A tennis miscellany

IT seems being a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist does not win you any favours with the London hotel Ivo Karlovic has been staying at during this year's tournament.

The 6ft 10in Croatian was planning to spend a last night in London yesterday, only to be told there was no room at the inn.

Karlovic tweeted: "Just got kicked out of the hotel."

Reunion for Ivanisevic and Rafter: Wildcard goes out

TEN years since they played out a memorable Wimbledon final of their own, Goran Ivanisevic and his good friend Pat Rafter were back at SW19 yesterday for a string of reunion appearances.

Ivanisevic famously won that final as a wildcard, and the pair spent the morning fulfilling a number of media commitments before retiring to Court One where they watched Novak Djokovic knock out Australian teenager Bernard Tomic.

Both men had a vested interest in the 18-year-old, with Rafter an Australian and Ivanisevic a Croatian – Tomic is half-Croatian.

And despite losing to Djokovic, Tomic revealed Ivanisevic, his idol as a child, had told him success would find him in the future.

"He said to me, 'if you don't win it this time, you'll win it one day'," Tomic said.

Pippa turns heads again: But not in the Royal Box

PIPPA Middleton turned heads when she arrived at Wimbledon yesterday. Middleton made headlines when she wore an eye-catching bridesmaid's dress when her sister Kate married the Duke of Cambridge in April.

Yesterday she wore a bright red linen above the knee dress. She has been spotted wearing the bright red Hobbs dress, an NW3 Wyldes Dress, before.

Middleton arrived at Wimbledon with her boyfriend, former cricketer Alex Loudon, and her mother Carole.

Retailers were expected to do a brisk trade in the cap-sleeve dress after the Duchess's younger sister was photographed in it.

Both Hobbs and John Lewis were selling the square-necked outfit for £89 (€99) down from £129 (€144).

It was widely expected Middleton would be a Royal Box guest at some point during Wimbledon fortnight.

But yesterday she sat in "normal" seats – believed to be a guest of a club member.

In recent months there was speculation that Middleton and Eton-educated Loudon had split up.

US love their beer: Maria

BRITAIN may have a reputation for its drinking culture, but Maria Sharapova believes the country lags behind the United States.

The Russian enjoys the gentrified atmosphere of Wimbledon, which does a bustling trade in Pimm's and champagne, but admits no tournament compares to the alcohol-fuelled atmosphere of the US Open.

"It's tough to compare the US crowd to anywhere else because they're so loud and there's so many more people in that stadium (Arthur Ashe Stadium) than anywhere else in the world," she said.

"I think they're more polite here, even though they're enthusiastic. I think in New York they love their beer. I'm sure they love their beer here, and Pimm's as well, but I think the US people take more advantage of it."

Bookies know best: Charity bet running out of time

ROGER Federer's shock defeat to Jo Wilfried-Tsonga not only sent shockwaves around the All England Club, it also denied a leading charity some €110,000.

In 2003, Nick Newlife from Oxford laid a bet of £1,520 on Federer to win seven Wimbledon titles at odds of 66 to 1 with William Hill, and before he died in 2009 he asked for the bet to be signed over to Oxfam.

With the Swiss looking in fine nick this year, it looked as thought the six-figure windfall might be heading to them in the near future.

But Tsonga had other ideas, mounting one of the most memorable comebacks in Wimbledon history, although the good news for Oxfam is the bet is open until 2019.

Federer will be 37 then, but has already been priced up at 3 to 1 to return in 2012 and make it seven SW19 titles.

In the meantime, Tsonga may want to avoid charity shops, unless it is to donate one of his racquets.