July 02, 2007	Monday	Jamadi-us-Sani 16, 1428

LONDON, July 1: Many a Wimbledon champion might not have tasted glory on Centre Court had it not been for the humble racket stringer.

Tucked away out of sight of the public, in a cabin next to the players’ practice courts at the All England Club are a hardworking team of unsung heroes.

If a player snaps a racket string in the middle of a match the Wimbledon stringing team, headed by Frances Davies, can have it repaired and back on court in around 20 minutes.

“It becomes mission critical as soon as the ball boy's in here then the racket goes straight on the machine,” Davies said.

“We aim for an absolutely maximum 22 minutes from court back to player,” she said.

“Normally if you took your racket to a shop it would take half an hour to 40 minutes but our guys do three an hour — 20 minutes each — without compromising quality.”

Over the course of the two-week grand slam the team will string 2,200 rackets, and get through 21.73 km of string.

Competition for places is tough and prospective applicants, all of whom have passed their Master Racket Technician exam, have to be at the top of their game.

“It's seen as the place to string,” said Davies, who has run the team at Wimbledon for 11 years.

“I have to turn a lot of people down. But I will slot who I can in for a day because it is a wonderful experience for them.

“We are perceived as having the best service of the Grand Slams and we aim to keep it that way because we're very proud of that.”

Davies will use 22 stringers over three weeks, which includes the qualifying tournament and has nine on site at any time.

The hours are long, starting as early as 6 a.m. and finishing well after play has ended for the day.

“We can't go home until 30 minutes after the last match which gives the players the opportunity to put their rackets in for restringing the following day,” said Davies, who works for a string manufacturer the rest of the year.

Runners are used to deliver the rackets back to players, wherever they may be.

“I don't think there's a place I haven't been,” said head racket runner Matthew Smith, who as a student of fine art also does the stencilling.

“I've gone to the press office, restaurants, if the player wants it the player gets it.”

The 19-year-old, nicknamed ‘Peter Stringfellow’ by the Wimbledon security guards, uses the warren of tunnels under the courts to get to his destination as quickly as possible.

“Sometimes you have to walk on court after they've lost a third set tiebreak but they always say 'thank you',” added Smith. “You forget they're human sometimes and can be quite chatty.”—Reuters