I guess she needed a nap

Youzhny’s episode is funny, but turns out Johnny Mac may be right when he claims tennis officials are asleep at the wheel. Because one year at Wimbledon, a lineswoman-or is that ‘linesperson’ in our comically PC world -fell asleep during a match!

Turns out in 1964, on the first day of the tournament, Dorothy Cavies-Brown, according to legend, came straight from the first day umpires party (aka ‘liquid lunch’) and nodded off during a match between Clark Graebner and Max Segal. No one noticed until a close call in the third set. On a close call, there was no sound from Dorothy. Instead of 40 love, it was 40 winks, Conflicting accounts have Segal, Graebner and/or a ballboy named Robbie Thornton waking Cavis-Brown up (apparently ALL 3 tried) to the laughter of the fans and London tabloids.

Can you IMAGINE McEnroe -he’d call for firings and a replay of the entire match!

By the way, Segal won the match, and Dorothy was eased out of Wimbledon despite protests that she was stone cold sober. As for the first day umpires party, it was never held again.

Thanks to the book The Sports Hall of Shame by Bruce Nash and Allan Zullo and this website for the curious but true case of Dorothy Cavis-Brown.