Back the Brits

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Murray and Heroic James Ward give Great Britain a 2-0 lead over USA after Day One at the Davis Cup
Joe Craven for Tennis Atlantic

James Ward was once again the hero for Great Britain, as he followed up Andy Murray’s 4 set win over Donald Young with a jaw dropping come back from 2 sets to love down against John Isner to put the Brits in the driving seat with a 2-0 lead after day one of the tie, much to the delight of a packed crowd at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow.

Many people wrote Ward off before the match and despite his past Davis Cup heroics, including a win over American Sam Querrey in San Diego last year after being 2 sets to 1 down, he was the clear underdog against the 6 ft 10 American. Isner was dominant on serve early on and it took Ward until Isner’s 3rd service game to register a return point. However the Brit was not at all disheartened by this, replying with many comfortable service holds himself and when asked the question by Isner to serve to stay in the set at 6-5 down the Ward answered with a convincing love hold to send the 1st set into a tiebreaker. Despite not having much of a look in on Isner’s serve throughout the set Ward did manage to get the advantage 1st set tiebreaker forcing the American into an error to take a 4-2 lead. However, Ward’s lead in the tiebreaker didn’t last for long after a lucky netcord winner from Isner bought put things back on serve, the American showed exactly why he holds the best tie break record on the tour as he ran away with things from there and took the tiebreaker 7-4.

Despite obvious disappointment of Isner taking the first set, the Glasgow crowd remained in full voice in an attempt to not only pump Ward up but also to put Isner under pressure. However the American was having none of it at first, and the second set was very much like the first set with he remaining in firm control of his service games at the start. Isner began to make inroads on Ward’s service games and at 2-2 30-30 he hit a crushing forehand return winner to bring up break point, however he was extremely passive on the break point and ended up dumping a routine backhand into the net, Ward quickly escaped trouble and won the following two points to hold. Isner didn’t let the disappointment failing to convert the opportunities get to him as he quickly held to love and once again piled the pressure on Ward’s service game. The set followed the same pattern throughout, Isner was holding with ease whilst Ward was struggling on almost all of his service games. A forehand down the line winner at 5-5 30-30 gave Isner his second chance of the set to break and the giant American did just that to give himself the opportunity to serve out the set. Rather unsurprisingly Isner served out the second set to 15, giving himself a 7-6 (4), 7-5 lead in the match. As the sold out 7,700 capacity crowd inside the emirates arena raised their volume, Ward raised his game. inspiring himself rather than losing hope, much to the delight of Captain Leon Smith and his team GB teammate, including Andy Murray who was watching from the GB bench.

Wardy, who was on the back foot for most of the 1st and 2nd sets began to get a read on Isner’s serve on early on in the 3rd and Isner began to play some extremely passive tennis. Ward certainly wasn’t going to go down without a fight and after a stunning forehand pass he found himself with break points on Isner’s serve serve at 3-2 in the 3rd set. What followed was almost a mirror of the previous point as Ward drew Isner into the net and once more hit a forehand pass to break for a 4-2 lead in the 3rd set. Ward celebrated the break in style as he ran about the court and waved his arms in the air to pump the raucous pro GB crowd up even more. With the crowd firmly behind him there was no way Ward was going to let the set slip from his firm grasp, after some solid play in the latter stages of the 3rd an ace out wide sealed the set 6-3 for the Brit forcing a 4th set.

After a high intensity 3rd set from Ward his level rather unsurprisingly dropped slightly in the 4th set, not that it really mattered because Isner was doing nothing on return in Ward’s service games early on anyway. Both men were holding with relative ease but at 3-3 in the set on Isner’s serve Ward did manage to bring up a break point but Isner saved it well with a nice inside out forehand winner. In the very next game Isner managed to get to get a 30-0 lead on the Ward serve, but the Brit who was determined not to let his momentum be taken away from him recovered well winning 3 straight points to hold for 4-4. Despite being asked to serve to stay in the match twice by Isner, Ward held firm and with a fantastic game at 5-6 down which saw him lob 6 ft 10 Isner he headed headed into the tiebreaker full of confidence. With a mixture of sloppy play from Isner and some fantastic play from Ward in the tiebreaker, the Brit found himself with a 6-1 lead and despite Isner’s saving 2 of those there was no stopping Ward as he pressured Isner into hitting a forehand long to take the 4th set tiebreaker 7-3. The crowd was at fever pitch and as Ward celebrated winning the 4th set Andy Murray roared his approval towards his compatriot who had done a fantastic job of turning things around and leveling the set.

Ward remained in the drivers seat early in the 5th set, dictating play and punishing Isner for his passive play. Despite his teammates best efforts to fire him up Isner looked extremely down on himself and rather disappointed that he’d let a 2 sets to 0 lead slip from his grasp. Isner was able to hold serve but he wasn’t getting any in roads on the Ward’s serve and as the set went on it it seemed more and more likely that Ward was going to pull it out of the bag. At 4-3 on Isner’s serve in the 5th Ward found himself with his first break opportunity on the set but Isner was able to save this break point with a booming serve that the Brit was unable to return.

Ward who had much better body language than Isner at this point didn’t let the disappointment of failing to take the break point get to him, as he confidently served his following service game out to 15 with some fine shotmaking forcing Isner to serve to stay in the match at 5-4 down. Ward continued to heap the pressure on the American and after being 30-0 down in Isner’s service game at 5-4 Ward won 3 straight points, which including a most wonderful sliced forehand pass, to give himself match point. The crowd was going absolutely mental but Isner was quick the save the match point with some rather clutch tennis. Ward did force another break point in this 10th game of the set but Isner held firm and this time saved it with an un-returnable serve before eventually going on to hold and make it 5-5 in the 5th. Fast forward to ten games later at 10-9 in the set an untimely unforced error from Isner gave Ward yet another match point, the American was able to save it once more but there was a huge sense of inevitability about the match outcome with a tired Isner lumbering about the court it was clear that the result was on Ward’s racket.

Isner did manage to force some break points at 11-11 in the set, but Ward held firm and punished the American for being too passive on the break points. Two match points came and went for Ward following this game but despite this he remained focused and continued to pile the pressure on Isner. After some horrible unforced error’s from Isner serving to stay in the match at 14-13, Ward found himself with 3 match points and he made no mistake with converting this time as he forced Isner to dump a backhand into the net and take the match 6-7 (5) 5-7 6-3 7-6 (3) 15-13.

The crowd went absolutely ballistic as Ward rushed towards team captain Leon Smith to give him a massive hug, he’d completed yet another Davis Cup comeback, with this one undoubtedly being the biggest upset of his career. Perhaps it was rather apt that the song “500 miles” by The Proclaimers played over the PA system after the match, because James Ward had figuratively speaking. His fitness was much more impressive than the higher ranked American Isner, who he has now beaten twice this season. Ward was sprinting about, even late in the fifth, while Isner was gingerly walking about the court. A poor run of form in 2015 continues for Isner, as he will be sorely lacking confidence in case he is needed to play a live rubber against Murray on Sunday.

Earlier on in the day Andy Murray ensured Great Britain got off to the best possible start as he beat Donald Young 6-1 6-1 4-6 6-2. Murray was in the ascendancy from the get go, the 27 year old from Dunblane won the toss and elected to receive and broke Young’s serve in the opening game of the match. Murray consolidated the break in stylish fashion, hitting one of his trademark backhand passes early on in the game and holding with an ace. Young managed to hold serve in his second service game of the match after a bit of a struggle but from there on in it was all Murray in the 1st set. Murray dictated play and raced away with the set taking it 6-1 in 21 minutes, hitting nary an unforced error in the process.

It was more of the same in the 2nd set as Young struggled to get a foothold on proceedings, clearly struggling from nerves in front of a partisan crowd. After an easy hold to start the set Murray found himself with break points in the 2nd game after hitting a fantastic return winner followed by a crisp backhand down the line. The Brit didn’t even need to hit the ball to get the break as Young hit a double fault to hand Murray a 2-0 lead early on in the set. Murray was certainly feeding off the 7,700 capacity crowd as he continued to hold with ease, whilst Young struggled on his service games. Murray broke Young once again rather comfortably for 5-1 lead and he served the set out to 15 much to the delight of the Glasgow crowd.

Young was determined not to go down without a fight and began to play much better tennis in the 3rd, a testament to the American’s new found mental strength. Despite Murray continuing to pile pressure on Young, unlike in the 1st and 2nd sets Young was able to hold firm and avert any danger on his serve. Murray was still playing well but it was clear the level he was playing in the 3rd set wasn’t as good as his 1st and 2nd set level. Jim Courier and the rest of the US team was pumping Young up from the sidelines and in the 7th game of the set Young responded to the good vibes to get his first love hold of the match and take a 4-3 lead in the set. After some rather loose play from Murray, who was serving to stay in the set at 5-4 down, Young found himself with his 1st break point of the match, which happened to also be set point and the set was his after Murray sent a forehand long temporarily silencing the Glasgow crowd.

The 4th set began with a hold to love from Young, The American had some new found confidence and was playing arguably his best tennis of the match so far. However, Murray wasn’t at all phased by Young’s revival as he replied straight away with a hold to love to level the set at 1-1 and put the pressure right back on Young. The Brit wasn’t going to let his lead in the match slip even more and really stepped up the gas in the 3rd game of the set, forcing Young into yet more errors to bring up a break point, Murray duly converted the break point to give himself a 2-1 lead, he followed this with a hold to 15 in his following service game to consolidated the break in style. From there on in the 4th set was all Murray as he raised his level to one that almost matched the level he played in the 1st and 2nd sets. With Young serving at 4-2 down in the set some Murray produced some brilliant tennis as he took it to Young and carved out 2 break points, he was able to convert on his 1st break point to get a 5-2 lead. Murray was extremely pumped up and as he stepped up to serve out the match the noise inside the arena was almost deafening. The Brit who seemed extremely confident and unfazed by the occasion served the match out to 15 to secure a 6-1 6-1 4-6 6-2 victory. After winning the match Murray pumped his fist repeatedly and it was clear to see how much the win meant to him in front of his home crowd as he continued to celebrate in exuberant fashion.

Joe Craven TA Watermark

USA-Great Britain Renew Davis Cup Rivalry in Glasgow, Joe Craven Previews
Joe Craven for Tennis Atlantic

The Draw being Made

Hello, my name is Joe Craven and over the next few days I’ll be providing Tennis Atlantic with on-site credentialed coverage from The Davis Cup World Group tie between Great Britain and The USA. Tennis Atlantic is one of the select few USA based media outlets to have a credentialed journalist in Glasgow for the tie.

The tie will take place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow on indoor hard court, and it will be the 20th meeting between the two founding nations of The Davis Cup with USA currently leading the head to head 11-8. The two teams last faced in the 1st round of the World Group last year. That tie took place on clay in San Diego, with Great Britain winning the meeting 3 rubbers to 1. The last time Great Britain beat USA on home soil was back in 1935, so that should give USA some confidence as they look to quickly avenge last years loss.

The Bryans, Isner and Young make up team USA

Team GB, captained by Leon Smith, consists of Andy Murray, James Ward, Jamie Murray and Dominic Ingot, with Liam Broady and Kyle Edmund as the next generation hitting partners. Team USA, captained by Jim Courier, consists of John Isner, Donald Young, Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, with junior sensations Francis Tiafoe and Stefan Kozlov as hitting partners.

Team GB, Murray brothers, Ward and Inglot

The draw for the tie took place today and the order of play is as follows:

Day 1 – Andy Murray vs Donald Young followed by John Isner vs James Ward

Day 2 – Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan vs Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot

Day 3 – Andy Murray vs John Isner followed by Donald Young vs James Ward

Play will begin at 1pm GMT each day.

Day 1 Preview and picks

Donald Young (Photo: Chris Levy @Tennis_Shots for TennisEastCoast.com)

A. Murray vs. Young

Murray heads into this match with 7-0 win/loss in Davis Cup singles matches on Hard Court, his overall Davis Cup singles record is 19-2. Young has only played a Davis Cup match once, losing to Murray last year in straight sets on the clay in San Diego. Given Murray sets high standards for himself the Scot has had a less than ideal start to his season. Murray did make the final of The Australian Open where he lost to Novak Djokovic in 4 sets, but after this he’s suffered losses to Gilles Simon in Rotterdam and Borna Coric in Dubai.

Donald Young on the other hand has certainly had a good start to the season by his standards, the American reached the Quarter Finals in Auckland, the Semi Finals in Memphis and the Final of Delray Beach. Young’s 10-5 start to the season is the best start he’s had since turning pro and to put things into perspective it took him until June last year to notch 10 wins, whilst he’s already managed that amount of wins this year by February. Murray leads the head to head between the two 3-1 and as mentioned the two last faced in the tie between the two nations last year, with Murray winning that encounter in 3 sets.

After last years meeting between the two, Young will go into this tie looking to prove a point and given his recent form I think he will play Murray a lot closer than he did last year. Murray will also be looking to make of for his recent disappointments in Rotterdam and Dubai and is bound to step up his game in front of his home crowd. I think that this match has the potential to be the match of the tie and with both men having a point to prove we’re in for an amazing match. On paper Murray is the clear favourite, he has more a lot more Davis Cup experience than Donald Young and has had a far superior career to the American.

However, Young does hold a win over Murray and his fantastic form so far this season should give him a lot of confidence going into this match. Young’s serve has probably been the weakest part of his game so far this year, and with Murray being one of the best returners on tour.

Young will need to serve a lot better than he has in the past few months if he wants to have any chance of winning this match. Murray stated in the post-draw press conference that he wants to ‘try and play the same style of match’ as he did vs Young last year in San Diego and plans to employ the ‘same tactics’.

Murray needs to be the aggressor in this match because if he shows up with a passive style of play it will allow Donald Young to execute his game style well and trouble the Scot. I expect Murray will win the match but it will be a lot closer than many people think and the Emirates Arena will be in for a great match to start proceedings.

Prediction: Murray in 5 sets.

Ward vs. Isner

Both Ward and Isner have some fantastic results in the Davis Cup and you could argue some of these results were the best of each players respective careers. Isner has notched Davis Cup wins over Jo-Wilfred Tsonga, Gilles Simon and Roger Federer all on clay, whilst James Ward came back from 2 sets to 1 down to beat Sam Querrey when Great Britain and USA met least year in San Diego.

Isner had to miss the tie between the two sides last year due to an injury and said in the pre-draw press conference that “it was tough to swallow”, he will certainly have added motivation to lead his team to victory this year and finally find some good form after a slow start to his 2015. Ward has also had a slow start to 2015, with a less than ideal 1-3 win/loss record. In the pre-draw press conference the Brit mentioned that his win vs Querrey last year was the “biggest moment” in his career and a win vs Isner on Friday would arguably be even bigger. The two have only met an official event once and that was at a Challenger in Savannah on clay, with Isner winning that match 7-6 (4) 7-5.

They also met at an exhibition event in Kooyong this year with Ward winning that match 3-6 7-6 6-2, although though it has to be noted that exhibition matches don’t really have any bearing on what the outcome of a Davis Cup meeting will be.

Isner is the strong favourite for this match, given neither man has shown good form this season you’d always back the superior ranked player to get the win. Ward hasn’t really had any recent results to suggest that he can pull off the upset here and the slow indoor hard court should suit Isner’s game, as it allows him to run around the backhand and hit forehands which is undoubtedly his biggest weapon outside of his serve. Of course with a partisan crowd behind him you cannot write of Ward completely and I wouldn’t be at all surprised if he takes a set from Isner, but ultimately I expect the American to ease to victory.

Prediction: Isner in 4 sets.

Day Two Preview and picks.

Doubles Rubber (J. Murray/Inglot vs. Bryan/Bryan tentatively)

Whilst Leon Smith has named Jamie Murray and Dom Ingot as the doubles pairing to face The Bryan Brothers, many people expect, or rather want, to see The Murray Brothers vs The Bryan Brothers. If the two sets of brothers did face it would certainly be a fantastic spectacle in front of a packed Glasgow crowd and it would be the first time doubles pairings consisting of brothers have faced off at World Group level and the 6th brothers vs brothers match at any level of the competition.

The last meeting between two sets of brothers at any Davis Cup level happened way back in 2007 when Victor Estrella and Henry Estrella of The Dominican Republic defeated Marcelo Arevalo and Rafael Arevalo of El Salvador. Jamie and Andy have only played together once in a Davis Cup match, in which they beat Laurent Bram and Mike Vermeer of Luxembourg in a Europe/Africa Group 2 tie, however the two brothers do have experience of playing together every so often on tour and they’ve captured ATP 500 titles in both Valencia and Tokyo in the past.

Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan are the most successful doubles pairing of all time and have respective Davis Cup doubles records of 27-6 and 24-5. In the post draw press conference Andy Murray said that he’s “unlikely to play doubles” and whilst this might be a bluff by the British team as a whole leaving Andy’s inclusion in the doubles until the last minute, one has to assume that it will be Jamie and Dom that face The Bryan Brothers. Jamie and Dom have never played doubles together before and this, as well as the fact they are scheduled to face the best doubles team of all time, is probably one of the biggest obstacles they face heading into the match. Both Jamie and Dom have earned wins over The Bryans’ in the past with Dom notching two recent wins against the pair alongside main tour partner Florin Mergea at The Australian Open and again in Dubai. Jamie’s win against the pair came in 2013 at the US Men’s Clay Court Championship in Houston where he partnered with John Peers.

If the scheduled match up does happen, the Bryan Brother’s should have no issues in winning the match. The pair are used to this stage with over 60 Davis Cup doubles matches combined, they know what they’ll have to do to get the job done. The only chance Jamie and Dom will have of winning is if they have instant chemistry as a pair, whilst some first time doubles pairings do it’s never an easy task, especially in important matches like this. The British duo will need to feed off the crowd if they’re to have any chance of winning on Saturday, that is of course the selections remain as they are.

Prediction: The Bryan Brothers in 3 sets.

Day Three Preview and picks.

With my predictions so far I have The USA leading 2-1 going into the final day of the tie. These things are always tough to predict but I always like to be bold with my predictions because it’s no fun otherwise. Day 3 will certainly be an exciting one and will be a fitting end to what I think will be a fantastic tie.

Reverse Singles #1 (A. Murray vs. Isner tentatively)

Murray and Isner have met 3 times in the past and Murray has been victorious on all three occasions, with his last win over the giant American coming in a tight three setter in Cincinnati last year. Murray usually relishes these sort of match ups against big servers who don’t posses much of a ground game and I expect his best tennis of the weekend to come against Isner.

With Murray being one of the best returners in the game he’ll most likely have a lot of look ins on the Isner serve, especially given the current poor form that Isner is in. Murray should be able to bully Isner around the the court and punish him wherever possible, dictating the rallies from the get go. Of course, given Isner’s past Davis Cup heroics you can’t write him off completely but I’d be extremely surprised if he manages to do anything special here.

Prediction: Andy Murray in 3 sets.

Murray beating Isner on the Sunday would set things up nicely for a crucial 5th rubber, and what’s Davis Cup without a crucial 5th rubber?! The stage would be set for either James Ward to become Davis Cup heroes and give their nation the win.

Rubber 5 (Ward vs. Young tentatively)

If this match does take place, what a way it would be to end the weekend, both players are big underachievers in their careers, and whoever gets the win here would take massive confidence from it. In the post-draw press conference Young said that “he’s feeling a lot more confident than he was last year” and I think he goes into this potential match up as the slight favourite. Young still has some lapses in concentration and if this happens in a crucial 5th rubber it could be curtains for the American, especially against Ward who has relished being in front of home crowd before.

The two have faced just once before, with Young managing a straight sets win on the grass of Eastbourne in 2014. I don’t think that match will have much bearing on what happens on Sunday if the two do meet because Ward generally steps up his game for Davis Cup and Young is in much better form than he was last year. I think a match between the two will come down to some very fine margins.

Prediction: Donald Young in 4 tight sets.

Final Result: USA d. Great Britain 3-2

So there we have it, I have the USA beating Great Britain 3-2 in the tie which would see them avenge last years loss in San Diego. I think the tie could still go either way and it wouldn’t surprise me if the doubles nominations do change.

I hope you enjoyed my tie preview and I look forward providing Tennis Atlantic with full coverage of the throughout the weekend. If you have any questions, suggestions or feedback you can tweet me at @prodigyrep

Joe Craven TA Watermark

Glenys Furness interviews Darren Tandy, coach of ATP pro James Ward
Glenys Furness for Tennis Atlantic

James Ward, Davis Cup San Diego

James Ward is British Number 2 with a current ranking of 108 in the world. He has been chosen by team GB coach Leon Smith to participate in the Davis Cup tie next weekend, when GB take on USA in round 1 of the World Group (again!) Momentum for James has been building since he achieved what is arguably his best-ever career win against Sam Querrey in the Davis Cup Quarter Final in early 2014.

His ranking has almost halved since then, and he has enjoyed some stellar performances on both the ATP and Challenger tour in the interim. Under the guidance of Darren Tandy, James will be looking to push further up the rankings where he is guaranteed ATP main draw tennis week-in, week-out. The manner in which he is starting to push the very top in the men’s game suggests a further breakthrough is not far away. In addition, his rankings progression and Davis Cup impact act as inspiration to fellow British professional players who are ranked below him. An understated ambassador for British Tennis, James Ward is beginning to make his mark on the world stage.

Darren Tandy took time out while James was playing in Dubai to talk to me, and once again I would like to thank him for his time and for agreeing to chat with me for Tennis Atlantic.

(Glenys) James spent some time with Andy Murray in Miami during the off season – How do you feel this influenced/helped James?

(Darren) “James and Andy have become very good friends and Andy is very supportive in helping James to climb up the rankings. There are always things that successful people give onto a person if you are around them and this no doubt helps James in his goals to move up the rankings in world tennis with spending time with one of the great players in the men’s game over the last 10 years.”

It’s nice seeing James on the cusp of breaking into the top 100, what strategy have you in place to break that barrier?

“We don’t see any barrier there if he plays his potential often enough the ranking will sort itself out and what he is ranked at any time will be a result of the level he has been playing up to that given point in time.”

Seeing James taking sets (and in the case of the John Isner match, exhibition matches!) off players ranked in the top 50 must fill you with enormous pride, how confident are you that he can reach that level in the rankings himself?

“I’m very confident he has the ability to be ranked well inside the top 50 he must play at the level often enough and that will happen as a result.”

What do you regard as James best ever match and why?

“From matches I have seen the best match he played was to qualify at French Open last year and from a national pride point of view he has played one or two great five set Davis Cup matches in recent years.”

As a purely biased Brit, his performance against Sam Querrey in last years Davis Cup tie was amazing. Do you remind him of this with this years tie coming up?

“Yes, this was an important win at the time and shows what he is capable of as Sam is a quality player often in his career ranked inside the top 30 and able to win tour events and he is the same year born as James. James loves to play DC for GB and needs no motivation to get up to play. Results like that give him confidence what he can do on the big stage.”

Does James realise he has such a following within the Tennis supporters and how does he feel about this?

“I’m not sure some players realise how many people follow their results and lives and care about how they are going although as a coach I try to remind him of this to appreciate and respect it and try to entertain and humour us all at times. The fans would love to play the sport at an elite level also and is what the pros sometimes need to recognise in my opinion.”

What is yours (and James) goal for this season?

“Goals and targets are kept private to the player although one goal for me as a coach is to give the player as often as possible the information to give the chance to play their potential in every match. This I think gives the player the best chance to attain his or her own personal goals.”

Thank you for an amazing interview Darren, and I look forward to seeing James play live when I attend in person the Davis Cup tie against the USA. I will be yelling very loudly, and probably end up hoarse!-Glenys

TA Valencia

@Glenysfurness chats with UK young gun Liam Broady
Glenys Furness for Tennis Atlantic

Embed from Getty Images

UK Tennis blogger Glenys Furness caught up with 21 year old Liam Broady, The Englishman is currently at a career high ranking of 180 in the world and just turned pro last season. Since turning pro he has already reached final round qualies at the AO this year, and reached an ATP challenger final last year at the end of the season, along with multiple futures tour titles. He and his sister Naomi are both UK based tennis professionals and he appears poised for a breakthrough. Broady was prepped for success at the junior level as he reached two junior slam finals (Wimbledon 2011, US Open 2012), and won two junior grand slam doubles titles (Wimbledon 2010, Australian Open 2012) between 2010 and 2012.

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Liam Broady took time out of his preparations for the Memphis ATP 250 qualifying to talk with me. I am grateful to both Liam and to his fitness trainer Ric Moylan for giving me some time. Liam is ranked 180 in the world currently, and is the British number 4 men’s singles player by ranking.

“How did you get involved with (Life Coach) Adrian Tannock”
“I got involved with Adrian via Ric (Moylan) around 4 years ago. My Dad was looking for assistance in finding ways to develop the psychological element of my tennis. Ric and Adrian had worked together previously with other athletes so after Ric introduced us, we developed a strong relationship from there.”

“What does Ric have you doing during the off season”
“Ric has me doing pretty much everything that hurts. I’ve grown to love doing the hard work that Ric has taught me will bring me success, and he’s an indispensable member of my team.”

“If British Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith selected you for the Davis Cup, what would this mean to you”
“It would be amazing and an honour to represent my country at the highest level of tennis, playing the sport I love around fantastic people. Playing Davis Cup has always been at the top of my ambitions to achieve.”

“What match from the US Challenger matches last year has resonated the most, and why?”
“The biggest result on paper was beating Tim Smyzcek in 3 sets after losing to him pretty comfortably only a few weeks before although the match I think I played best in was against Peter Torebko the round after.”

“There has been a lot in the press recently on the financial burden on players, how do you make ends meet and what sacrifices have you made?”
“Tennis is an expensive sport to participate in and at lower levels the rewards financially are next to none. Over the last couple of years since I left home I have had sponsorships from Nike and Dunlop that have helped massively and of course support from the LTA has been invaluable.”

“Looking ahead, what is your next major goal?”
“My next major goal is to finish the year in the top 100. Apart from that I just want to focus on improving as a player and a person.”

“Who do you feel are the next up and coming stars of British Tennis?”
“I would like to think that myself and Kyle Edmund are! But after that I’m not too sure, I haven’t spent much time in England the last few years but I know that Marcus Walters who is coached by Leighton Alfred in Nottingham plays very well as does Max Stewart who is also at Nottingham.”

Thank you again to Liam and Ric for the opportunity to speak together, and best of luck in the Memphis qualifying.-Glenys
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