Reginald Brace at Wimbledon: Yorkshire contingent making mark at All England Club

Ian Ritchie, born in Leeds, has been Chief Executive since 2005. Another Leeds man, Geoff Newton, is a member of the Committee of Management and chairman of the Media sub-committee. Mike Hann, also from Leeds, is a life vice-president.

Now the most famous tennis club in the world awaits the arrival of another Yorkshireman, Phil Brook, as chairman.

Brook, from Huddersfield, takes over from Tim Phillips in December. Truly, the White Rose is blossoming amid the petunias, geraniums and ivy of SW19's shrine to tennis.

A Yorkshire takeover would be putting it too strongly but it is still a remarkable contribution from one county.

"I think it's great that we have got people with strong links to Yorkshire tennis making a substantial contribution to the Wimbledon championships," said Geoff Newton.

The links extend to playing days when Hann, Newton and Brook were Yorkshire champions as well as long-serving County Week team members. Ritchie was head boy at Leeds Grammar School, and captained the tennis team there.

Delving deeper into the past it is worth mentioning that Hann and Newton also represented Leeds Grammar School at tennis. This leaves Brook – ex-Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Wakefield – as the odd man out in one sense. But they make a formidable foursome at the All England.

But enough of this parochialism – on to the broader picture and Roger Federer's great escape.

There were moments on a disbelieving Centre Court yesterday when the Swiss virtuoso looked destined to join the tiny list of defending men's champions who have lost in the first round.

There have been only two, the first being the 1966 champion Manuel Santana, who was beaten by Charlie Pasarell, and the second Lleyton Hewitt, who was obliterated by the huge hitting of Ivo Karlovic in 2003.

Federer almost made it three as he took three hours 18 minutes to subdue Alejandro Falla. Alejandro who, do I hear you say? Exactly.

I suspect that not many people in the crowd had heard of the Colombian left-hander before the encounter but they know him now.

He played a wonderful match and indeed was only four points from winning it when he served for victory at 5-4 in the fourth set.

There was another crucial moment in the third set when Falla had four chances to break Federer for a 5-4 lead. Only in the deciding set was the issue placed beyond doubt.

The master craftsman beat the journeyman but my word it was a fraught afternoon for a player chasing his seventh Wimbledon title.

It was not merely a case of Federer playing badly. For long spells he was outplayed by Falla who struck the ball beautifully against a strangely fallible titleholder whose backhand was misfiring to an alarming degree.

While 6-0 in the deciding set looks conclusive it does not tell the complete story of a fascinating contest.

If this was a foretaste of what lies ahead in the Championships it could be a vintage year.

The next player under national scrutiny is, of course, Andy Murray who meets the Czech Republic's Jan Hajek on Court One today. On paper it should be a routine win for the British No1.

But, hang on a minute, we said that about Federer before he almost had the rudest of shocks yesterday.