Two tennis fans have been conspicuous by their absence at the royal box since 1994. Lady Diana and Fergie, the two who have been separated from their royal husbands, have not been able to be at the royal box because the all-England Club did not think much about them after their marriages broke up and they have been, ever since, low on the Club's invitation list.

With the tabloids rife with rumours that Diana is all set to marry a Pakistani surgeon, watching tennis may not be part of her agenda at the moment. Meanwhile, there has been a steady stream of sporting stars to the royal box. They include Jackie Stewart (Formula One) and officials like Tim Lamb of the England Cricket Board and Dickie Bird, who unfortunately was the guest when it rained non-stop for two days last week.

SAD COMMENTARY: The Daily Mirror, one of the largest selling tabloids, has claimed that Martina Navratilova, the nine-times champion here is going through a `mid-life crisis' after she split with her lover, model Hunter Reno. After her two-year romance with the six-footer Reno ended, Navratilova, according to the tabloid, disappeared on a solo three-month tour of the United States.

She slept in the van or stayed in cheap motels and travelled around some of the remotest parts of the desert. Navratilova, 40, is commentating for an American TV station, after she failed to find a doubles partner for the tournament, as Martina Hingis refused to partner her.

Her previous lovers include Judy Nelson, basketball star Nancy Lieberman, feminist writer Rita Mae Brown, Olympic skier Cindy Nelson and pop star K D Lang. The 28-year-old Hunter was with Navratilova last year at Wimbledon where they shared a house in south London.

OPEN SESAME: And for just the second time in The Championships' history, gates were thrown open on a middle Sunday with about 11,000 unreserved seats up for grabs at 15 pounds for centre court and 10,000 for number one also for 15 pounds.

Incidentally, the last time the play was scheduled on the middle Sunday, in 1991, was also the friendliest ever experienced i the tournament's 121-year history. For the outside courts tickets were available for just 5 pounds on a first-come first-serve basis. Yet, there was none of that chaos and unruly behaviour from the crowd with so many tickets available across the counter.

And it is felt that the officials will be able to take care of the huge back-log of matches, now pegged at around 200, provided there will be no further rain in the crucial second week.

Copyright © 1997 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.