There was a tacit acknowledgment on Centre Court on Friday that we might need to pace ourselves. It’s been 10 years since Andy Murray was the last Briton to reach a men’s semi-final, but everyone remembered how exhausting it can be. It’s not the heat, it’s the humidity; it’s not the hits, it’s the hopes.
The sun bore down on the middle sections of Centre Court, where the shade of the roof can’t reach, turning the prized courtside seats into a pointillist painting of panama hats, an animated gif of fluttering fans. When Cameron Norrie won the first point of the match – and then the second – there were oohs of anticipation rather than cries of delight. The crowd seemed to know, instinctively, that they should conserve their energy on the hottest day of the tournament.
