A WIMBLEDON star has had an emotional week, winning his first Grand Slam match just hours after flying back for his grandfather’s funeral.
Otto Virtanen came through three rounds of qualifying to book his place in his maiden Wimbledon main draw.
Following round-one exits at the US Open and Roland Garros in the last year, he was drawn against Max Purcell.
But before their round-one clash on Monday, Virtanen had to fly back to Finland over the weekend to attend his granddad’s funeral.
The 23-year-old world No147 posted a photo in his black suit at the sad occasion in Loviisa – approximately an hour’s drive east of Helsinki on the Finnish south coast – on Instagram.
He captioned the post: “He didn’t miss a match… goodbye granddad,” followed by a dove emoji.
Then within 48 hours, Virtanen was on Court 9 up against Purcell.
And he took just 89 minutes to sweep aside last week’s Eastbourne finalist.
That secured Virtanen’s first victory at a Major and secured at least £93,000 in prize money.
The 2023 Davis Cup semi-finalist faces No12 seed Tommy Paul in round two.
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And while that is a daunting task against the in-form American, tennis fans heaped praise on Virtanen for his efforts already during what has clearly been a difficult time for the family.
One said: “Hope he knows his grandpa is watching over him and has a lot to be proud of.”
PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record – and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.
The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events – an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.
However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 – taking the winner’s earnings to £2.7m.
Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:
Another wrote: “One can only imagine what a whirlwind 48 hours it must have been. Utmost respect.”
A third added: “A victory to the sky.”
And a fourth typed: “Tennis and its stories,” followed by a crying emoji and love heart.
By Alison Maloney
WHILE the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff and Andy Murray keep us entertained during this summer’s Championships, spare a thought for those unsung heroes that keep the tournament going.
Personal trainer Alex Crockford, now 33, served as a ball boy at Wimbledon in 2005 and 2006, and has lifted the lid to SunSport on what it’s really like.
“Standing still for hours is one of the toughest parts of being a ball boy,” he says.
“It’s quite strict and you don’t want to let your team down or feel like you’re doing a bad job.
“I remember one really hot day, I clearly hadn’t fuelled or hydrated myself appropriately.
“I did have a very faint moment, and started seeing blurry stars.
“There are six BBGs on the court and a captain, which was me, so I was standing to the left of the umpire chair and I was away from my water.
“I had to go outside of my position, get some water and re-balance myself before I could continue.”
Click here to read Alex’s ball boy story in full.
