Hitting Back (33 page)

I'd like somehow to go back to the way it used to be with the
press. I could be natural and they would be realistic in their
portrayal of me. Tim managed all the attention in his own way
and suppressed his personality completely. Few people saw his
sense of humour and how nice he was. I don't really want to
do that. I'd like to be me and trust the media to report me fairly
– that's all.

There's a long way to go. I've still got another ten to fifteen
years as a professional tennis player, all being well. Some
people talk about me being a Pied Piper for British tennis,
encouraging other young players, but I don't really think that
will happen. I do believe it's important in sport to have someone
that kids can watch at the bigger tournaments, but I think
the problems of British tennis go way deeper than that. It starts
at clubs and schools and it is vital that kids are encouraged to
play and continue to play just because they enjoy it.

I'm always being asked by parents of young tennis players
what advice I would give to them. The only thing I can really
say is that their children must get fun out of it. The more
relentless drilling of young talent has worked in places like
Russia but I don't agree with forcing kids to play tennis. When
I was younger I played many different types of sport and that
was really fun. The most important thing a kid should be
thinking when they turn up for a lesson or at camp is: 'I'm
going to love every second of this.' Often they don't. At
thirteen or fourteen I would far rather have played football
with my mates than have a one-on-one session with a coach.

I am not saying I don't want to be a role model – I am happy
with that. When kids are already into tennis, it helps to have
someone to look up to. But I am not going to make any
difference to the six-, seven-, eight- and nine-year-olds in
Britain. They just want to enjoy themselves and it doesn't
bother them whether I've won a tournament in Marseilles or
not.

I do think about this and one of the things I want to do in
the future is to set up a foundation or a charity to fund a
school, eventually more than one, that treats sport as seriously
as the academic side. I'd have loved that when I was at school,
because I adored playing sport and wasn't much interested in
the classroom. I had to be allowed out of lessons to train. In
countries like Australia and America they really value sport,
and I would really like to do something to encourage a more
positive view in the UK. We think sport is great in this country
and yet we do so little to promote it to kids. I'd really like to
help with something like that.

As for my immediate future, I think the most important
thing I can say to people is just please give me some patience
and time. I think I am still pretty young at twenty-one. There
are players who have done great things at that age, no question
– Boris Becker was seventeen when he won his first
Wimbledon, and Rafa Nadal has three French Open titles
already. But I've always said I have a different game from most
people's and it might take me a bit longer to get it together.

Matt Little had this sheet of statistics the other day – he is
useful for something, after all. It showed every player in the
top-100 and their rankings since they were teenagers. The
average age for peaking was 23–25. That makes sense to me.
That is when you are at your strongest physically, and more
mature mentally.

So just try to be patient with me. If it wasn't for my wrist
injury last year, I think I'd be ranked much higher already. But
I'm still in the World Top-20 – not bad for someone my age.
Obviously, I'd like to be better and I plan on winning a grand
slam in my career. That's what I'm working towards. I'm not
saying this year or next year, but it is what I'm aiming to do.
And, believe me, I'll give it my best shot.