You can always rely on the British to adhere to tradition and protocol, especially in a year where they celebrate the old (the Queen's diamond jubilee) and the new (London Olympics 2012).
As a result, Wimbledon manages to hold on to quaint "old" ideologies and customs such as the wearing of white, playing on grass and the absence of sponsor advertising around the courts, while making a few changes to move with the times.
It is such a shock to the visual senses to see nothing but white, green and strawberries and cream - a nice change from the crazy colours and outfits, latest technology and bombarding signage usually associated with modern sport.
Wimbledon isn't completely stuck in a time warp, though, with the retractable roof fitted over Centre Court and the inclusion of Rufus the harrier hawk to keep pigeons away. In fact, Rufus has provided more drama than the players have thus far in the tournament. The only thing to get more media attention than the 4-year-old hawk ( which survived a kidnapping) is the typical dreary British weather which has caused delays, halts and tense moments during matches.
The retractable roof has come in handy this year, especially for local hopeful Andy Murray, who completed his match against Marcos Baghdatis under cover at 11.02pm to go down in the record books as the latest completed match at Wimbledon.
With colourful characters such as Rafael Nadal, Kim Clijsters and Maria Sharapova succumbing to the English weather and pressure, all eyes and hopes fall on Murray to provide drama and end Britain's 74-year wait for a men's grand slam singles finalist.
We all know what it is like for a team (let alone an individual) to bear the weight of national expectation when it comes to breaking droughts of this nature.
Murray is wisely refusing to speculate about his chances of making the record books, and is sensibly concentrating on one match at a time. After his late victory against Baghdatis he beat Queen's Club champion Marin Cilic to advance to the quarterfinals, where he'll face world No 5 David Ferrer.
Unfortunately for Murray, according to his past record against this foe, he has a 50% chance of winning.
He may have to rely on the weather or Rufus to put off his opponent if he is going to rise to the occasion and make the Brits puff their chests out even more leading up to the Olympics.
Others hanging in there, despite slow starts, stumbles in form, and niggling injuries, include Federer and Serena Williams.
It is great to see some new blood in women's tennis with the likes of Germany's Sabine Lisicki making short work of Sharapova (though she later lost to her compatriot, Angelique Kerber), and Kazakh Yaroslava Shvedova making 30-year-old Williams (a veteran in tennis terms) work for her opportunity to hold the Rosewater dish aloft for the fifth time.
It is also amusing to see how Williams manages to get a shot of pink into her playing kit (head and wrist bands) despite the traditionalist stance. You can always rely on the Williams sisters to push the boundaries.
Talking of veterans who push the boundaries, Federer took several injury time-outs during his game to get his bad back sorted. The injury break did its job in terms of getting out the kinks and putting off his opponent who was on a roll, and the Swiss player known for his elegance managed to come away with a somewhat stiff victory.
Either his medical team is amazing or Federer truly is a mentally tough and competitive individual. Many who have experienced back pain struggle to get out of bed, let alone run around a tennis court at one of the most prestigious tournaments and win. Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Federer's changing room to witness first-hand what kind of treatment he received and what he was like after the match. Does he ever let down his cool guard?
If the English weather continues to play havoc, imagining scenarios like this is what we have to do to pass the time. Whoever wins Wimbledon this year will have to have the patience of a saint, good circulation, the ability to stay focused over a long period of time, and be quite fond of harrier hawks. All this composure is necessary while wearing white and enduring the smell of champagne, strawberries and cream, mixed with sweat and tears.
Pure torture, but someone has got to do it, and the British will continue to expect nothing less for years to come.
