Taki: Wimbledon has changed since I played there

A first-round loser at Wimbledon this year will receive £23,000 for showing up. Back in 1957 I got £80 for losing in the singles qualifying draw and getting into the draws for the men’s doubles and mixed. Call it inflation, if you like, but today’s pros outside the top 100 need the moolah more than we did back then. I travelled with two Cubans, the Garrido brothers, and two Chileans, Pato Rodríguez and Potoko Aguirre. We lived at the Shelbourne Hotel in Earls Court, a grubby place that’s still around, and we paid £1 per week for a room without bath. On the Sunday before the championships started, I met a beautiful actress, Lisa G., who lived in Deanery Mews next to the Dorchester. I moved in for the duration and they were furious. When I brought her to the competitors’ section, my doubles partner, Wayne Van Voorhees, fell head over heels in love and threatened to pull out of the doubles if I remained possessive.