But when they did get a brief glimpse of the players, they cheered Tim Henman's every shot while Lleyton Hewitt, cast in the role of pantomime villain, was shamelessly booed.

It was hard to see the allure of Henman Hill at that stage as constant drizzle came down with the prospect of any play looking unlikely.

But some had gone to great lengths to get there - Pete, Jason and Dave had arrived at Wimbledon at five in the morning to ensure their places.

"We thought it was going to be really busy," said Pete. "But it wasn't.

"There was the same amount of people at nine as there were when we arrived."

The early start looked like it may take its toll.

There seemed a good chance that the dedicated trio would fall asleep long before they saw any play, certainly if they carried on consuming beer at the same rate.

But they were clearly enjoying themselves on Henman Hill - and in no mood to entertain the idea of a name change to Rusedski Ridge.