LONDON -- Heading into Wimbledon, the worlds best tennis players, including defending champion Novak Djokovic, were taking extra precautions.I plan advance space, either by bringing half of a bag or an entire new bag, Djokovic said before his first-round match.As a new dad to 1-year-old Stefan, was Djokovic saving room for extra diapers and toys? Hardly.Its for the towels that I take from Wimbledon, Djokovic said, smiling.This is a man who has made $100 million in prize money -- and at least as much off the court, too.I try to sneak in an extra towel here and there during the match, he explained. Im sure the All England Club will forgive me.British Sterling took a pounding in the wake of Brexit, but towels are the true currency at the All England Club. This on-court necessity has grown so much in popularity that the signature linens have become the No. 1 seller at the Wimbledon gift shop. Last year, they were the runaway top choice -- 19,500 for men and 9,500 for the women -- followed by the mini tennis ball key ring (11,830).The towels given to men for their matches are considered the classic look: Wimbledons signature colors, purple and green, with tennis balls and letters written in a color referred to as buttermilk. The womens towel is redesigned each year; the 2016 version is pink and jade, with letters printed in neon yellow.?The players really prize the Wimbledon towels, said George Spring, the court attendant manager at Wimbledon. Theyre like souvenirs.Part of Springs role at the All England Club entails managing the 6,000 player towels that come through the tournament each year. On average, during the first week of the Championships, about 200 towels go out per day.We probably only get about 15 percent back, added Spring. It baffles me.Players are open about their intentions. When their time at the tournament ends, they take a small piece of Wimbledon home with them.The towels I use on the court and play with are more significant than one I would buy in the gift shop, because I played with it at Wimbledon, explained 2014 finalist Eugenie Bouchard. They are unique. Everyone seems to want one.Spring and his staff are well aware of the devious nature in which competitors pile up these highly sought mementos.When the players come on court, before the first shot is hit, they will put the towels in their bag, then ask the chair umpire for more towels, Spring said. That is slightly cheeky because theyre not even being used.They understand the system, which is frustrating.Like most protocols at Wimbledon, the towel process maintained by Springs staff is meticulous and consistent: Two Wimbledon towels wait for each player prior to their arrival on court. And if theres a rain delay? Two more fresh towels waiting for them -- guaranteed.One match, four towels, Bouchard said. I just take as many as I can, because I know everyone wants one. Over the years, my collection has definitely gotten pretty big.American Sam Querrey sat through multiple stoppages of play throughout his match with Djokovic in the third round.Thats been the one bonus to all these rain delays, Querrey said. You get two every time. Ive got like 50 in my locker room for my friends and family.That could be an Open era record.When players have amassed enough towels for themselves, continuing to pursue them becomes a selfless act of kindness.I think I was able to make out with six of them in this last match, John Isner told reporters after his first-round win over Marcos Baghdatis.Shhhh, he added, smiling. Then during my second-round match, theres two more right there. Im dishing them out like candy right now.For many players, like two-time Wimbledon semifinalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the towel requests from friends and family have become so overwhelming, he has to distribute them on a first-come, first-serve basis.All my family and friends book the towels before the tournament, Tsonga said. The first round is for me, the second round is for them. When I go out of the court, the fans ask for the towels. I have to say, Sorry, its booked already.American Madison Keys had similar issues.I am constantly getting text messages, Can you grab me a towel? said Keys, who reached the fourth round here. For the most part, you can bring some, but I cant pack 75 towels and take them home. Its not going to happen.As for Djokovic, his half-empty suitcase is typically jam-packed upon exiting.It makes a lot of people who are close to me back in my country happy, he said. The towels are great memorabilia. I have plenty of towels from other Grand Slams at home as well, but I also give away a lot.Accounting for the missing towels can be frustrating for Spring and his staff, but seeing the players walk off with the most prized possessions of the event, outside of the sterling championship trophies, also brings him a sense of pride.Its part of Wimbledon, he said. Its a Wimbledon towel.Buy Shoes Australia . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . A statement from the worlds top-ranked player says all checks "were satisfactory and showed positive evolution" regarding the injury, which contributed to his loss to Stanislas Wawrinka in the final in Melbourne. https://www.shoesaustraliaonline.com/ . PAUL, Minn. Cheap Shoes Australia Free Shipping . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Shoes Australia Outlet . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth.SHELBYVILLE, Indiana -- Cupid was done in by a breathing problem in the Arkansas Derby and by who knows quite what in the Easy Goer at Belmont Park last month, but he looked a lot more like the horse who turned heads in the Rebel Stakes this past March winning the Grade 2, $500,000 Indiana Derby on Saturday night at Indiana Grand.Cupid won by three-quarters of a length over The Player, who ran well for a horse making his stakes and two-turn debut, but the margin of victory belied the strength of Cupids performance. He broke a half-beat slow from post 11 and halfway to the first turn looked in danger of being hung five or six wide around the bend, but jockey Rafael Bejarano asked for speed and got enough to clear all but Pilot House and Cocked and Loaded. Cupid took second from Cocked and Loaded and ran head and head with Pilot House through a half-mile in a demanding 46.75 seconds, but Cupid lengthened his stride before the three-furlong pole and put Pilot House away. No sooner had he disposed of that rival than The Player attacked, but despite failing to change leads in the homestretch, Cupid turned back that foe, too, and won a hard-earned decision.Im just happy for the horse, said trainer Bob Baffert, who was reached at a wedding in Mexico and didnt even see the race. His last race was so disappointing.The Player, who was a little green around the first turn, made a solid three-wide bid on the second turn to reach contention, but could not quite close the deal after two straight one-turn-mile wins at Churchill.It was just his fifth start, said trainer Buff Bradley. We know he can go two turns now.The Player finished 2-3/4 lengths in front of Star Hill, who broke from post 12 and rallied from ninth on a night when not much was moving from the back of the pack in main-track races. Whateverybodywants finished fourth, while Cherry Winne, the second choice, raced last early and never made much of a move, finishing ninth.ddddddddddddupid ran 1-1/16 miles on a fast track in 1:43.30 and paid $5.40 to win after being heavily played to odds-on favoritism early in the wagering.Baffert was convinced the breathing problem that took Cupid off the Triple Crown trail in the Arkansas Derby wasnt to blame for his poor showing in the one-turn Easy Goer on the Belmont Stakes undercard, and hoped a return to two-turn racing would spark a return to form. Cupids strongest attribute, which he showed winning the Rebel, is his high, sustained cruising speed, and that was what won him the Indiana Derby.Saddled by assistant trainer Jim Barnes, Cupid will fly back to California from Indianapolis on Tuesday. Baffert, who two weeks ago won the Iowa Derby with American Freedom, said there are no set plans for the colt.Im going to get him back home, and were going to wait and see how much this knocked him out or whatever, he said.Cupid races for the Coolmore connections, owners Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, and Derrick Smith. Bred in Kentucky by JKG Thoroughbreds, hes a son of Tapit and the Beau Genius mare Pretty n Smart, and was purchased as a yearling at Keeneland for $900,000. This was his third win -- all around two turns -- from seven career starts.Indiana Grand handled $3,156,859 on the 10-race card, easily surpassing the tracks previous highest single-card handle of about $2.7 million. There was $914,311 bet on the Indiana Derby alone, a single-race record, and $133,864 bet into the all-stakes pick four spanning races 6 through 9, a track record for that bet. With three favorites and a 2-1 shot in the sequence, the pick four paid just $41.05 for 50 cents. ' ' '