Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal could paint the town red at London 2012 after the All England Club agreed to waive their all-white dress code in a bid to distinguish the Olympic competition from the Wimbledon Championships.
The All England Championship rules state that during Wimbledon all players must wear ‘almost entirely white' clothing but chief executive Ian Ritchie has confirmed the regulations will not be enforced during London 2012.
The world famous south London venue is set to host the Olympic tennis competition in 2012 for the first time since 1908 with the nine days of competition expected to begin on July 28 - just 20 days after the 2012 men's Wimbledon final.
And while London 2012 director of sport and venues Debbie Jevans confirmed only minimal temporary changes will be made to the All England Club during the Games, organisers are keen to give the Olympic competition its own identity.
Numerous past players - including Ann White and John McEnroe - have felt the wrath of the All England Club for attempting to flout the dress code, but Ritchie insists the decision was not made through gritted teeth.
"No [it was not a major issue] is the short answer," said Ritchie. "We want to be clear and I think there will be a great interest in this competition.
"The top players in the world will be here and we hope to some extent there will be a different type of audience.
"We have been very supportive [to Locog] throughout the process but it is not the Championships. It will be its own competition, have its own style and it will play out in its very own way.
"The idea was never to have a repeat of the Championships.
"And so with regards to the players' kits we are perfectly happy for there to be some colour."
With less than three weeks between the Championships and the expected start of the Olympic competition - the poorer relation of the two in terms of prestige - concerns have been expressed that tennis fatigue would set in.
That could in turn prompt a lack of public interest and therefore some empty seats - a categorical no-no in the eyes of both Locog and the International Olympic Committee, after so many half-full venues at Beijing 2008.
But Jevans, a former Junior Wimbledon runner-up who sits on the board of the All England Club, believes the British public have the appetite for both competitions.
"We are not worried about tennis fatigue because there will be a lot of people who do not get tickets for the Championships," said Jevans.
"It gives them the chance to come and see the best players in the world."
Jevans also revealed that the expected daily capacity at Wimbledon during Games time will be approximately 26,000 compared to the 40,000 during the Championships.
There will be 172 athletes competing as mixed doubles makes its Olympic debut in 2012 while there will be 160 ball boys/girls and 180 technical officials.
In total, 12 of the courts will be used for competition including Centre Court, courts one and two, court seven, 11 and 12 and courts 14-19 but not court three.
Matches will be scheduled to get underway each day at 11:00 with only one session, ensuring the estimated close of play will be 20:00 with few, if any, night matches expected to take place under Centre Court's £100m retractable roof.
Locog expect that, with the help of the Olympic Route Network, the journey for athletes staying in the Olympic Village will take 45 minutes.
Source:
http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/13082010/58/wimbledon-waive-olympics-dress-code.html
