Away From Show Courts, Olhovskiy Shows Court Sense

From Court 11, next door to a toolshed and the toilets, you still can hear the cheers from Centre Court, but not too well.

In distance and sensibility, Court 11 is farther from Centre Court than any other at Wimbledon. There is no Royal Box, only three rows of plastic seats that make the spectator area seem more like a boarding lounge than a court at the world’s greatest tennis tournament.

This is where 27-year-old Russian Andrei Olhovskiy found himself for his first-round match Tuesday against qualifier David Nainkin.

Andrei Olhovskiy? On Centre Court at Wimbledon one year ago, he was the unknown who defeated then No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Jim Courier in the third round.

On Court 11, the only thing that is seeded is the grass. It is not what they call a “show court” in tennis, which is where the star attractions perform.

Andrei Olhovskiy does not often play on a show court. Last year was the exception, when the No. 193-ranked Muscovite upset Courier on the most famous show court in tennis before thousands.

One year later and he is playing next to the toolshed in front of a dozen or so, a figure swollen by the presence of Olhovskiy’s wife Tatyana, his coach Yanchuk Victor and his sister Anna.

Olhovskiy made them all happy. He beat Nainkin in straight sets and walked off Court 11 a winner.

“I like far away, you know,” Olhovskiy said. “It is quiet. It is OK. Nobody laughing. Nobody moving. When I am very concentrate, I don’t see outside anything.”

Olhovskiy, who is on track to meet No. 1-ranked and top-seeded Pete Sampras in the fourth round, said he is more worried about his knee than his game. Olhovskiy slammed a car door on his knee last week in Halle, Germany.

But there is nothing wrong with his memory, Olhovskiy said.

“Of course, I remember what happened here last year,” he said. “I don’t need to forget about it, do I?”