"Fed's effort was concerted. / Disaster was averted."

On his very first day as poet-in-residence for the Wimbledon Tennis Championships at the All-England Club, Matt Harvey saw the epic Centre Court battle between Roger Federer and Alejandro Falla. "It was extraordinary," Harvey told the BBC. He immediately wrote: "Fed's effort was concerted. / Disaster was averted, / The tennis world order as we know it reasserted."

A familiar voice on BBC Radio 4's Saturday Live programme and a lifelong tennis fan, Harvey's tennis verses are appearing on the Wimblewords blog.

So does his official status give him access to all areas? "I have access to everywhere except the players' dressing rooms. Technically that means I can look into their thoughts," he laughs. One poem in progress is about how women's tennis fashions have changed. "I want to have a look at that journey from petticoats and stays and corsets," says Harvey. The poet-in-residence role at Wimbledon was created with the help of The Poetry Trust.