Famous Grass Courts Remain Family Affair

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For more than 40 years, Dave Kimpton has been preparing courts at The Queen’s Club that have become widely regarded as the best grass courts in the world. Now, with the 2007 Artois Championships ready to begin, Dave and his son Graham believe the famous courts are better than ever.

“We’re very pleased with the courts this year,” Dave told the Artois Tennis Podcast on the eve of the Championships.

“Probably, I would say they’re even a little bit better this year than last year. You’re never really sure but we do the same procedures every year. I’ve got Graham with me and it’s a team effort. It’s a whole year’s programme to produce courts in that condition.”

Dave first became a groundsman at The Queen’s Club in 1966 and has been involved with all of the Artois Championships under its current format since it began in 1979. “The first player to win when I started was Roy Emerson in 1966, recalls Dave. “I’ve had a good relationship with all the top players. It’s been an exciting job really, very rewarding.”

His son Graham followed his father’s footsteps and has been an integral part of The Queen’s Club team over the years. I’ve only been here for 21 years, so I’m only just starting out,” said Graham. “The first tournament I was involved with was when [Boris] Becker won as a 17-year-old [in 1985] and now he’s retired, so I feel old.”

Throughout the Artois Championships, father and son can be seen painting the lines together on Center Court, and whereas some families may find the day-to-day pressures of working together quite troublesome, the Kimptons have no such problems.

“If there’s any trouble, I just tell mum,” joked Graham. “No, we’ve found our common ground and we get on like a house on fire. It’s a team effort all the year round to produce courts like this.”

Graham added that the reasons they feel this year’s courts are going to be even better lay in the unseasonally warm weather earlier in the year. “The weather’s been very kind to us this year,” he added. “We had a fantastic Spring, with a warm April and that helped us a lot. It’s a balancing act and the climate plays a big part. You just have to deal with the conditions. We’re pleased with how they’ve turned out and hopefully the players will think the same next week.”

To listen to the full interview, click here and go to Episode 9 of the Artois Tennis Podcast.