An interview with the woman whose finger unwittingly created one of the most enduring images in modern Wimbledon history during the 2019 Djokovic-Federer final.
Melanie seems like a lovely and great person. I hope she doesn't ever feel like her moment was any kind of jinx on Roger. If there's one thing I've learned about tennis since becoming a recent and now enthusiastic fan, it's how unbelievably brutal it is and how near-impossible it is to stay consistent, even when you're one of the GOATs. It is a sport that turns on a dime; one bad serve, one awkward shot that's out by an inch, and suddenly your chance to win is over. You can get a sense of just how unpredictable tennis is from the number of sports bettors now raging (unacceptably and grotesquely) at tennis stars on social media; they're learning the financial way that in tennis there are no real favorites. Anyone can suddenly make a quick comeback or fall apart and stun Wimbledon - or another crowd.
Thanks for this great article (and being so creative with your article ideas)! I have seen this picture used as a meme so often that I have wondered about this lady's story from time to time. So it was such a nice surprise to see this article!
She's such a mood! Had a gasp moment when finding out she used to be an umpire ah ah! Love an official with a passionate side off duty.
Also, bless her merciless soul for that line: "Do I feel partly responsible for Federer losing that match? I hope not, because, gosh, it was one of the worst chokes ever, I think, for Federer.”
Melanie seems like a lovely and great person. I hope she doesn't ever feel like her moment was any kind of jinx on Roger. If there's one thing I've learned about tennis since becoming a recent and now enthusiastic fan, it's how unbelievably brutal it is and how near-impossible it is to stay consistent, even when you're one of the GOATs. It is a sport that turns on a dime; one bad serve, one awkward shot that's out by an inch, and suddenly your chance to win is over. You can get a sense of just how unpredictable tennis is from the number of sports bettors now raging (unacceptably and grotesquely) at tennis stars on social media; they're learning the financial way that in tennis there are no real favorites. Anyone can suddenly make a quick comeback or fall apart and stun Wimbledon - or another crowd.
Thanks for this great article (and being so creative with your article ideas)! I have seen this picture used as a meme so often that I have wondered about this lady's story from time to time. So it was such a nice surprise to see this article!
She's such a mood! Had a gasp moment when finding out she used to be an umpire ah ah! Love an official with a passionate side off duty.
Also, bless her merciless soul for that line: "Do I feel partly responsible for Federer losing that match? I hope not, because, gosh, it was one of the worst chokes ever, I think, for Federer.”
I don’t know that I would ‘both sides’ Federer and Djokovic on line fans.
My experience when I was on twitter was that only one of those would name search and then attack anything seen as criticism.
That final was the first Wimbledon men’s final I didn’t watch since 1989 (major work crisis meant I worked the whole weekend).
Knowing Federer lost, I couldn’t bring myself to watch the replay.
Enjoyed this article. Nice that she's taken the image as a good sport. Novak was equally gracious about it.