Fans flock to final

Tennis fans flocked to the famous Wimbledon hill today in the hope of witnessing a classic final showdown.

Hundreds of people were already firmly rooted to the slope in front of the large screen outside Court One this morning - three hours before the men’s final was due to begin.

And many were hoping the virtually unknown Argentinian outsider David Nalbandian can continue his amazing record-breaking run and take Australian world number one Lleyton Hewitt to the wire.

The 20-year-old South American is already in the Wimbledon history books after becoming the first man to reach the final on his senior debut.

He is also the first Argentinian in a Wimbledon final and has still to play his first match on the hallowed Centre Court.

Argentinian student Jose Carrasco, 25, said: ‘‘It is incredible to have an Argentinian in the final.

‘‘I think the whole country will be behind him today and it will be too much if he wins.’’

Australian fan Ella Melville, 34, added: ‘‘Let’s hope it’s a real classic but Lleyton will win, that’s for sure.’’

The careers of Nalbandian and Hewitt, 21, could not be more different with the Argentinian 28 seed earning less than £400,000 (€625,500) so far in his career compared with the millions won by Hewitt.

Even if Nalbandian loses today, he will pocket £262,500 (€410,400).

He said before today’s game, due on Centre Court: ‘‘You never know what’s going to happen in the finals. I think everything can happen.’’

He added: ‘‘I think this is the best week of my life. This is very great for me. For me, this is a dream.’’

Last year, Croat Goran Ivanisevic was the surprise winner of the Wimbledon title after entering the tournament as a wildcard.

Yesterday, Serena Williams won the battle of the sisters to seize the Wimbledon crown from her older sister, Venus.

The 20-year-old outclassed the two-times Wimbledon champion to take the title in a power-hitting final and afterwards said she had been blessed by God.

It was the first Wimbledon final between two sisters since the first ever women’s clash in 1884 when Briton Maud Watson beat her sibling Lilian two sets to one.

The pair will be back in action today in the final of the women’s doubles, which is due to go ahead after the Hewitt/Nalbandian clash.

Meanwhile, Wimbledon chiefs today pledged to build a roof over Centre Court once problems with condensation and ventilation are finally overcome.

After a rain-free first seven days of this year’s Championships, the second week was plagued by bad weather.

All England Club officials have already forked out for costly experiments in the US, to assess the effect a roof would have on grass already under stress from being used for up to eight hours a day.

And now Wimbledon chairman Tim Phillips is expected to further discuss the possibility of renovation at the tennis complex in today’s committee meeting.

Mr Phillips emphasised the need to strike a happy balance between thewishes of fans who queue for hours to gain access to the All England Club and the players who entertain them.

He added, on BBC Radio Five Live’s SportsWeek show: ‘‘We’d need to get planning approval and create a tennis court which provides top-quality play.

‘‘We have an obligation to fans and TV audiences in 170 different countries.

But we also have an obligation to players in terms of safety on court.

‘‘We’ll do it if we can solve these problems - which we haven’t managed to yet.’’