Wimbledon: Venus and Serena curtsy for the queen

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Queen Elizabeth II wore a powder-blue suit and hat, suitable for an afternoon of tennis. For the first time since 1977, the queen came to Wimbledon to watch a little tennis, have a little lunch and, yes, receive a curtsy from Serena Williams.

The queen arrived an hour before the first match on Centre Court between Britain’s new hope, fourth-seeded Andy Murray, and Jarkko Nieminen of Finland. Before the queen took her royal box seat, she met other players, present and past. She ambled along a walkway packed with fans and arrived at the members’ lawn, where she was met by Roger Federer, Venus and Serena Williams, Andy Roddick and past champions Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King. Venus and Serena both curtsied; Federer and Roddick bowed.

It had been expected that Serena Williams, the defending champion and No. 1 women’s seed, would get a chance to play in front of the queen, but instead her second-round match was scheduled third on Court 2 later Thursday.

With the queen sitting in the front row, Murray and Nieminen both bowed as well. The queen enthusiastically applauded after several of Murray’s winning points, of which there had been plenty.

Murray has the first set 6-3 and is up 4-3 in the second set.

-- Diane Pucin