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Wimbledon is different in many ways, not least in the way it is covered by the media. At most tournaments you can be pretty sure that those covering the event are, if not dedicated tennis writers, at least sports writers. Wimbledon, though, has what many regard and term as the ‘gutter press’. That is often, but not always, unfair. But there are a great number of news reporters who are often paid a considerable amount of money by their newspaper to produce, and they are under considerable pressure to do so. It’s a dog eat dog world out there.

Sometimes, looking for a light-hearted angle rather than a scandal, they ask what might usually be regarded as outrageous questions. On Wednesday, Tatiana Golovin was the target.

The poor girl had not played a match since April, missing Roland Garros and the Wimbledon warm-up tournaments because of an ankle injury. So, it was her first match back, and she fought her way to victory after being down 5-3 in the third to take it 8-6. Great, gutsy performance. So what was the first question she was asked?

“Can I ask you about your knickers?”

Only at Wimbledon.

They were red, you see, and there’s this ‘predominantly white’ rule. It’s okay though. Although no doubt a little surprised, she responded well.

“There's like a little red outline, and they say red is the colour that proves that you're strong and you're confident, so I'm happy with my red knickers.”

Reporter: “I thought they were lovely.”

Tatiana: “Thank you.”

She also had to deal with a marriage proposal or two during her match, to which she didn’t respond. Unlike Steffi Graf one year on Centre Court, when someone yelled out ‘Will you marry me?’, and Steffi called back, ‘How much money do you have?’

Martina Hingis admitted she had needed to grow up fast when she was playing at Wimbledon 10 years ago.

“You have to mature early”, she said, “otherwise the media is going to eat you alive.”

She knows, because way back then her extensive backside received front-page exposure. That, probably, led to many players wearing those tight lycra bicycle shorts under their skirts to protect their modesty.

She survived that and came back for more, but it’s not her turn now for the tabloid rottweilers. So, she’s feeling good, certainly better than after her first round struggle. And her husband-to-be, Radek Stepanek. He is among a number of players who have had personal property stolen from locker rooms in recent weeks. It has led to Jonas Bjorkman revealing that the ATP are considering having cameras installed.

Stepanek lost 5,000 Euros from his wallet at Roland Garros, and Kenneth Carlsen lost a Rolex watch during the Wimbledon qualifying event. Nicolas Mahut, who reached the Queen’s final, lost an ipod. There are more. Surprising, considering the security these days.

Serena Williams, who gave herself 6 out of 10 after beating Alicia Molik, following a 2 out of 10 after her first match, had an odd experience after apparently winning match point. A ball from the Australian was called out, but the umpire told her she could challenge it with Hawk-eye if she wanted to. Molik declined, but Serena was okay with the umpire’s offer.

“I would have. I told her, I said, you may as well. I would have challenged it, too. I'm not upset. I'm not going to hold it against you.”

Jelena Jankovic, who heads the race to the season-ending championships, enjoyed a 6-1 6-1 win over it-doesn’t-matter-who-at-this-stage. That’s her 52nd win this year, and 64th match. She’s won Auckland and Charleston, Rome and Birmingham, been in the final of Sydney and that funny-sounding place in the Netherlands, and the semi-finals of Roland Garros among other places. How long can she keep going?

“I am quite tired now,” she admitted. “Now I think I've reached close to my limit. But after Wimbledon I will have a vacation and I have maybe three weeks off and be able to recover my body. In the second half of the season I will play a lot less. It will be good for me for sure.”