(Reuters) – Wimbledon spectators on Monday paid tribute to Sarah Gilbert, the Oxford University professor who co-designed the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, giving her a standing ovation on Centre Court before play began in the annual tennis tournament.
The crowd also applauded the efforts of organisations that have contributed to Britain’s fight against COVID-19. But the loudest cheers were reserved for Gilbert as well as the staff of the National Health Service (NHS).
Gilbert, who was seated in the royal box, was awarded a damehood in the Queen’s birthday honours earlier this month.
The Grand Slam event also plans to invite other individuals who have played a big part in combating the coronavirus to watch the action at this year’s Championships seated in the royal box.
Also in the royal box was Hannah Ingram-Moore, the daughter of late Captain Tom Moore, who struck a chord with locked-down Britain by walking around his garden with the help of a frame to raise millions of pounds for NHS workers.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Angus MacSwan)
