So farewell then, Manic Monday.

Wimbledon 2021 sees the last occasion upon which The Championships pause for a day of rest on Middle Sunday, before hurtling into its spiritual opposite with a piece of scheduling unique among the Grand Slams, where every fourth round contest of the men’s and women’s singles is played in a glorious concertina.

For the sheer quantity of elite tennis, it is the busiest day in the calendar of any tournament on the planet – and for many, the best day anywhere.

Treasure it one last time while we may. Advances in grass technology and maintenance mean the surface no longer requires a day of recovery in mid-tournament.

So from 2022, to tie in with the centenary of the Centre Court, the 16 matches of Wimbledon’s fourth round will be spread across days seven and eight of the tournament. Hello, Milder Monday.
 
“We want more of this wonderful event to be available to more people around the world to share in the joy of The Championships,” explains Sally Bolton, the All England Club’s chief executive.

“Including Middle Sunday permanently in our schedule will allow us to do just that and begin a new tradition which we hope we can become immensely proud of. It enables us to do more with the second Monday, which is known as ‘manic’ for good reason.”

For those who greeted the news with a fit of the vapours, it is of course not the first time the All England Club has moved with the scheduling times. Before 1982, The Championships concluded a day earlier, with the women’s singles final on the Friday and the men’s singles final on the Saturday.

 
Meanwhile, it was not until 1991 that anyone so much as conceived of play on Middle Sunday, when continuous deluges in the opening week forced a radical change.

Stefan Edberg commenced his title defence with a straight sets win over Marc Rosset spanning 73 hours, with barely a fifth of the 240 matches scheduled for the opening four days completed.

Play on Middle Sunday has happened just three times since, the last in 2016. Now it will become the norm, producing its own wonders of the Fortnight.

But let us gaze fondly one last time upon Tennis Christmas – one great big present to every person inside the Grounds, just waiting to be unwrapped. Keen mathematicians will already know that 16 matches require at least five courts if all are to be concluded by the latest possible close of play.

The joy of the occasion is that every ticket for anywhere in the Grounds is gold, and it's almost impossible to turn round without bumping into another court where some key clash is about to unfold.

Four years ago, those queueing for No.3 Court noted among their number Vogue editor Dame Anna Wintour, politely waiting her opportunity to see Tomas Berdych take on Dominic Thiem, preferring that prospect to her Centre Court berth.

Every year until now, it has been certain that some of the international media reporting on The Championships make it their quest to witness some part of all 16 singles matches being played – a masterpiece of logistics which Covid protocols may stymie this time.

But nothing can alter that Manic Monday has been what Hollywood would call boffo box office, part of the iconography of Wimbledon.

"I would say it’s the best day of tennis that you can see,” opined 2010 finalist Berdych. “I think if anybody asked me for a day that they want to go to the tennis, I would say the second Monday of Wimbledon."

For those wondering which clever person came up with the idea of borrowing the title of The Bangles' 1986 hit and applying the name to the second Monday of Wimbledon...

The splendidly-named Thomas Bonk, former tennis writer with the Los Angeles Times, is the chap credited, coining the expression in a June 1992 report. His legacy will remain an honoured part of Wimbledon history for as long as The Championships are played.

But all things must pass. Go with our love, Manic Monday. It’s been an absolute blast.

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