1994: Steffi Graf v Lori McNeil

In a timely reminder, 1994 proved no champion is safe at Wimbledon. The first Tuesday dawned with an ill wind that blasted through Wimbledon's elite like a bull in a china shop, rattling nerves, stealing the strawberries, flipping the table with a glorious smash. And there was no greater fall than the world No.1 and five-time champion Steffi Graf, a victim of what the legendary Fred Perry described as "wet, greasy and slippery" gusts.

Graf and the wind proved no match for the contrasting cool intensity of her first round opponent, the unseeded Lori McNeil of the US. The German, winner of the last three Wimbledons and five of the past six, was blown out of the draw faster than any other defending women's champ in 110 years, and after she cracked nobody was safe.

Triumphing 7-5, 7-6, it was the best showing by African-Americans at a Grand Slam event since Arthur Ashe won Wimbledon in 1975, and was received with a huge ovation from the rather wet Centre Court crowd. It was, McNeil said, the best moment she had ever known. "It seemed very short, but at the same time—if this makes any sense—it seemed very long and very loud," she said. "It was a great feeling, a great moment for me."

1994: Conchita Martinez v Martina Navratilova

Even in Wimbledon’s rich history, Conchita Martinez’s triumph in the 1994 Ladies’ Singles has to be one of The Championships’ most fascinating stories. She beat a whole host of top names, including nine-time Champion Martina Navratilova in the final. By doing so, Martinez became the first – and to date only – Spanish woman to lift the Venus Rosewater Dish, and the only Champion between 1982 and 1996 other than Navratilova or Steffi Graf.

Despite her excellent run, few gave Martinez a chance in the final against Navratilova. Even at 37, the legendary left-hander was a huge favourite, hunting what would have been her 10th singles crown. But it was not to be, as Martinez produced a stunning upset.

The Spaniard admits she was actually more anxious about the prospect of meeting Princess Diana on Centre Court that day. "When they told me she would be at the final and I would have to curtsy for her, I was more nervous about having to do that and meeting her than playing the match! So maybe that was a good thing."

1995: Tim Henman and the ball girl

Always considered to be the epitome of British etiquette, it comes as some surprise that Tim Henman, who shouldered British hopes admirably for so long, became the first player ever to be disqualified from Wimbledon. Playing a doubles match alongside Jeremy Bates, the British pair were leading Jeff Tarango and Henrik Holm by two sets to one. Deep into the fourth set, Henman missed a net cord during the tie-break, and, being an impressionable young thing at that time, lashed out with his racket in frustration, hitting the ball he was holding. But it was his and her misfortune that as he did so, a ball girl was crossing the net, and received the full force of the ball on the side of her head.

Referee Alan Mills and Wayne McKewan were summoned to the court, and defaulted the pair for ball abuse. At a late-night press conference at the All England Club, Henman described the incident. "I was not happy at losing the point and was angry. I went to hit the ball hard. I'd looked to see if the linespeople were out of the way." Clearly on the verge of tears, he said: "It's a complete accident, but I'm responsible for my actions."

1995: Arantxa Sanchez Vicario v Steffi Graf

Steffi Graf won her sixth Wimbledon title but was forced to work hard in the final by her erstwhile rival Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, eventually triumphing 4-6, 6-1, 7-5.

The Spaniard, a clear underdog on grass, dropped only five points on her own serve to take the first set with some exquisite tennis. But Graf battled back, running through the second set before sealing the win with a break in a titanic 20-minute 11th game in the third set, which featured a boggling 13 deuces and 18 game points.

Sanchez Vicario attacked Graf's backhand with such consistency that the German spent much of the game camped in the tramlines on the edge of the court. On her sixth game point, Graf at last found a powerful backhand drive to seal the break of serve and effectively the match.

The Centre Court crowd applauded for the entire changeover, the euphoria continuing as Graf served out for the title. Graf let out an enormous sigh of relief and a cry of joy. She won seven Wimbledons among her 22 Grand Slams but never was she forced to fight harder for victory.

1995: Jeff Tarango’s tantrum

If John McEnroe, for all his explosions and mutterings, was a master at delivering a line and working the crowd, fellow American Jeff Tarango was the complete opposite. His meltdown at Wimbledon in 1995, was the perfect lesson in how to alienate an entire crowd with a pathetic, childish outburst.

Trailing Alexander Mronz in his third-round match, Tarango became increasingly annoyed with chair umpire Bruno Rebeuh, screaming ‘That’s it, I’m not playing….you are one of the most corrupt officials in the game’. After his request to have Rebeuh removed from the match was denied, Tarango walked off the court, defaulting the match.

He then made matters worse by yelling at the crowd to ‘shut up’ when they jeered him off. Even more bizarrely, a few minutes later, Tarango's wife, Benedicte, slapped Rebeuh twice in the face when they encountered one another in the corridor. Tarango was subsequently banned for two Grand Slam tournaments and fined $63,000.

1996: The streaker

The 1996 final between Richard Krajicek and MaliVai Washington was the subject of several headlines, not necessarily because it was the first Sampras-less final in four years, or Washington being the first black man in the final since Arthur Ashe, but because 23-year-old Melissa Johnson became the first female streaker to get on to Centre Court. As the players were preparing to warm up, Johnson ran on to the court with an apron on, disrobed, and ran around the hallowed turf.

Six years later, a streaker got on to Centre Court during the men’s final at Wimbledon. During a rain break, with Lleyton Hewitt leading David Nalbandian 6-1, 1-0 in 2002, 37-year-old Mark Roberts jumped on to the court, shed his clothes and gave spectators quite a show. He pirouetted, bowed, somersaulted over the net and flexed his muscles before he was finally caught and escorted away with a red sheet covering his modesty.

1996: Sir Cliff Richard

In one of the most famous and clichéd of all Wimbledon rain delays, play was interrupted extensively in 1996, and so Sir Cliff Richard was invited to give an impromptu concert on Centre Court. The ageing popstar delighted the sodden crowd with a rendition of ‘Singing in the Rain,’ backed by the implausible choir of Virginia Wade, Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver, Gigi Fernandez and Conchita Martinez.

"I started with Summer Holiday, almost as a joke," Sir Cliff said. "It was totally a capella, which has its advantages - it's impossible to sing out of key for a start. And the crowd see the vulnerability of someone singing without any help. They were magnificent, from the first moment. The reaction was stunning."

1997: Middle Sunday

After two days of the 1997 Championships were washed out by rain, the club took the decision to play on the middle Sunday for only the second time in Wimbledon history. This was made particularly thrilling thanks to one match where sporting theatre reached its absolute peak – a third-round clash between Tim Henman, the No.14 seed, and Dutchman Paul Haarhuis, regarded as a doubles expert.

For the first time in nearly 20 years, a Brit had a chance of Wimbledon glory and the local public, along with genuine tennis enthusiasts from all over the world, camped all night to pick up one of 14,000 cut-price £15 Centre Court tickets. As Tim Henman recalled, he would never experience a crowd like that "Super Sunday" one again in the 10 remaining years of his career.

"From the word go, it was something I'd never experienced before," he admitted. "The noise was at a different level. Every time I won a point it felt like the roof was going to come off. I’ve never played at Wembley, but I can say that’s as good as it gets in tennis."

1997: Tim Henman v Paul Haarhuis

On the 1997 Middle Sunday, Tim Henman and Paul Haarhuis met on Centre Court to contest the sought-after fourth round place against defending champion Richard Krajicek. Neither Henman nor Haarhuis were on top form - there were far too many unforced errors and double faults for the purists, but you would struggle to find any tennis match that could beat it for sheer drama. Henman carved out six first-set points in the opener and squandered them all, three on double faults, and went down 9-7 in the tiebreaker. Haarhuis then got the jitters, a double fault of his own handing the British No.1 the second set and two more giving him the third.

There then followed an absolutely exhilarating fourth set. Haarhuis broke early then held strong when Henman twice had golden opportunities to break back, to the groans of the crowd. The underdog was putting up a tremendous fight, but it now became all about who had the bravest of brave hearts. The subsequent fifth and final set went on and on, each game and each point feeling like a lifetime for the predominately British crowd, who cheered every Henman winner with a roar to put soccer fans to shame. Tiger Tim eventually prevailed 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-2, 4-6, 14-12, Haarhuis dropping serve to bring the titanic 93-minute decider to an end.

Henman went on to beat Krajicek in a four-set, three tie-break thriller before losing to Michael Stich in the quarter-finals.

1997: Martina Hingis

Martina Hingis produced the tennis version of rope-a-dope to exhaust Jana Novotna, and become, at 16, the youngest player to win the Wimbledon singles title since 1887. Floating around the court, the young Swiss dismantled the experienced Novotna 2-6, 6-3, 6-3 with a poise and savvy far beyond her years. Despite a slightly timid start, the teenager rallied to hand out an all-court attack that the increasingly weary Novotna was too tired to handle.

"It might be that maybe I'm too young to win this title," said Hingis, who had lost in the Roland-Garros final the month before. "But at the French Open I just knew I wasn't in great shape. This time it's like I could do it."

It was another blow for Novotna, who had surrendered the title to Steffi Graf four years earlier, but she went on to triumph against Nathalie Tauziat the following year.