After upsetting defending champion Serena Williams at the Wimbledon tennis championships, Russian teenager Maria Sharapova borrowed her father's mobile phone to call Mum from Center Court. With a worldwide television audience watching, Sharapova's father passed the phone down through the crowd to her daughter.
It was a new tradition for staid old Wimbledon but showed how ubiquitious the mobile phone has become.
The line umpires kept a stiff upper lip as Sharapova punched in the numbers just like any excitable teenager. The impromptu call seemed like a "too good to be true" opportunity for mobile phone providers. But alas, the phone didn't work.
"Come on technology," said a frustrated Sharapova. She explained that the connection kept shutting off. The new Wimbledon champion put down the phone and accepted her trophy.
Still, mobile phone providers were trying to make a splash at Wimbledon. Some of the companies provided video highlights of the Wimbledon tournament to their customers. Fans are asked to turn off their mobile phone during the tournament, however.
