Wimbledon's first poet hails 'Grandest of Slams'

London : Wimbledon on Wednesday appointed its first official poet, a tennis enthusiast who will be holding court every day during the tournament next month.

Matt Harvey will aim to capture a flavour of the event in southwest London with verses published online and in podcasts on everything from volleys and backhands, to the inevitable rain.

"It's an honour, and I'm acutely conscious it's the only time I'll come first in anything at Wimbledon, unless you count the queue for strawberries," he said.

"Quite simply I'm delighted, with a little bit of healthy anxiety thrown in."

He has already penned his first poem as Championships Poet 2010, called "Grandest of Slams," which starts:

"Excuse me. I'm sorry. I speak as an Englishman

"For the game of lawn tennis there's no better symbol than Wimbledon."

Harvey -- whose role at Wimbledon was created by one of Britain's flagship poetry organisations, The Poetry Trust -- will keep a blog and perform his work to the queues waiting to enter the ground.

The websites of both the Trust and Wimbledon -- thepoetrytrust.org and wimbledon.org -- will feature his poems.

The All-England Club tournament runs from June 21 to July 4.