1996 Wimbledon Championships

1996 Wimbledon Championships
Date	24 June – 7 July
Edition	110th
Category	Grand Slam (ITF)
Draw	128S/64D/64XD
Prize money	£6,465,910
Surface	Grass
Location	Church Road SW19, Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom
Venue	All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club
Champions
Men's singles
Richard Krajicek
Women's singles
Steffi Graf
Men's doubles
Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde
Women's doubles
Martina Hingis / Helena Suková
Mixed doubles
Cyril Suk / Helena Suková
Boys' singles
Vladimir Voltchkov
Girls' singles
Amélie Mauresmo
Boys' doubles
Daniele Bracciali / Jocelyn Robichaud
Girls' doubles
Olga Barabanschikova / Amélie Mauresmo
Gentlemen's invitation doubles
Wojciech Fibak / Tim Wilkison
Ladies' invitation doubles
Jo Durie / Anne Smith
Senior gentlemen's invitation doubles
John Alexander / Sherwood Stewart

The 1996 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom.^[1][2] It was the 110th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from 24 June to 7 July 1996.

Events

When rain interrupted play on Centre Court on 3 July with a crowd that included Prince Michael of Kent, Princess Michael of Kent and actress Joanna Lumley,^[3] Cliff Richard, who was watching from the royal box, was approached by court officials for an interview. They suggested that he sing a song or two to entertain the crowd.^[4] With approval from his PR manager Richard proceeded to give an impromptu performance, starting with "Summer Holiday".^[5]

The performance ran for twenty minutes and consisted of Richard's hits such as "Living Doll" and "Congratulations", as well as the Elvis Presley hit "All Shook Up".^[5] Past tennis stars Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Hana Mandlíková, Pam Shriver, Liz Smylie, Gigi Fernández and Conchita Martínez were in the Royal Box and proceeded to join in as background singers.^[3][5]

Richard was not aware that his performance was televised by the BBC, and after six songs presenter Des Lynam jokingly claimed "we'll probably get one hell of a bill." The performance made the front pages in many major British newspapers on the following day. Since a retractable roof was completed on Centre Court in 2009 such a performance is unlikely to happen again.^[6]

During the entrance of the court staff for the Men's Singles final, the court was briefly invaded by a streaker.^[7]

Prize money

The total prize money for 1996 championships was £6,465,910. The winner of the men's title earned £392,500 while the women's singles champion earned £353,000.^[8][9]

Event	W	F	SF	QF	Round of 16	Round of 32	Round of 64	Round of 128
Men's singles	£392,500
Women's singles	£353,000
Men's doubles *	£160,810							—
Women's doubles *	£139,040							—
Mixed doubles *	£68,280							—

_{* per team}

Champions

Seniors

Men's singles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles

Richard Krajicek defeated MaliVai Washington, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3^[10]

• It was Krajicek's 1st and only career Grand Slam singles title. He became the first Dutchman to win a Grand Slam singles title and the first Dutch singles winner since Kea Bouman in 1926.

Women's singles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Women's singles

Steffi Graf defeated Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, 6–3, 7–5^[11]

• It was Graf's 20th career Grand Slam singles title and her 7th and last title at Wimbledon.

Men's doubles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Men's doubles

Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde defeated Byron Black / Grant Connell, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, 6–2^[12]

• It was Woodbridge's 10th career Grand Slam title and his 5th Wimbledon title. It was Woodforde's 11th career Grand Slam title and his 4th Wimbledon title.

Women's doubles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Women's doubles

Martina Hingis / Helena Suková defeated Meredith McGrath / Larisa Neiland, 5–7, 7–5, 6–1^[13]

• It was Hingis' 1st career Grand Slam doubles title. It was Suková's 9th and last career Grand Slam doubles title and her 4th title at Wimbledon.

Mixed doubles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Mixed doubles

Cyril Suk / Helena Suková defeated Mark Woodforde / Larisa Neiland, 1–6, 6–3, 6–2^[14]

• It was Suk's 3rd career Grand Slam mixed doubles title and his 2nd title at Wimbledon. It was Suková's 4th career Grand Slam mixed doubles title and her 2nd title at Wimbledon.

Juniors

Boys' singles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' singles

Vladimir Voltchkov defeated Ivan Ljubičić, 3–6, 6–2, 6–3^[15]

Girls' singles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' singles

Amélie Mauresmo defeated Magüi Serna, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4^[16]

Boys' doubles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Boys' doubles

Daniele Bracciali / Jocelyn Robichaud defeated Damien Roberts / Wesley Whitehouse, 6–2, 6–4^[17]

Girls' doubles

Main article: 1996 Wimbledon Championships – Girls' doubles

Olga Barabanschikova / Amélie Mauresmo defeated Lilia Osterloh / Samantha Reeves, 5–7, 6–3, 6–1^[18]

Invitation

Gentlemen's invitation doubles

Wojciech Fibak / Tim Wilkison defeated Pavel Složil / Tomáš Šmíd, 6–2, 5–7, 6–1

Ladies' invitation doubles

Jo Durie / Anne Smith defeated Mima Jaušovec / Yvonne Vermaak, 6–3, 6–2

Senior gentlemen's invitation doubles

John Alexander / Phil Dent defeated Marty Riessen / Sherwood Stewart, 7–6, 6–2

Singles seeds

Men's singles Pete Sampras (quarterfinals, lost to Richard Krajicek) Boris Becker (third round, lost to Neville Godwin) Andre Agassi (first round, lost to Doug Flach) Goran Ivanišević (quarterfinals, lost to Jason Stoltenberg) Yevgeny Kafelnikov (first round, lost to Tim Henman) Michael Chang (first round, lost to Albert Costa) Thomas Muster (withdrew before the tournament began) Jim Courier (first round, lost to Jonathan Stark) Thomas Enqvist (second round, lost to MaliVai Washington) Michael Stich (fourth round, lost to Richard Krajicek) Wayne Ferreira (third round, lost to Magnus Gustafsson) Stefan Edberg (second round, lost to Mikael Tillström) Todd Martin (semifinals, lost to MaliVai Washington) Marc Rosset (third round, lost to Pat Rafter) Arnaud Boetsch (first round, lost to Alex Rădulescu) Cédric Pioline (fourth round, lost to Pete Sampras) Richard Krajicek (champion)

Women's singles Steffi Graf (champion) Monica Seles (second round, lost to Katarína Studeníková) Conchita Martínez (quarterfinals, lost to Kimiko Date) Arantxa Sánchez Vicario (final, lost to Steffi Graf) Anke Huber (third round, lost to Ai Sugiyama) Jana Novotná (quarterfinals, lost to Steffi Graf) Chanda Rubin (withdrew before the tournament began) Lindsay Davenport (second round, lost to Larisa Neiland) Mary Joe Fernández (quarterfinals, lost to Meredith McGrath) Magdalena Maleeva (second round, lost to Nathalie Tauziat) Brenda Schultz-McCarthy (third round, lost to Sabine Appelmans) Kimiko Date (semifinals, lost to Steffi Graf) Mary Pierce (quarterfinals, lost to Kimiko Date) Amanda Coetzer (second round, lost to Meredith McGrath) Irina Spîrlea (second round, lost to Inés Gorrochategui) Martina Hingis (fourth round, lost to Steffi Graf) Karina Habšudová (first round, lost to Judith Wiesner)

References

1. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0942257700.
2. Barrett, John (2001). Wimbledon : The Official History of the Championships. London: CollinsWillow. ISBN 0007117078.
3. Smith, Aiden (18 July 2004). "Sir Cliff's Wimbledon singalong was all a PR stunt". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 2 July 2011. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
4. "True Or False". cliffrichard.org. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
5. "3 July 1996: Cliff Richard sings at Wimbledon". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
6. Gibson, Owen (22 April 2009). "Centre Court at Wimbledon has it covered after years of rain". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
7. Williams, Richard (19 June 2009). "The magic of Wimbledon". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 April 2018.
8. Little, Alan (2013). Wimbledon Compendium 2013 (23 ed.). London: All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. pp. 327–334. ISBN 978-1899039401.
9. "About Wimbledon – Prize Money and Finance". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
10. "Gentlemen's Singles Finals 1877–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
11. "Ladies' Singles Finals 1884–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
12. "Gentlemen's Doubles Finals 1884–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
13. "Ladies' Doubles Finals 1913–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
14. "Mixed Doubles Finals 1913–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
15. "Boys' Singles Finals 1947–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
16. "Girls' Singles Finals 1947–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
17. "Boys' Doubles Finals 1982–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
18. "Girls' Doubles Finals 1982–2017". wimbledon.com. Wimbledon Championships. Retrieved 5 December 2017.

External links

• Official Wimbledon Championships website

Preceded by 1996 French Open

Grand Slams

Succeeded by 1996 US Open