As tennis fans sat bleary-eyed in the wee hours of yesterday morning watching Swiss star Roger Federer win a record-tying Wimbledon title, 87-year-old Matua retiree Bob Beausire was taking a keener interest than most.
Beausire's great aunt Charlotte Cooper, who he affectionately called Chattie, was a five-times Wimbledon women's singles champion between 1895-1908, finishing runner-up a further six times around the turn of the century.
Although he's more at home now at the Tauranga Croquet Club's Domain headquarters, Beausire said yesterday his family connection with tennis' greatest Grand Slam at the All England Club meant he rarely got a good night's sleep each July when the tournament rolled around.
"The family's always been very keen tennis players (Cooper's husband Rex Sterry became president of the Lawn Tennis Association and their daughter Gwen played on Britain's Wightman Cup team) and I've always been particularly proud of my great aunt Chattie, even though there never seemed to be a great deal of hoopla around her achievements," Beausire said.
That was typified by her first win in 1895, when she defeated Helen Jackson Atkins 7-5 8-6 wearing a white ankle-length dress, starched button-up shirt and tie in accordance with Victorian attire of the time.