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By Jamie Baker

August 2005:

THE third and final week of my US tour took me to the Lewis and Clark Community College in Godfrey, Illinois. Keith, my coach, and I had decided that the venue was going to be extremely basic compared with the previous two weeks. This conclusion was based on the name of the facility. We turned up to find eight new, well-maintained acrylic courts in the middle of a fantastically laid-out school.

The funny thing about the whole situation was that if I had been told I was playing at a community college in the UK, I would almost expect to have to bring my own net. This college perfectly illustrated the importance of sport in the US.

I started the week knowing that two more wins would put me inside my ranking target for the trip. I came through a three-setter in the first round against a player I had beaten the previous week.

Tyler Cleveland was my opponent in the second round (I had lost to him in the first week of the tour). To cut a very long story short, I got my revenge. After three hours and 56 minutes, having saved a match point, I won 6-7, 7-6, 7-6.

In a way, we were lucky that it was only 90F that day. Still, it didn’t stop me from cramping in both legs and my left arm as soon as the match was over. After about five cold showers and 12 hours’ sleep, I was able to come out and win the next day. I felt so much stronger having come through a match of that length. My run went all the way to the final, where I lost 7-6, 6-3 to Sam Warburg, an American. My rise from No 500 to No 454 in the world rankings, however, acted as a consolation.

I must thank my friends from Peoria for being in Godfrey to support me all week. It always makes a difference when there’s someone on the sidelines you want to impress.

I am now in the middle of a three-week intense training block preparing for my second group of tournaments this year, which will be in the UK. When I am training, I work closely with the Scottish Institute of Sport in Stirling. One of the nicest things about this is that I can spend this time at home, in my own bed, instead of living out of a bag.

To read the full article go to : http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,5205-1752313,00.html