European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 25, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wimbledon �?T9iin the chair. By Ron Mckinney staff writer g hair Umpire Ken Slye did t overrule the Call. / a a  it  the form of a letter from the All England Lawn Tennis and croquet club it called for Slye to extend his services As an Umpire at Wimbledon in 1985 Slye could t have been happier. Quot somebody at my level if you re invited to Wimbledon you just Don t turn it Down. That a the Apex of officiating it s a Beautiful tournament a he said. Slye 57, is the director of logistics for the Bamberg military Community during those times that he Isnit on the. Chair or refereeing a Tennis tournament. He has t Umpire Wimbledon since.1987 and won t be there this week. There a no time for vacations with the Slye household.  there s a Davis cup tie in Jamaica to be refereed. Or when you have to Fly to Tokyo to be an Umpire for the Japan open. Seven years after Slye debuted at the . Open participating in the Glamour of Wimbledon became an overwhelming experience. Quot it was awesome Quot he said. Quot being a Guy from the states you hear about Wimbledon a lot. But to be there on the grass with All the tradition that s associated with that tournament it s a great  Slye noticed that the Wimbledon tradition affected the players conduct. Quot i think they feel the pressure a lot. More but they respect the tournament a lot More. You la get somebody who will act up in Cincinnati but would t act up for the same reason at Wimbledon. It does subdue them a Little bit Quot he said. Before a foreign Umpire can take the chair at Wimbledon he is expected to work either the qualifying rounds or one of the grass tuneup tournaments in. England Slye said. And although umps Are paid about. $100 a Day they Are responsible for their housing and transportation it As Well As purchasing the official uniform which costs More than $300. Still Wimbledon was More than just another Milestone in slyer a Tennis officiating career which dates Back to. 1970. It was an. International Honor. And when he took the chair for the 1987 semifinal Between Stefan Edberg and Van Lendl Slye became Only the second american in memory to Umpire a semifinal according to Wimbledon a head referee Alan Mills. Quot Quot we try to go with someone capable of doing the Job Quot Mills said of their decision to use Slye. Quot normally the British chair umpires Are among the Best in the world Slye has been among the Best for More than a decade in 1978, he began a string of l years of umpiring at the . Open in 1989, he picked up the third leg of Tennis Quot grand slam officiating at the French open. In his third year at the . Open he was called on to chair the 1980 singles final Between John Mcenroe and Bjorn Borg. Slye remembers stepping onto the court with the two Best players in the world and looking up into the stands full of .21,000 spectators another 40 million were watching on television. For a moment Slye wondered what he had got himself into. A umpires Slye conceded Are subject to a Case of the butterflies too one of his biggest problems at that . Open final was not flow to control the volatile Mcenroe it was controlling the crowd As Mcenroe dazzled his fellow new yorkers with a Brilliant win in five sets Quot in new York it s a Tough audience Quot Slye said Quot part of your responsibility is crowd control. They re All yours and if you get them against you to and behold it can be Tough. It really  a communication with Tho fans As Well As with the players is the key to control Slye said. Quot if you ignore their players questions it makes them mad and i Don t blame them because they re legitimate questions. Even if they re not legitimate answer them tie Ken Slye in his Wimbledon umpiring Days. File first time and then get the match going Quot he said. Quot you have to be firm but understanding in the Way you talk to them and address them because they re under a lot of pressure. There s a lot of Money in the Tennis world.  now.�?T.  who has Umpire 18 of Mcenroe s matches said he enjoys working with the fiery american because he has to be prepared for anything. Quot your adrenaline pumps a lot More because you re not sure what s going to. A happen and when it s going to happen Quot Slye said. A you have to realize where he s coming from and at the same time keep the match fair for his  Slye is training officials this week to work for local a just the facts by new Day i f British Tennis is your cup of Tea Here s some Wimbledon trivia a during a typical championship a a fortnight two weeks  a this year from monday to july 7about 31,000 balls Are used in typical English fashion the official Guidebook notes a about 2,600 dozen balls. New balls Are tossed in after every nine games. A the Queen last attended Wimbledon in 1.677, when she viewed the matches from the Royal Box a segregated platform at the South end of Centre court. It is not known for w Hom she cheered. A Wimbledon is one of the Lour a open Quot tournaments that make up the grand slam. The ., Trench and australian opens Complete the list. A each competitor during the tournament is allowed one Seal on the Centre and no. I courts for one guest Good on Only alternate Days. A Over  leading to the players waiting room at Centre court reads the following inscription from Rudy Ai d Kipling. A i you Ean meet with Triumph and disaster a . Open Russ Adams John Mcenroe faces Ken Slye at 1983 . Open. Military tournaments and the German Bunde Sliga. But officiating is not for everyone he said. Quot a lot of people get turned off by it. You get yelled at and embarrassed by some players Quot he said. Slye ought to know. In his first experience calling the. Service lines at a pro tournament in 1970, the a incomparable Llie Nastase lived up to his nickname Nasty Quot you talk about an indoctrination into officiating Quot he said. Quot holy  did t like a couple of my Calls and he sat Over on the opposite Baseline and drilled balls at me All night. I wanted to pick up the chair and hit him with  a a. A. A people interested in participating in Slye s officiating clinic May Contact him at ets 469-8606/7569. And treat those two imposters just the  most players says chief executive Christopher Gorringe Quot done to read  the shortest women a  was 25 minutes in 1911 mrs . Chambers Defeated mrs. . Boothby 6-0, 6-0. The longest menus final in 1982, was tour hours 16 minutes Jimmy Connors edged John Mcenroe in five sets. T a most of the obstructed View seats in Centre court which holds 13,107 bodies will be eliminated after this y ear s tournament w Hen the roof will again be raised and most of the pillars will be replaced. A a consumption varies trom year to year but in recent fortnights the figures Are for one two week period Wimbledon crowds ate up 23 tons of strawberries with Cream naturally12,000 bottles of Champagne 300,000 cups of Tea and Coffee and 75,000 pints of Beer. Contrary to popular belief it is the Bath Bun not strawberries and Cream that is the traditional w Wimbledon food. The Bun is a danish pastry sort of sprinkled with sugar and layered with sultanas. Airy of texture and delicate of flavor it is reputed to be the perfect complement to a Nice cuppa. Page in a the stars and stripes tuesday june 25, 1991