Rob McLean - British tennis has more than one postcode
The road to Wimbledon is paved with British disappointment but now we hear that some of the local pavements in the town are going to have their own walk of fame in the tradition of the famous Hollywood Boulevard.
The average British tennis player's lot is more Cricklewood, and won't need another reminder of serial failure with part of the route to the All England Club route adorned with plaques of tennis greats.
One of the moans from our players at Wimbledon time is that the public seem oblivious to the fact that tennis doesn't start and stop for those two weeks in the summer.
Take last week, or any week in the calendar. While Murray needed more rest before he resumes his season in Dubai after his emotional Australian Open, for the remainder of the unsung Brits it was business as usual away from the critical eyes of the British press.
Unnoticed in far flung corners of the globe were 30 or so players trying to make a living in front of the proverbial one man and an umpire on the lower level Challenger and Future circuits.
It's all part and parcel of the relentless pursuit of ranking points to get into bigger events.
Britain's Katie O'Brien, the British No 2 who recently had the rare luxury of playing in a grand slam gave an insight to life on the tennis road when she said she remembered seeing bodies lying at the side of the roads when she was at an event in Lagos, Nigeria.
There are countless other horror stories of logistical nightmares and dodgy unhygienic hotels. Another player battling week in week out is Andy's brother, Jamie, who has had notable doubles success and yesterday won the Bergamo Challenger tournament with Jonny Marray, best remembered for taking Lleyton Hewitt to a tie-break one year at Queen's Club.
Also desperate for another moment in the sun is Chris Eaton, who made the back pages for a few days with his exploits at Wimbledon two years ago. By the time Wimbledon finishes this year, Andy Murray will hopefully have earned his own plaque to go alongside Fred Perry.
Tennis and showbiz have always moved in the same circles. Back in the 1930s Perry dated numerous starlets, including Marlene Dietrich and now Murray hangs out with his new mate comedy actor Will Ferrell. As for Wimbledon you can't move for celebs turning up for free seats.
Woody Allen, Russell Crowe, Jude Law and Sean Connery, Murray's official cheerleader one year, are just some of the regulars, but the free lunch always takes precedence to taking your seat on Centre Court. Some players have even had cameo roles in films with John McEnroe playing himself in the 2004 film Wimbledon.
In addition, Leander Paes and Paradorn Srichapan, the Indian and Thai players respectively, are both planning careers on the silver screen.
Robin Soderling, who beat Mikhail Youzhny to win the Rotterdam tournament on Sunday, is sticking to his day job, although he is certainly good at impersonating Rafael Nadal. In Sweden he has had to deal with following the amazing legacy of compatriots Bjorn Borg, Mats Wilander, and Stefan Edberg.
His progress from journeyman to contender has been remarkable and can be traced to the appointment of another Swede, Magnus Norman, as his coach. If he continues to improve he could be a dark horse for a first Slam late in his career in the way Goran Ivanisevic stunned Wimbledon in 2001. Although surprisingly at only 25, this is regarded as late in tennis years.
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Date published :
16 Feb 2010 - 11:51:22
