The 2010 Wimbledon Tennis Championship will no doubt go down as one of the most memorable in the tournament's century-plus-long history -- in more ways than one.
Barely a day after American John Isner made history after slugging it out with France's Nicolas Mahut for a record-breaking 10 hours on the courts, the tournament got something a little extra special -- a surprise visit Thursday from Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
It was Her Majesty's fourth-ever appearance at Wimbledon and her first since 1977, when she presented Virginia Wade with the ladies' singles championship -- incidentally, the last time a native Briton had earned a title in the singles' division.
Wearing a turquoise suit and matching hat, the 84-year-old monarch watched from the Royal Box as Britain's Andy Murray went on to score an easy victory over Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.
"It's probably a once in a lifetime opportunity for all of us ... Don't know whether she'll be coming in the next few years, but I definitely enjoyed it," he told the Associated Press, adding that he probably got "a bit of extra luck" in his play because of her presence. Though the tennis club dropped the tradition of bowing to royal attendants in 2003, many players indulged the monarch, including Serena Williams and Billie Jean King.
See photos of the queen's visit to Wimbledon here: