Sky Sports.com - Wimbledon 2008

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    Roger Federer

    Tennis-Roger-Federer_960264.jpg
    • Nationality: Swi
    • Birth Date: 08/08/81
    • Ranking: 1
    • Best: Winner

Wimbledon History: A glance back in time

Interactive Timeline

Take a look back in time at the history of SW19.

Wimbledon facts and stats

Fascinating facts from the world's most famous tennis tournament

Andy Clarke looks at some fascinating information surrounding the world's most famous tennis tournament.

Berry nice

Each year, the patrons of Wimbledon gulp down an estimated 62,000 lbs of strawberries and 1,540 gallons of cream. How they will be affected by the current shortage of strawberry pickers remains unclear.

Prize guys
When Rod Laver became the first men's champion in the Open era in 1968, he picked up a cheque for £2,000. Ladies' champion Billie-Jean King won £750.

Record-breakers

William Renshaw and Pete Sampras hold the record for the most wins in the men's singles, with seven. Renshaw won six of his titles in successive years - a record Roger Federer will be looking to equal this year.

Martina magic

Martina Navratilova has won the ladies' singles a record nine times, winning six years in a row between 1982 and 1987.

Unlucky Evert

Chris Evert holds the record for the most Wimbledon final defeats. Of her seven runners-up cheques, six came after defeats to Navratilova. She also won the title three times.

Time for tie-break

The tie-break was introduced at Wimbledon in 1971, six years after it was invented and two years after Wimbledon's longest match, when Pancho Gonzales beat Charlie Pasarell 22-24 1-6 16-14 6-3 11-9.

Roof justice

Centre Court will have a retractable roof in time for the 2009 Championships, ensuring play can continue in wet weather and sparing spectators from any repeat of that Cliff Richard incident.

Room for all

The current capacity of Centre Court is 13,813, while the new number one Court seats 11,429.

Home triumphs

The last British winners of the Wimbledon singles titles were Fred Perry, in 1936, and Virginia Wade in 1977.

Singles only
The first championship, held in 1877, was a men's singles event. The women's and men's doubles events followed seven years later.

Designer gear

The navy blue and cream uniforms worn by the ball boys and girls are made by the American designer Ralph Lauren.

Inscription

The inscription on men's trophy, awarded since 1887, reads: "The All England Lawn Tennis Club Single Handed Champion of the World."

Unbeaten run

Roger Federer last lost at Wimbledon on June 24 2002, in a first-round match against Mario Ancic. He lost in straight sets, but has won 34 matches since.

Go go Goran!

Goran Ivanisevic (2001) remains the only wildcard entrant ever to win Wimbledon. Ivanisevic lost in the finals of 1992 and 1994.

Duo dominate

Between them, Roger Federer (5) and Pete Sampras (7) have won 12 of the last 15 singles titles. Richard Krajicek, Goran Ivanisevic and Lleyton Hewitt are the other winners in that time.

Sunday service

The 'middle Sunday', traditionally a rest day, has been used three times, in 1991, 1997 and 2004 due to rain.

New balls please

Each year around 42,000 tennis balls are used at the Championships.

Mellow yellow

Yellow balls were introduced in 1986 - replacing white - as they are more visible to TV cameras.

Tall boy Karlovic

Croatia's Ivo Karlovic is the tallest player ever to play at Wimbledon. He's 6ft 10in.

Matched up

Over the Wimbledon fortnight, there are 687 matches in total.

Around the site today

Nadal's strength and athleticism wowed the crowds at this year's Wimbledon.

2008 in pictures

All the best pictures from this year's tournament.

Borg beats McEnroe in 1980 in one of the greatest finals ever

Five classic finals

After Federer v Nadal, we recall five other great finals.

Nadal: Beat Federer in a magnificent final

Day 13 commentary

A detailed look back at the 13th day of this year's Wimbledon.

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