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It’s almost a pity it didn’t rain at Wimbledon on Thursday, because there was otherwise a very good chance that it would have rained on every day of The Championships and that would have been something to remember. Showers are predicted for the foreseeable future.

Not much tennis was played on Saturday, but that may not have mattered too much to many of the spectators. Being at Wimbledon is special and an end in itself, and I’m sure many come just as much for the occasion and atmosphere as they do for the matches. And sitting in the rain looking at the covers over the courts is as much a tradition at Wimbledon as strawberries and cream. But what a year to have so much rain, with no roof on the Centre Court.

Inevitable, I suppose.

The world of the professional tennis player is pretty much closed to the outsider. After all, they are the best in the world at what they do, and it would be the same for actors or musicians. By necessity, with so much interest in them, they have to often stay behind closed doors to have any kind of private life. It’s understandable. How would you like to be stared at every time you go somewhere, even if it’s only to the supermarket. People want to know what’s in their basket, what they order in a restaurant. So they have to shut themselves off. The general public, the fans, really know very little about them. True, there are magazine and newspaper articles, and sometimes what they contain might even be true, but most of the time that still doesn’t get you under the skin of a celebrity.

However, unknown to many tennis fans, there is a way to get inside the private life of a player. Both Tours have a website that contains player blogs (diaries in old-speak), and sometimes they can be quite revealing. You learn what a player does away from the court or how they prepare for their match, and it’s in their own words. And it isn’t just the minor stars that contribute. Rafael Nadal wrote from Roland Garros, and you can’t get better than that. Roger Federer wrote from Tokyo.

Sometimes there are stories that rarely reach the newspapers, such as some things that happened to Tommy Robredo at the Hamburg Masters last year. He got locked into the stadium, and he practised with a member of the tournament staff before his semi-final win over Mario Ancic.

“I’ll explain the situation,” said Robredo in his blog. “After doing the interviews at the press room, getting my massage and putting some ice, I went to eat something in the restaurant and for some reason someone closed the door and locked me inside. If it wasn’t for my strong arms, I would have still been locked inside the restaurant and had to sleep there before my semi-final match”.

And practise with a member of staff? It happened because he didn’t have a coach with him, not that it stopped him winning the tournament.

“Well, when you get late into a tournament week it can sometimes be hard to find another player to hit with,” he said. “I didn't have anyone lined up to hit with and it was midnight after my match, so I asked the guy at the practice desk if they could find me somebody to warm up with me. That's how I got him. His name was Ollie. I asked him what he was doing here and he said he's the guy who puts the water bottles in the machine!''

Apart from practising with the water bottle man, what does a player go through to get ready to play his match? What is his routine? What goes on behind the scenes? Everyone is a little bit different, I guess, but this is what Tommy does.
“I like to wake up three hours before my match and have a practice 90 minutes before my match,” he said. ”I don’t really like to get up early but sometimes that means I must already be at the tournament site at 9am, moving my body a little bit. I prepare my three racquets to play. Every time I play a match I like to get my racquets re-strung. I have to put on the grip and then prepare my energy drinks.

“Then before the match I have a routine. I like to go to the bathroom and then put my iPod on and listen to music for about 20 minutes. Nobody can disturb me. I have about 1,000 songs on my iPod but before the matches I like to listen to rock because then I arrive a little bit more motivated on the court. I like to listen to ZZ Top, Coldplay, Mana, for example, but I also have Mozart, Bach, any kind of music. It just makes me feel good, it takes my mind off the match.”

See what I mean. How much of that did you know before?

Alicia Molik is providing the insight into her life at Wimbledon. Having been struck down with an inner-ear virus that effectively cost her a year off the tour soon after she had reached the top 10, she is still working her way back but recently won the doubles at Roland Garros with Mara Santangelo.
She said ... no, let her tell it in her own words.

“And you may ask what does one do at Wimbledon on a day off like mine on Tuesday? Well, it's 4am first of all. I forgot to write this blog last night and I woke up in the middle of the night and realized it! I have a blanket wrapped around me in the lounge room of my apartment; as I write this, I'm in my pyjamas and looking forward to getting back to sleep!

“I'm a relatively early riser so my day off will start with walking down the street for a VERY strong coffee, and a read of the paper. The way I start any ordinary day. More than likely in the morning I will go to gym to loosen up, have a bit of a jog and do a few exercises. I have a practice court booked at 1pm at Wimbledon with my coach so I will only begin to walk down to the courts around an hour before that, to minimize time there; last thing I need is to hang around the courts all day again!

“Did I mention another coffee and maybe a bit of shopping yet? No doubt I will get in touch with one of my best friends, Bryanne Stewart, and try and co-ordinate a time to meet up with her in Wimbledon village to catch up and chill out, a large priority for me. As soon as practice is done I need to get away and forget Wimbledon is happening also, and with Bryanne that is always very easy. Of course, that is all weather permitting!

“See you tomorrow, bye for now... and goodnight!”