jamiebakeronline.myfreeforum.org

admin · Site Admin Joined: 04 Jul 2006 Posts: 80

Jamie writes an occasional column for the Times and just before Wimbledon he was asked to write about his amazing last few weeks:
In the summer of 2005, when I was ranked about No 500 in the world, I decided to bypass the grass-court season to try to improve my standing and my chances of competing on the surface in 2006. At No 290 at the end of last month, I had put myself in a position to do that. With Wimbledon only a few days away, I could not have dreamt of some of the experiences I have had as preparation.
My overriding memory of the grass-court season as a junior is how thick and fast the matches seemed to come. But my junior experiences were relaxed compared with my past three weeks.

It all got off to a bad start at the Surbiton Trophy. I produced one of my worst performances of the year and lost to Richard Bloomfield, a fellow Briton in the first round. I was straight on to the practice court to try to re-establish some confidence on a surface I had not played on for two years. After being given a wild card into the main draw of the Stella Artois Championships at Queen’s Club, I played an exhibition match against Paradorn Srichaphan, the world No 36 from Thailand, also at Surbiton. He was by far the highest-ranked player I had played against. I performed well and after splitting the first two sets, I lost in a tie-break.

The day before I played my first round at Queen’s, it was announced that I had been given a main-draw wild card into Wimbledon. The moment I found out was surreal. I had just been told that a lifelong dream was going to come true, yet I spent no time thinking about it. I was 100 per cent focused on my match the next day against Mardy Fish. That match and the few days that followed were probably the biggest learning experience of my life. I lost 6-1, 6-3, with my American opponent playing extremely well after winning the title in Surbiton.
To read the full article, go to:http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2641-2239235,00.html