Morning:
8°c
Speaker Bercow is courting approval
New Commons speaker John Bercow MP may not have many friends in the Conservative Party, but he is a popular figure in SW19. The 46-year-old was once one of Britain's top juniors and played in the era when Jeremy Bates, Andrew Castle and David Felgate were emerging as the country's leading lights. Felgate recalled: "He was a long-haired, skinny kid who ran around a lot on the baseline. He was a good enough junior to compete at national level but he has since gone into politics and good on him for doing so well."
Looking after the grass is yawn tennis
Attention: all of you who want to know how to get your lawn looking like the lush SW19 grass, take note. Head groundsman Eddie Seaward said: In the autumn we take off the grass, replenish with new grasses and aerate the soil because it has been packed hard. Once we've got the grass growing, we put on a light dressing of soil, about five tonnes a court. Through the winter we mow once a month keeping it at 14mm. When spring comes, we mow to 10mm, feed and roll it.
Roddick's bother with big brother
Sibling rivalry is in danger of spinning out of control in the Roddick family. Andy's elder brother, John, has just taken a job as tennis coach at Oklahoma University, who are the sworn enemies of Nebraska, the college football team supported by the No6 seed. Andy said: I don't want to be around him if he starts cheering for Oklahoma football against Nebraska. That would really annoy me. I think college tennis is right up his alley but I just don't want to hear him claiming them as his own. It's a very serious matter!
