By Bill Scott Jun 24, 2005, 16:57 GMT
London - Fervent grass-court fan Boris Becker predicted Friday that even Latin baseliners will jump at the chance to play on the lawns of Wimbledon if London wins the 2012 Olympic bid next month.
With the capital in the running with Paris, Madrid and Moscow and lagging New York, the three-time champion said that the pure joy of returning to Wimbledon, just weeks after the club's annual tennis championships end, should rub off on all competitors if London wins the 2012 bid.
"I don't see any complaints whatsoever, not from the Spanish or the South American, certainly not from the Americans," said Becker, who was drafted into the London campaign at a late date ahead of the IOC's decision, to be announced in Singapore on July 6.
"I think it's the contrast - after a long clay court season and after a very, very draining hard court season starting in two weeks, everyone enjoys a break on grass.
"It's just a bit more fun on a softer surface than it is maybe on clay."
Becker, along with officials from the London bid, stated their case as the current Wimbledon Championships fortnight headed into the middle weekend.
The German, once the public face of a failed Berlin Olympic bid, pointed out that as long ago as the 1908 Games, Wimbledon served as a tennis venue.
"It was the first surface that the Olympic Games was played on," said the former great. "Tennis-wise, I like tradition. So I think we'll just make the full circle again."
Swiss-based Becker defended his choice of London over Paris in his personal preferences.
"I'm a world traveller, and I love being in Paris, I love being in Moscow and so forth," he explained. "But tennis-wise, this particular city - in particular, Wimbledon - is obviously very close to my heart.
"I call this my second birthplace 20 years ago. So when I was approached before the tournament started, I said, 'let's talk about it.'"
"I'm a big supporter of Wimbledon, and I'm sure that this tennis tournament here at the All England Club would be spectacular."
The German who sparked a tennis revolution in his country two decades ago believes that British tennis could get a shot in the arm from hosting another Games. But the good news may be arriving earlier than expected in the shape of 18-year-old promise Andy Murray, now into the third round.
Games bid official Mike Lee said that the London delegation heads to Singapore with confidence.
"We feel in good shape, it's now coming into the last stretch. We've had some very good feedback across the whole of the world on our proposals.
"(IOC boss) Jacques Rogge, among others, have all said it, it's a race too close to call. So it looks as though it's going to the wire in Singapore."
Wimbledon supremo Tim Phillips said the Wimbledon members will be happily banished to the practise courts of Aorangi Park for nearly two months while games preparations are made in summer 2012.
"I can say we're 100 percent behind it," said Phillips. "I took this proposal to our annual general meeting and the members were 100 percent in favour of doing this.
"The British people are very passionate about sport, as we see from the spectators we get at Wimbledon already. I think there's a feeling that in this country sport needs to move up the national agenda to deal with a range of social issues - health, obesity, delinquency, drug issues, assimilation of minority communities into society at large.
"And we believe, we really do believe, that sport, all sports - our interest obviously is tennis - can play a fundamental role in doing that."
Even London's at-times horrific traffic has been promised to be tamed.
Officials are promising that special Olympic bus lanes would allow competitors to get from the village across the metropolis and through the Wimbledon gates in 40 minutes - a journey which would currently require at least twice as long.
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