Aussie stars hit Wimbledon’s centre court while players put out the back
Australians aplenty are gracing the most hallowed tennis venue in the world – only problem is they’ve all been celebrities.
Australians aplenty are gracing the most hallowed tennis venue in the world – only problem is they’ve all been celebrities and not one wielding a racquet at this year’s Wimbledon Championships.
Centre court in SW19 hasn’t been a particularly happy hunting ground for Australian tennis players over the past five decades with just two men – Pat Cash (1987) and Lleyton Hewitt (2003) – and two women – Evonne Goolagong (1980) and Ash Barty (2021) – lifting the winner’s trophy since 1971.
Given the chance to sit in the royal box, Australian actors Russell Crowe, Rebel Wilson and Cate Blanchett all jumped at the opportunity on day two of the tournament. Trouble was they got to watch the likes of Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Alexandra Eala of The Philippines do battle while Australia’s real stars of the grass courts, 11th seed Alex de Minaur and 16th seed Daria Kasatkina were relegated to Court 18 and Court 14 respectively.
Both won comfortably, although Kasatkina, who recently renounced her Russian nationality to compete for Australia – had to overcome a bout of pre-match nerves that caused her to throw up before beating Colombian Emiliana Aranago.
De Minaur took down Roberto Carballes Baena in straight sets, declaring he had to “lift my level” in more hot conditions. “It felt like a very solid match against a tough competitor, and there was a little bit of everything,” de Minaur said. “At the end I had to lift my level when I needed it and played some clutch tennis to finish it off, so overall, quite happy with the performance.”
De Minaur will face Arthur Cazaux in the next round after the Frenchman defeated Australian Adam Walton.
Other Australians to progress were Aleksander Vukic, who beat Taipei’s Tseng Chun-hsin, and Rinky Hijikata, who thrashed Belgian David Goffin.
Back on centre court, Crowe and his fiancee actor Britney Theriot, Wilson and her wife Ramona Agruma, a sustainable clothing brand founder, and Blanchett enjoyed the traditional hospitality of the royal box.
Former Australian Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo was also at Wimbledon watching the tennis, as were former English cricketer Stuart Broad and his partner Mollie King and English football great David Beckham, and actors Richard E. Grant, Jason Isaacs and Omari Douglas.
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