SW19 Diary: The father of all differences
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Your support makes all the difference.Contrast of the day. Walter Bartoli was his usual nervous presence courtside yesterday – what was the former doctor's bedside manner like? – with his constant fidgeting and frowning up in the players' box (his wife kept a spare seat between them).
Next door Sabine Lisicki's father, Richard, sat with barely a flicker of emotion until the moment his daughter won. The Liscikis have been based in Florida at our own Nick Bollettieri's academy, where Richard is known for his absolute calm whatever the situation. Incidentally, four of the eight women who lined up in the quarter-finals are coached by their fathers, while Maria Sharapova used to be.
(Not) missed calling of the day
Rory McIlroy to John McEnroe: "Do you play golf?" McEnroe: "Not any more – I get a bit frustrated and end up with no clubs left in my bag."
Rafter between two little Aussie battlers
Good luck to Pat Rafter, once a Wimbledon runner-up, now in charge of Australia's Davis Cup team. When Bernard Tomic's stunning tournament – he faces Novak Djokovic this afternoon – comes to an end he will be off to serve his country's cause in a tie against China. Tomic has had a frosty – at best – relationship with Lleyton Hewitt, his green and gold team-mate, for the last couple of years since a verbal spat over practice at Wimbledon. Tomic was asked in his post-game press conference after beating Xavier Malisse whether Hewitt had been in touch to offer any encouragement. He hasn't. Rafter has been here advising Tomic and is a close friend of Hewitt, but he might have his work cut out.
Judy's the safest bet of the fortnight
Bet of the day. Bookmakers will do anything to get your attention, or rather money, so among those bets waved under the diary's nose yesterday was odds on Andy Murray to be clean-shaven for today's quarter-final, but – as is becoming the norm over this fortnight – he was upstaged by his mother, although this time she had no say on it. According to the woman herself, you can get 20-1 on her wolf-whistling Feliciano Lopez during this afternoon's game.
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