Wimbledon in review
Adverse conditions
The All England Club did no favours for Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski, two of the game's best serve-and-volleyers, by making the balls heavier and the grass thicker in a bid to improve the spectacle. Henman's tactics were left all at sea, whereas Rusedski could only blast his way to the fourth round before succumbing to the refined Xavier Malisse.
Return of the rally
Extended rallies were the main result of the changes and even the South Americans, who tend to prefer the Copacabana to SW19 at this time of year, enjoyed their fortnight. Three reached the last eight and David Nalbandian the final. Their rise contrasted with the United States who, for the first time since 1922, had no man in the last four of the singles. North American domination of the women's event was considerable compensation.
Grunting grows
The States can now claim the top-three grunters, Serena and Venus Williams having left Monica Seles in the shade this year. The sisters' huge presence combined with their on-court noise make them fearsome opponents. Maybe Britain's Elena Baltacha should take the hint and up the decibels. A title would surely follow...
New generation
Last year Henman, at 26, was the youngest of the four male semi-finalists by 21 months. For Andre Agassi, Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic, this year read Xavier Malisse, Nalbandian and Lleyton Hewitt, 21, 20 and 21 respectively. The new generation has arrived and the two years of transition, when Henman had his best shot at the title, are gone. And there is plenty more talent waiting in the wings.
Heart v head
British tennis fans, betrayed by their annual lapse in reason, once again scented a Henman win. They were left deflated on the first Saturday, having been comprehensively out-chanted by Wayne Ferreira's South African supporters, but could console themselves with a home win and a new song: "Let's go, Henman, let's go" echoed around centre court and Henman Hill from that day on. The rest of us cringed.
Sponsorship deals
Jonas Bjorkman made the most of his mixed-doubles partnership with Anna Kournikova by gaining a sponsorship deal with Del Monte based on the increased exposure he would receive due to his photogenic partner. Kratochvil also made £900 from a one-off shirt sponsorship deal with the budget supermarket chain Costcutter for his last-16 match against Henman. Value indeed given the time it took the Brit to win.
Overruling umpire
The main umpiring controversy of the tournament came during Henman's win against Ferreira. Needing a lucky break when trailing 4-1 in the third-set tie-break with the match level at one set all, Henman got it when Jorge Diaz incorrectly overruled a line call that had been made on the far side of the court from his chair. Ferreira said he was "pissed off". Henman said he had every right to be. Sadly the Portuguese did not umpire Henman's semi-final.
Sick players
Henman's upset stomach against Michel Kratochvil was cured by "a darned good fart", according to the ATP's trainer Bill Norris. Other funny turns included Malisse's palpitations against Nalbandian and Jennifer Capriati's stiff left arm, used only for tossing the ball. But no crock could compete with Richard Krajicek and Mark Philippoussis. A succession of knee, elbow and hamstring injuries left the pair as surprised as anyone when they met in the fourth round. They played a match of mind-numbing quality that Krajicek edged. Don't expect to see either of them again for weeks.
Oracene's hair
The women's championships were predictably dominated by the Williams family. Venus and Serena contested their third grand-slam final of the last four and no one could hold a candle to the haircut paraded by their mum Oracene. Her enormous orange Afro said simply: "My daughters are the best two players in the world. I will wear my hair as I want." She more than made up for the absence of mad dad Richard.