book a first round match, but then it’s pot luck if I book a Monday ticket she will be scheduled to play on the Tuesday. Is there any logic to working out when they will play her first round?

Agree about calling the office and asking - can't hurt. But they probably won't know anything until the draw is made. Can you call in sick instead of taking a vacation day? Normally I wouldn't suggest lying, but in this-- oh, who am I kidding, I'd do it without a second thought. That way you can wait for the order of play. If tickets won't be available the day before, you could buy tickets for each R1 day and sell the ones you don't use.

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 9:24 pm

Liamvalid wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 7:03 pm Quick question. Venus has entered Nottingham, which isn’t far from me at all, and I thought my dream of seeing her play live was never going to come true so I’m gonna book a ticket. Only problem is I’m snowed under that week at work and can only have one day off, which I pretty much need to book off in the coming days. So any tips on which day to book? Should I book the Friday and hope she makes the quarters? I think it’s be a safer bet to book a first round match, but then it’s pot luck if I book a Monday ticket she will be scheduled to play on the Tuesday. Is there any logic to working out when they will play her first round?

Agree about calling the office and asking - can't hurt. But they probably won't know anything until the draw is made. Can you call in sick instead of taking a vacation day? Normally I wouldn't suggest lying, but in this-- oh, who am I kidding, I'd do it without a second thought. That way you can wait for the order of play. If tickets won't be available the day before, you could buy tickets for each R1 day and sell the ones you don't use.

Haha maybe in previous jobs I’d have considered that, but I work for the NHS now and pulling a sickie isn’t really an option. I might just go on the Friday and hope she draws Giorgi in the first round!

meganfernandez wrote: ↑Sat May 15, 2021 9:24 pm ...
Agree about calling the office and asking - can't hurt. But they probably won't know anything until the draw is made. Can you call in sick instead of taking a vacation day? Normally I wouldn't suggest lying, but in this-- oh, who am I kidding, I'd do it without a second thought. That way you can wait for the order of play. If tickets won't be available the day before, you could buy tickets for each R1 day and sell the ones you don't use.

Which usually ends up in a Ferris Bueller situation, as a ball will land next to you and as you pick it up the camera catches you, with a silly grin on your face, as you reach over and hand it over to Venus herself.

Plan.
Go to a hardware store. Buy a chainsaw, in a clearly marked box.
Go to your boss' office, with the chainsaw in the box. Explain the situation. Casually say: "I would be really upset if I can't fulfill this dream. It would drive me insane..."
Tell us how it goes. You will have plenty of time for that (following my professional advice usually leads to less than desirable outcomes).

I mean if you are able to, would you be able to take two days off. That way you can see Venus and some other good tennis or just plan something else for the other day. Besides the order of play, weather may also have an effect, so if it rains on Day 1 and she's scheduled, you'd still be able to see her (unless she's scheduled on day 2 and it rains... then you can hope she makes the weekend)

Isn't this called strategy?

In the 1990 RG final, Andres Gomez broke first in the last set. He no longer bothered to even try on Agassi's services games, and saved his energy for HIS services games.
He lifted the trophy.
Not everybody is David Ferrer.

mmmm8 wrote: ↑Sun May 16, 2021 11:27 pm I mean if you are able to, would you be able to take two days off. That way you can see Venus and some other good tennis or just plan something else for the other day. Besides the order of play, weather may also have an effect, so if it rains on Day 1 and she's scheduled, you'd still be able to see her (unless she's scheduled on day 2 and it rains... then you can hope she makes the weekend)

I work for the wheelchair service branch of the NHS. Our clinics don’t operate on weekends so I work a mon-fri week, but we have a massive waiting list at the moment due to closing during part of the pandemic and have told we can’t book more than one weekday off as leave for the time being until we get the waiting list down, hence I can only have one day to go to the tennis, and I need to book it now so the admin can ensure I don’t have any patients in on that day. I have decided to book the Monday off and go on the Monday and hope for the best! If I don’t see her, my other hope is that she makes the semis and I can go on the Saturday

I would say Monday would be a good bet. The organizers "know" she doesn't have the best chance to reach the weekend, but she is still a huge draw. As she will not be seeded, putting her on the first day is a good way to start the tournament.
Best of luck.

And not to be a pessimissist, but remember she may still wind up not playing... make sure if you are taking time off that you're ok with it if she doesn't wind up playing.

ptmcmahon wrote: ↑Mon May 17, 2021 2:27 pm And not to be a pessimissist, but remember she may still wind up not playing... make sure if you are taking time off that you're ok with it if she doesn't wind up playing.

Yeah the line up is pretty good this year so I’ll be happy enough if that happens. Only way I won’t be happy is if I book the Monday and she plays on Tuesday! But I’m a gambling man so I’ll take the 50/50 chance haha