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American Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn. (Twitter)
American Olympic skier Vonn was present at the SW19 to witness the oldest grand slam championship in all its glory. The American alpine skier voiced why Wimbledon has a special standing in the annals of tennis and in the world of sport as a whole.
The 2023 edition of the prestigious All England Championships is in full swing as the quarterfinal encounters between the last eight contestants standing have been set in stone and we inch ever closer to crowning the Wimbledon champion in the ongoing tennis calendar.
Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, an ardent fan of the grass-court major, was present at the SW19 to witness the oldest grand slam championship in all its glory.
The American alpine skier voiced why Wimbledon has a special standing in the annals of tennis and in the world of sport as a whole.
“I love the tradition of Wimbledon. I love the whites, I love that in any stadium you can hear a pin drop,” the 38-year-old began.
“Everyone respects the game so much. There’s so much tradition, so much history and I am a person that really loves tradition,” the continued.
“Honestly there is so much in the world that changes. I like something that is always going to be there, always is going to be amazing, and to me that is Wimbledon,” the skier-par-excellence opined.
“I think my most vivid memory of Wimbledon was watching Roger Federer and Andy Roddick in this crazy long final tiebreak, it just kept going back and forth, and we were on the edge of our seats the whole time.”
The 38-year-old athlete is a proud fan f the Swiss maestro Federer and says she draws inspiration from the seven-time Wimbledon winner ahead of her competitions.
“Roger has always been, kind of, my guy. I remember watching him before some of my races and always I feel like no matter if he is down match point, I never feel like it is over, so for me that was always something to look at and aspire to,” she asserted.
“There are a lot of similarities between tennis and skiing. It is an individual sport, you are out there by yourself. When you’re at the starting gate of skiing, there’s all the pressure on you,” she said as she drew parallels between the sports.
Vonn also touched upon the mental fortitude it takes to survive in individual sports.
“It is similar to being down a match point and there’s only you to control what happens. And I like tennis because you can see that on their faces and in skiing you can’t because we have helmets and goggles and everything, but I feel when I watch them, I can feel their emotion and how they are fighting through it mentally, and how champions don’t let the pressure get to them” she said.
“I think Wimbledon offers so much respect for the game, it is obviously tradition and history, but that’s the tradition and history of respect and love and admiration,” she elaborated.
“Playing on grass and watching grass is so much different and I love everything about it,” she said.
“And you get some strawberries and cream and that is always nice as well,” she concluded.
Six-time SW19 champion Novak Djokovic will be in quarterfinal action on Tuesday as he is slated to face Andrey Rublev, while Jannick Sinner takes on Roman Safiullin.
In the women’s QF action of the day, Iga Swiatek will take on Elena Svitolina, while American Jessica Pegula is up against Marketa Vondrusova.
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