What it feels like to play Centre Court at Wimbledon

Jeff Morrison
“For me Wimbledon is the most prestigious event in the world and the most hallowed court, the most sacred court, in the world is Centre Court at Wimbledon. So growing up it’s always been a dream of mine to play Centre Court at Wimbledon. It was a bit surreal for me to be out there to realize what I was doing and my surroundings. I grew up watching Pete Sampras win many Wimbledons on that court. Just walking through that door onto the court and knowing who’s passed through it before you, knowing who’s bowed to the Royal Box, the history of tennis is right there out on that court.”

Were you nervous, were you excited …
“I went through about kind of emotion that you could possibly go through. I wasn’t too nervous in the beginning, but the day of the match, I became a bit jittery. You never know what to expect from yourself in a big pressure situation like that. I’ve been in some pressure situations, but none of that magnitude. I just told myself to go out there and have fun, enjoy the moment and I did, played extremely well and good things happened.

“I think for probably the first 30 minutes I was just in awe of everything that was there. I had tons of emotions go through my head … who had played there, the way the court was made up, the crowd, who I was playing, on TV … there was just a lot of things outside of what I was suppose to be focusing on, that were going through my head. But once I settled down and got into the match, all of that disappeared and I just lived in the moment and enjoyed it. It was an awesome experience.

Was there a moment that helped you settle down …
“Part of the way that I am on the court I wear my heart on my sleeve. I like to smile. I like to laugh. I like to have a good time. At one point of the match, I was serving for the second set and I had a set point and I had an easy overhead. I missed it horribly. I was leaning on the net. I took a big smile and looked around and said, ‘how can you be upset about missing that shot when you’re out here playing on this court in front of these people?’ It put things in perspective for me. That sums up the whole experience for me.

And then you won …
“Yeah, and then I won, which made it even better.”

Carly Gullickson
“I remember watching Jana Novotna play; she fell and she sprained her ankle on Centre Court. I remember watching that match and I was like maybe 12 and I said, ‘Oh my God, one day I want to play on that court.’ I’ve always wanted to play on that court just because it’s Wimbledon, the atmosphere and everything.

About the day …
“That whole day I was nervous just because it was Wimbledon; I would have been nervous whatever the court I was on. I hit in the morning. My match wasn’t until like four o’clock, so I hit from like 9:30 to 10:30, then I had lunch and then hit again from 3-4 p.m. I was waiting in the players’ lounge with my coach and my dad, when one of the WTA supervisors came out to me and she said, ‘You’re going on Centre Court in five minutes.’

“I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ I was so nervous … I walked out there and I, like, couldn’t even breathe because I was so nervous …I was playing a girl who was like 40th in the world. I had no expectations. I just wanted to go out there and have fun.

So what happened …
“I lose the first two games and then I win the next five, then I ended up losing 7-5, 6-4. It was an awesome experience and I loved it.

What was it like …
“On TV, it looks just so big, the stadium and everything and I walked out there and it wasn’t that big, but it was huge, but I thought it was going to be more … I saw my dad and my coach up in the players’ section. It was amazing just looking up and seeing all of the people up there. Just thinking about all of the great players played on that court.

“Usually, when you go out to play a match, you think about the things you need to do to win the match. But when I was on Centre Court, I was thinking about winning, but not really, just because I was out there. You know what I mean? Just being out there was awesome.

Future plans …
“I’d like to play at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the U.S. Open.

Center court or just any of the courts …
“The big one.”

Did you get any mementos …
“I stole a towel … I stole two towels.” (a Centre Court tradition)

Was it a hand towel or more of a bath towel …
“It was the big towel.”