Emptiness. That is the general feeling that any British tennis fan feels on the Monday after Wimbledon ends. We spend those first few days desperately trying to fill the void that the end of the British grass court season leaves. Shelves are mended, houses are cleaned and dogs get walked more often. This year, however, will be different. This year, the British grass court season has one more punch to pack and it’s a big one: Great Britain v France in the Davis Cup quarter-finals.

It has been 79 years since Great Britain lifted the trophy. In that time Britain has had 17 Prime Ministers and its population has grown by almost 20 million. It has been 34 years since Great Britain even reached a semi-final. Surely the time is right for the years of hurt to end?

GB Davis Cup Captain Leon Smith has transformed the British team into just that- a team. Andy Murray may be the star player but you won’t find him taking all the credit. Indeed, Britain would not have reached the quarter-finals without the hard work of other members. Who can forget James Ward’s heroics against John Isner in Glasgow or the consistent performances from the doubles players?

Smith will be heartened by the fact that he has more players vying for selection. Kyle Edmund’s admirable performance at Roland Garros will not have gone unnoticed but abdominal and shoulder strains seem to currently be holding him back. Liam Broady has also been knocking on the door and his superb comeback from two sets down to win against Marinko Matosevic in the first round of Wimbledon demonstrates his strength of character and ability on grass. James Ward, however, is the tried and tested player; the one that we can depend on to perform on the big stage. Ward seems to relish the Davis Cup atmosphere and it is a shame that he has not been able to convert his heroics to his own singles career. His performance at Wimbledon, however, will hopefully boost his confidence and breaking into the top 100 will open up opportunities in tournaments that have hitherto been unavailable to him.

Doubles often gets overlooked in the media but a Davis Cup team is nothing without its doubles players. They can be the making or breaking of a team. Britain have been blessed with an array of players to choose from over the past few years. Jonny Marray, Dominic Inglot, Jamie Murray, Colin Fleming and Ross Hutchins, amongst others, have all played their part. One does wonder, however, whether the long term effects of the LTA’s cuts to doubles funding will mean so many doubles specialists will be available for selection in future. Selection for the quarter-final was far from certain. Jamie Murray’s excellent results with John Peers were enough to secure his spot.  Given Dom Inglot has only recently returned from injury Smith may have been tempted to select Colin Fleming but he will have been fully aware of the fact that Jamie Murray and Inglot came close to defeating the Bryan brothers in the previous round.

As for the French, well we may have a champion in Andy Murray but they have ten players in the top 100. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet and that ultimate showman, Gail Monfils, were all options available to captain Arnaud Clement. Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut were recently crowned champions of Queen’s in the doubles but Clement decided to go for three possible singles players in Tsonga, Simon and Gasket together with Mahut.

Belief is key and this Great Britain team is one which believes they can win. Bring on the French!

When Bally died, I think it is fair to say that I was absolutely devastated. I couldn’t believe the cruel twist that had taken the life of one of the most gentle, warm hearted and funny people I could ever wish to know. Bally was just so grounded and “down to earth” – a quality which helped to make her one of Great Britain’s most successful female tennis players of the Open era.

Not once did Bally complain about anything, the hard grind of a tennis professional, the life on tour or even her chronic liver condition (Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis). She simply got on with Life and took the rough with the smooth in her stride. She was a credit to tennis and to Great Britain.

How could I help to continue her legacy? Well, before she died, she created her own Academy. The Elena Baltacha Academy of Tennis (EBAT) in Ipswich provides the opportunity for youngsters from less privileged backgrounds, to learn to play tennis. I have now had the opportunity to visit the academy and Bally has created something quite extraordinary. Bally’s love of her sport is reflected in the girls and boys who attend the academy. Actually, I cannot find the right words for this, which may surprise some of you because I can usually be relied upon to say what I think.

After Bally’s funeral – I am not afraid to admit that I drove home to Essex with tears streaming down my face (my Spanish friends, one of whom had been a coach to Bally, were in the car with me and they too were in a similar state.) – I knew that I had to do something to help the academy. But what could I do? I mean, I can’t run or anything daft like that, and that seems to be what most people do when they want to raise some money for a good cause…

I joined a running club. A WHAT? I hear you cry – Are you crazy? Well, yes, apparently I am crazy. (With a Twitter name of Crazyduck, that about settles it. No?!) Anyway, to cut to the chase (oops, sorry, Real Tennis terms here, yes I play that game too.) I started going to Parkrun every Saturday morning and then I joined my local running club – Billericay Striders.

On January 3^rd, 2015 in the pouring rain I took part in the first 10K run of my 2015 Challenge. This event (I won’t call it a race, because it wasn’t) took place in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and where better to launch a campaign like this, than in the shadows of the Olympic Stadium, in memory of a 2012 Team GB Olympian and the runner just happens to have been a 2012 Games Maker. I splashed and puddle-jumped (and muttered under my breath about why on earth I had thought of anything so crazy) my way around the park for 10K and collected a nice shiny medal (I do like bright shiny objects), a t-shirt and a time of 1:29:30 for the record book.

OK so maybe I can run a bit. I was so proud of myself. I actually managed a 10K run. I didn’t run all the way round, but hey, I had to start somewhere, right? More importantly I was doing something constructive to help future tennis players to learn and enjoy our wonderful game.

Since then, I have done at least 5 more 10K events as well as a handful of 5K. My 10K times have been similar to this one – pretty consistent! I have now completed 3 5K runs in Hyde Park, and this is a venue which holds very special memories for me because some years ago, Bally and I actually ran part of the Hyde Park course together. Of course, she was far too fast for me, and disappeared in a cloud of dust. (I kept up with her for about 500m.) She waited for me at the end of the run and Olga (her Mum) invited me to share some sandwiches with them.

My EBAT colours attract a lot of interest at these race events – I often get complete strangers coming up to me and saying what a worthy cause it is. That in itself is a good reason to run. My latest 10K was actually today (Sunday 7^th June) in Finsbury Park. It was organised by “Women’s running” magazine and I am very proud to announce that not only did they ask for my fund-raising story, for publication in their on-line magazine, but I also returned a 10K PB of 1:25:11.

There was a point today when I thought I was not going to complete 10K and for one nanosecond, I thought about stopping after 5K. Of course, I didn’t and that is partly because a little voice in my head which sounded suspiciously like Bally’s, told me that under no circumstances was I going to give in because giving in does not register in the dictionary.

The lure of a nice shiny medal at the end of a run is quite an incentive – now I have a little collection of them and I dedicate them all to Bally. There is no doubt that the running has improved my tennis fitness too, so long may it continue. We are only half way through 2015 and already, because of Bally, I have done things that I never ever thought were possible.

So far I have raised nearly £250 for EBAT through my justgiving page. 2015 is only at half-way stage. The next few months are like this:

June 2015 – South Woodham Ferrers 10K

July 2015 – British 10K (London) and Brentwood 10K

August 2015 – Ipswich 10K (on Bally’s birthday) and hopefully 25K of the London to Cambridge Challenge – this is a WALK!!- over August bank holiday.

October 2015 Royal Parks Half Marathon.

That’s all for now. Watch THIS space!

To many people ‘dirt’ has negative connotations- foul, filthy and unclean. Tennis fans view ‘the dirt’ differently. The crushed bricks that make the red clay surface (let’s forget Madrid’s blue experiment) signify the second phase of the tennis season, the climax of which is the second Grand Slam of the year- Roland Garros.

Clay has not always been kind to British players, although Andy Murray’s recent success is a welcome change. To British tennis fans, however, Roland Garros is not only important because it is a Grand Slam but because the second week also signifies the beginning of the grass court swing and the opportunity for young British talent to take advantage of wildcards.

Circumstances permitting, I try to visit Roland Garros every year. For those of you who have not visited, I would encourage you to do so. It lacks the tradition and quirks of Wimbledon but is nonetheless enjoyable in a different way, particularly as tickets are easier to purchase and there is much more seating available for the outside courts.

Whichever tournament I visit, I always try to watch our British players. Imagine my delight, therefore, when it became apparent that Monday 25^th May would see five, yes FIVE, Brits compete in the main draw. Unfortunately, that delight was short lived when the schedule was released and four players were scheduled to be fourth on court. All being well, Aljaz Bedene would get my support early afternoon but I was going to have to make a difficult choice thereafter. Murray was out of the equation as he was playing on Chatrier which left Watson, Konta and Edmund in the mix. Having followed Kyle Edmund’s progress closely over the past few years, I decided that I would spend the latter part of the day on Court 7 for his match against Stephane Robert.

I started the day by positioning myself on Court 6 to watch Feliciano Lopez (11) v Teymuraz Gabashvili, which proved to be the upset of the day. Lopez has always struggled on clay in comparison to his Spanish compatriots and was unable to play his natural game which is more suited to the grass. Gabashvili totally out-powered Lopez and won the match 6-3 7-6(9) 6-3.

Feliciano Lopez

Teymuraz Gabashvili

Unfortunately, the Bedene v Thiem match had already started by this time and Bedene was down by two sets. I decided that rather than spend my time queuing for entry to that court that I would take a break and queue for a decent position on Court 7 in preparation for the Edmund match. Whether you’ve visited Roland Garros or simply watched on your television, you will know that the French like to get behind their players. The key, therefore, was to get a seat during the previous match which was Sara Errani v Alison Riske. Riske pushed Errani to a third set before the former finalist prevailed 7-6(1) 2-6 6-0

Alison Riske  

Sara Errani

And then it was time. The previously placid Court 7 turned into a raucous cacophony of sound as the French packed the stands to support their man. Cries of ‘Robert, Robert’ greeted Stephane Robert as he stepped on court. Support for Kyle Edmund was significantly less, with approximately half a dozen Brits scattered across the stands. Robert gave the crowd what they wanted in the first set, taking it 6-2. Edmund seemed to be rushing points and missing the lines with wild shots. By the second set, however, Edmund had settled into his game and, consequently, grew in confidence. Some solid serving and excellent forehand winners saw Edmund take it 6-4. Edmund battled against the French crowd admirably to continue his success, taking the third set 6-3. Robert, however, battled back and took the fourth set 7-5.

Kyle Edmund

At this point Edmund ‘did a Murray’ and took a bathroom break, much to the annoyance of the French crowd who booed him on his return. By this point, however, the British support had increased with presence of a certain A. Murray in the stands showing his support.

Stephane Robert

The break seemed to do the Brit good as he raced to a 4-0 lead and eventually won the match 6-2 in the fifth. It was a composed first Grand Slam win for Edmund who battled the crowd and cramp to reach the second round. It was very disappointing, therefore, that he was forced to pull out of a potential thriller against Kyrgios due to an abdominal injury but being fully healthy for the grass court swing takes priority.

Andy Murray supporting Edmund

My second and final day at the tennis only involved one match with British interest. Colin Fleming and Jonny Marray were up against Feliciano Lopez and Max Mirnyi. The British duo started well, breaking Mirnyi’s usually solid serve and taking the first set 6-3. Unfortunately, thereafter they failed to play the big points well and eventually lost 3-6 6-3 6-2. Hopefully the boys will have more luck on the grass.

Jonny Marray and Colin Fleming

Emirates Arena – Glasgow 

This new venue became home for a capacity crowd of 7,700 for the three days.

On the Friday, Andy opened the singles with a win against Donald Young 6-1; 6-1; 4-6; 6-2. He looked in no trouble despite dropping the third set.

In the second singles James Ward took on the big serving John Isner. At first Ward was unable to cope with the big serve of Isner, however he was serving well and only narrowly lost the first two sets 6-7; 5-7. He then managed a break to take the third set 6-3 – game on and the fourth set tie-break 7-6 (7-4) so all to play for. The fifth set (no tie-breaks) went all the way to an amazing win for Ward 15-13! Ward ranking 111 and Isner 20 – what a win – the noise nearly took the roof off. Isner said of his defeat by Ward “This one’s on me, my loss on Friday put us in a big hole”.

The Saturday saw the doubles with Dom Inglot and Jamie Murray v Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan – the world-ranked No. 1 doubles pair! All looked over after set 2 with USA 6-3; 6-2 but the Brits fought back and took the third set 6-3 and forced a tie-break fourth taking it 7-6 (10-8). So all down to the fifth final set which went to USA 9-7 after a couple of missed volleys by the Brits.

The Sunday saw Andy take on Isner. Isner knowing he had no chance of out-rallying Murray from the baseline, threw caution to the wind and hit winners with power and accuracy giving Murray no chance of reaching the ball. Isner hit 28 aces, including six in one game and did not face a break point for the first hour and a half. He forced seven break points of his own in the first set but Murray defended all including three set points. When it came to the tie-break only one point went against serve, Isner double-faulting on the first point. It was his only double fault of the whole match. Murray went forward to take the set 7-4. Murray took the second set 6-3 and, in the third set tie-break, Murray never trailed after drawing level at 1-1 and took it 7-4 and the tie.

Ward played the dead rubber against Young but after taking the first set 7-5 had to retire with an injury.

Murray said “There is a real synergy within the British team.   It gives you that extra incentive to perform and go out there to fight for every point. I was very emotional all week-end.”

Quarter-finals 17-19^th July GB v France. Home for us – venue?

 Excellent support this time from BATS members with over 130 members attending – great!

FED CUP – February 2015 by Steve Webb

I flew out of Heathrow on Sunday 1 February to Budapest and booked into the Danubius Hotel Arena that was across the road from the Syma Event and Congress Centre in which the Fed Cup Tennis was being played. I met the rest of the BATS members at breakfast on the Monday morning – Mary Pope, Joanne Rorison, Maurice Baldwin, Sylvia Maybry, Lynne Moran and Sue Richardson. During breakfast we could see several of the teams in the Fed Cup and we tried to identify as many players as we could. By the weekend we had seen players of 12 countries but not Great Britain who were staying somewhere else.

As the tennis did not start until Wednesday that gave us two days to explore Budapest, so we caught the M2 Metro to the City Centre and got the ”Official Hop On Hop Off Budapest City Tour” which gave us unlimited use for 2 days. We started with the Red Line Tour for the morning, after which we had lunch and did the boat trip on the Danube in the afternoon. On Tuesday we did the Yellow Line in the morning and some of us did the walking tour in the afternoon whilst others visited other attractions.

 On Wednesday morning we took the short walk across the road to the tennis arena. The 15 countries playing this year were split into 4 pools ‘A’ had 3 teams and ‘B’, ‘C’ and ‘D’ had 4 each. GB were in Pool B along with Liechtenstein, Turkey and Ukraine. All Pool B matches started at 10am Wednesday along with Pool C matches. Pool A and Pool D matches started at 4pm. There was the Centre Court and Courts 1,2, and 3 in the Main Hall.

GB’s first opponents on Wednesday were Liechtenstein on Court 2, the No 2 players played first and so Konta played Van Deichmann in the opening rubber. Konta played some great tennis in the first set and easily won 6-0 in 22 minutes. The 2^nd set was much of the same and Konta won the 2^nd set 6-0 in 23 minutes. She only allowed Van Deichmann 1 game point on her own serve. Next was the No1 players, Watson v’ Vogt. In the 1^st Set Watson went 3-1 up before losing her serve but then broke Vogt twice in succession to win the set 6-2 in 27 minutes. In the 2^nd set it was a repeat, Watson went 3-1 up with a break, was broken to 3-2, broke back to 4-2 and ran out a winner 6-3 in 37 minutes to give GB a 2-0 lead in rubbers. Finally it was the turn of our doubles team Rae and Smith against the two players from Liechtenstein who played in the singles rubbers. In the 1^st set the GB girls broke twice and won the set 6-1 in 21 minutes.   In the 2^nd set GB broke in the 1^st game, broke again in the 7^th game and won the set 6-2 in 26 minutes never losing their serve in the match. GB 3 Liechtenstein 0.

GB’s second opponents on Thursday were Turkey again on Court 2. Konta v Soylu was the 1^st Match on court. Konta got off to a fine start in the 1^st set by breaking serve in the 1^st game and only winning after 11 minutes of play. She went 2-1 up but then there were 3 breaks of serve to level the score at 3-3, Turkey broke again to lead 5-3 and won the set 6-3 in 56 minutes. In the 2^nd set the score was 4-4 after a break each and went to 6-6 with no more breaks. In the tie break Turkey won 7-5 in points and the set in 61 minutes. Watson’s opponent was Buyukakcay and in the 1^st set Watson had a very bad start going 4-0 down and never recovered losing the set 6-2 in 28minutes. In the 2^nd set it went with serve to 2-2, Turkey broke then GB broke back with another break to lead 5-3 and GB won the set 6-3 in 40 minutes. In the 3rd set there were 4 breaks to make the score 4-4, then Turkey led 6-5 and broke Watson to win the set 7-5 in 56 minutes and the match by 2 sets to 1 and give Turkey a 2-0 lead in rubbers. In the doubles Rae & Smith played Eraydin & Ozgen and had no trouble at all winning 6-2 in the 1^st set with 2 breaks and broke twice again in the 2^nd set to win that 6-1 in a total match time of 49 minutes. However Turkey had won both singles and won the match overall by 2 rubbers to 1.

Now we come to CRUNCH TIME FRIDAY, here with Turkey looking to beat Liechtenstein 3-0 and win all 6 sets, GB had to beat Ukraine at least 2-1 and win a set in the 3^rd Rubber in order to top the Group and play in the Promotional play-off match on Saturday.

In the 1^st rubber Konta played Tsurenko. In the 5^th game of the 1^st set Konta broke to 3-2 and broke again in the 9^th game to win the set 6-3 in 45 minutes. At the start of the 2^nd Set Ukraine broke but Konta broke back in the 4^th game to level at 2-2, won 5^th game with an ace, broke in 6^th game to lead 4-2 and broke in 8^th game to win set 6-2 in 39 mins and put GB 1 rubber up. In the 2^nd Rubber matched Watson against Svitolina. The 1^st set was on serve until Ukraine broke to lead 4-2 and then broke again in 8^th game to win the set 6-2 in 33 minutes. In the 2^nd set there were no breaks until 2-2 and then we had 7 consecutive breaks of serve which resulted in Watson leading 6-5. She then held serve and won the set 7-5 in 52 minutes. The 3^rd set was a very tight one which had Watson breaking just once in the 5^th game and resulted in Watson winning the set 6-4 in 33 minutes and the match by 2 sets to 1 and giving GB a 2-0 rubbers lead.

Now it was ALL to play for in the doubles. Rae & Smith played Savchuk & Svitolina and in the 1^st set there were 6 breaks of serve and GB had to break in the 12th game to force a tie break which they lost and so Ukraine were 1 set up. In the 2^nd set Ukraine went 3-0 with a break in the 2^nd game, GB broke back in the 5^th game, then both teams held serve to leave Ukraine leading 5-4. Rae then had to hold serve to stay in the match. Ukraine then had a MATCH POINT that was saved and Rae won the game to level the score at 5-5. GB broke to lead 6-5 and then served out to win set 7-5 in 48 minutes. The 3^rd set was a very tight one, GB got off to a great start breaking in the 1^st game. There were no more breaks until the 7^th game when Ukraine broke but GB broke back in the next game to lead 5-3. Finally Rae served and won the 10^th game to win the 3^rd set 6-4 and the match by 2 sets to 1.

GB having won all 3 rubbers finished top of the Group with 7-2 rubbers and Turkey had to settle for 2^nd place with 6-3 Rubbers after beating Liechtenstein 3-0.

 Saturday was the Promotion, Relegation and Placement matches for the teams. GB winners of Pool B played their Promotion match against Belarus winners of Pool C.

 In the 1^st Match Konta played Govortsova, the 1^st set was over in 25 mins with Govortsova breaking Konta 3 times and winning the set 6-0. The 2^nd set was no better with Konta only holding serve once and losing 6-1 in 27 mins to give Belarus a 1-0 lead in Rubbers in only 54 mins of play.

The second match was Watson v Azarenka, in the 1^st Set Azarenka led 3-0 before Watson held serve in the 4^th game and then broke Azarenka in the 8^th game to level the score at 4-4 but Azarenka then raised her level and broke Watson in the 10^th game to win the set 6-4 in 35 mins. In the 2^nd set Watson only manages to hold serve once and Azarenka with 2 breaks of serve ran out a winner 6-1 in 38 mins to win the match and complete a 2-0 win in Rubbers for Belarus, thus securing a place in the Group 2 playoffs to be held 18/19^th April and having an away tie in Japan. GB having lost will now compete again next year in Europe/Africa Zone Group 1 to be held again in Budapest.

The other promoted team for the Group 2 playoffs was Serbia who beat Croatia and Serbia now has a home tie with Paraguay. Teams relegated to Europe/Africa Zone Group 2 were Liechtenstein who lost to Portugal and Austria who lost to Latvia. Teams promoted from Europe/Africa Zone Group 2 to Europe /Africa Zone Group1 for next years competition were Estonia and South Africa.

I’ll admit that I woke up this morning feeling a bit like a kid on Christmas morning. Today is of course the start of Wimbledon, but this year’s tournament is also a little bit special. After last year ending Britain’s seventy-seven year wait for a Men’s Singles Champion Andy Murray will today step out onto Centre Court to begin the defence of his title. The question on everyone’s lips is ‘can Murray do it again?’

Andy has had a tough season so far and looked some distance off his best at the beginning of the year as he returned to the tour following back surgery. There have been plenty of encouraging signs in the last few months however, with a semi-final showing at the French Open suggesting he is close to hitting top form.

So, what can we expect from him at Wimbledon this year?

The next two weeks will bring a new kind of pressure for Murray and we don’t know for sure how he will cope with the demands of defending a crown he worked so hard to win. For added spice there’s also a new coach in town, with former Wimbledon champion Amelie Mauresmo stepping into his coaching corner.

My personal opinion is that Andy is in with every chance of defending his title. He has well and truly proved that he is one of the best grass court players in the world and he hasn’t lost a match at Wimbledon since his defeat to Roger Federer in the 2012 final. Following that loss he returned to Centre Court just a few weeks later to win Olympic Gold and of course triumphed in last year’s final against Novak Djokovic, who is this year placed in Murray’s half of the draw. Aside from that the draw has been relatively kind to Andy, particularly in the early rounds. The first real test could perhaps come in the last eight, with Ferrer or Dimitrov being possible Quarter Final opponents. Murray won’t be looking that far ahead, though – and the Grand Slams have proved time and time again that nobody is safe during the early rounds.

On the women’s side the British charge is this year being led by Heather Watson, with Laura Robson missing the event with a wrist injury. Heather comes into Wimbledon on the back of a semi-final appearance on the grass in Eastbourne, where she also had arguably her best ever win against top-twenty player Flavia Pennetta. These are great signs that the young Brit can have a successful Wimbledon campaign and it’s going to be interesting to see how she does. Watson first has to overcome a tricky first-round opponent in Ajla Tomljanovic of Croatia.

Aside from Andy Murray, day one of Wimbledon sees plenty of British men in action, with five of them scheduled to take to the courts. Dan Evans opens against the Russian Andrey Kuznetsov, whilst James Ward faces the vastly experienced Mikhail Youzhny. Rising star Kyle Edmund plays Andreas Haider-Maurer of Austria, whilst Dan Cox starts his campaign against Jeremy Chardy of France. Dan Smethurst will make his Wimbledon debut on day two against America’s John Isner.

British women to look out for on the opening day are Johanna Konta, who plays Shuai Peng of China, and Naomi Broady, who faces Hungarian Timea Babos. Day two sees Samantha Murray having the unenviable task of facing Maria Sharapova, whilst Tara Moore also has a tough draw and plays former finalist Vera Zvonavera.

How will the Brits do over the next two weeks? Only time will tell and it’s going to be truly fascinating to watch. Get ready to shout loudly, wave your flags and #BackTheBrits.

By Daniel Flower