Michael Jackson remembered at Wimbledon
Here's a postcard on Michael Jackson from Chuck Culpepper, who's covering Wimbledon for The Times:
TV stations stayed tuned to Los Angeles. "JACKO DEAD," screamed at least two tabloids.
And the very first question to Serena Williams after she advanced to the fourth round: "What did Michael Jackson mean to you personally?" (Eleven more Michael Jackson questions followed.)
Turns out Williams met Jackson (and hyperventilated) a few times, learned he liked tennis, learned he had a tennis video game that helped familiarize him with Williams.
"He's just the greatest entertainer of all time for me," she said.
Turns out Roger Federer once went, sans ticket, to a concert in Basel, Switzerland, and stood outside the stadium listening.
And it turns out that Novak Djokovic, a gifted impersonator, actually played Michael Jackson two years ago during the Monte Carlo tournament players' show, which features a dance number.
"So we chose 'Thriller,' and I was him," Djokovic said. "So you can imagine what it looked like."
Actually -- special thanks to YouTube -- he looked fabulous.
More Wimbledon coverage from Chuck on latimes.com.
-- Mike Hiserman
Photo: An unidentified Michael Jackson fan at Wimbledon on Friday. Credit: Hugo Philpott / EPA


