FRIDAY FEATURE: Have the past 12 months been a breakthrough for British tennis?

As sporting years go; from a British perspective, the past 12 months has to be one of the most prosperous that has ever been witnessed.

For example, last summer’s 30^th Olympiad held in London, for a record third time, has been heralded as the greatest Olympic spectacle to date.  The Paralympics that followed has recorded equal recognition as it received glowing comments for being the first Paralympic games ever sold-out at all events, and for earmarking itself rightly as its own mega-event.

Tennis is no exception to this as the sport has progressed emphatically from previous years due to the strides that have been made on the court.

Andy Murray

Since he joined the professional circuit, in 2005, Andy Murray has had the spotlight of British tennis expectation shine directly on him. Becoming the youngest Briton ever to play in the Davis Cup, that year at 17, it was clear then he was a precocious talent. As the intervening years have followed this has proved the case, as the Dunblane-born player has become a leading figure at the top of the men’s game.

Despite Murray’s prominence it was always questioned by some whether or not he could fulfil his potential and win a grand slam, thus truly elevating him as a ‘major winner’. The three players that had often denied the 26-year-old the opportunity to do so, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic; are multiple Grand Slam winners and are dubbed as ‘The Big Three’.

The task to mould ‘The Big Three’ into ‘The Big Four’ would be a difficult one, but under new coach Ivan Lendl it was achievable. The Serb-American is a former eight-time Grand Slam winner himself and his experience as a former player has proved invaluable to Murray.

The first big task for Murray was the 2012 Australian Open, where he succumbed in five-sets in the semi-finals to eventual champion Djokovic. A gruelling five-hour match showed already the improvements Murray had made to his game under Lendl in such a short space of time.

Exiting the next Grand Slam at the quarter-finals of the French Open wasn’t too big a shock to Murray and those in the sport. On his least favourite surface, clay, defeat to Spain’s David Ferrer only focused the Brit’s attention to Wimbledon.

The most esteemed and recognisable tournament in tennis, SW19 has been in a desperate search for a home-grown winner since Fred Perry in 1936 – then some 76 years ago. In previous years the spotlight had always intensified on Tim Henman, when he was playing, and since then this has shifted over onto Murray’s shoulders. Previous Wimbledon’s had seen the then 25-year-old reach the last three semi-finals – an impressive stat in itself. That year Murray fared even better though, reaching the final of the tournament for the first time in his career and becoming the first British male to do so since Bunny Austin in 1938.

The four-set defeat to Federer was a tough loss on Murray. It was the first time he had won a set in a Grand Slam final, but it was the fourth major one he had lost – a record he shares with Lendl in the Open Era. Afterwards in the post-match interview the tearful scot stated, “I’m getting closer.”

The short turnaround between Wimbledon and the Olympics turned out to be helpful to Murray. In a team environment, completely alien to the singular one he normally competes in, his gold-medal heroics in the singles and silver in the mixed-doubles wasn’t only just for his own personal gains but for Britain’s, as the wave of support for Team GB grew stronger. It can be fairly suggested that this extra fervent support helped him strive to his successes.

The basis of that Olympic success unequivocally aided Murray in ending Britain’s 76-year wait for a male Grand Slam champion, as he conquered the US Open – the place where he won his only major at junior level in 2004.

Murray’s five-set epic against Djokovic, in just under 5 hours, bore fruit to the potential many had seen him in his career to date.

Immediately after the win his older brother, and fellow tennis professional, Jamie tweeted:

“What a historic night! Tonight Andy achieved his dream. He got the result his talent, dedication and perseverance deserved. So proud of him.”

Statistically the victory also meant Murray became the first British male to win a Grand Slam in the Open Era and the first male ever to win Olympic gold and the US Open back-to-back.

To date 2013 has proved as equally prosperous for Britain’s number one. A third successive Grand Slam final was achieved at this year’s Australian Open. In a repeat of his US Open triumph he faced Novak Djokovic but this time it was the Serbian who prevailed in four sets.

Injury forced him to miss the French Open, but he returned for the grass-court season to win at the Aegon Championships at Queens Club.

The momentum gained from that victory certainly carried over as the 26-year-old entered this year’s Wimbledon. Amidst the pressure of trying to become the first British male winner at SW19 since Perry 77 years ago, Murray duly delivered as again he met Djokovic in another Grand Slam final – defeating the world number one in straight sets.

His record in his most recent four Grand Slam appearances reads at reaching four finals and winning two of them. The eulogies of Murray’s feats have been written everywhere in the past week. The next challenge for him is now to add more Grand Slams to already the two he has won, starting with defending his US Open crown in August.

Girl Power

It’s not only Andy Murray’s feats that can prove the past year as being a breakthrough one for British tennis. On the women’s side of the game there are currently four Brits in the top 200 with Laura Robson, Heather Watson, Johanna Konta and Tara Moore. Elena Baltacha and Anne Keothavong were previously in the top 100, but their form has seen them slip outside it. However, the future for the women’s game looks bright in young stars Robson and Watson.

Robson, 19, and Watson, 21, have achieved great success already – breaking records at young ages. Melbourne-born Robson became the first British female finalist at a WTA event since Jo Durie, in 1990, when she lost in last September’s Guangzhou Open final. Three weeks later Watson went one better and became the first Briton since Sara Gomer, in 1988, to win a singles title on the tour. This victory helped her to finish inside the world’s top 50 for the year.

Their achievements don’t end there though, and in particular Robson’s. The left-hander won a silver medal at the Olympics, competing alongside Andy Murray for Team GB in the mixed-doubles. That experience will only stead her good for the future where hopefully more things come her way. For example following on from that, she reached the fourth-round of the US Open defeating Grand Slam champions Kim Clijsters and Li Na. At this year’s Wimbledon she matched that feat where for the first time in her career.

Perhaps though the biggest compliment given to Robson and Watson; was at the recent WTA season-ending ceremony in November. At the event Robson won the best newcomer award for her performances in 2012, with Watson coming a close second. The fact that these two were the top two contenders shows the prominent rise they have and could make in years to come.

With Virginia Wade being the last British women to win a Grand Slam, winning Wimbledon in 1977, who knows that in the upcoming years that stat may alter.

Lawn Tennis Association

Without question British tennis has been a diminishing power despite the vast amount of money invested in the sport over the last generation. Accusations have been aimed at the way the sport has been governed at the grassroots level right up to the elite. Criticisms from top figures within the game also argue that players coming from the LTA ranks are ‘too spoilt’ and ‘soft’. In 2007 two juniors were caught boasting of their partying lifestyle on the social-media network website Bebo thus resulting in their funding being cut.

In 2010, the LTA announced that it would focus its attention on improving the sport at the grassroots over the next three years – shifting their focus from the elite level.

Despite this though, the startling fact for the LTA is that two of Britain’s leading lights in the game, in Murray and Watson, have achieved their success independently away from the association. At 15, Murray moved to the Sanchez-Casal Academy in Barcelona while Watson moved to the IMG Bolletieri Academy in Florida when she was just 12.

Home Advantage

With three major tennis events within Britain last year, this undoubtedly aided this to be seen as a breakthrough year off-the-court. Normally the prestige of Wimbledon fixes the public interest for a fortnight annually but with the Olympics in tow soon after, interest in the sport increased as opposed to the opposite. The fact that the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals are so well received by players and fans in London also has been reflected by the fact that it has been given a two-year extension to host the event until 2015.

Going back to matters on-the-court, it is clear that home advantage helps regardless of who you are. Without a doubt Jonny Marray’s success at becoming the first Brit to win the men’s doubles at Wimbledon since 1936, can be attributed to the passionate support he received. Likewise in a similar manner for Andy Murray; the Olympic pride of representing your country, especially at a home Games, helped him to refocus his mind after finishing as the runner-up at Wimbledon just weeks prior. This is emphasised by after winning Olympic gold, the Scot told BBC Sport:

“It’s number one for me – the biggest win of my life. I have had a lot of tough losses in my career and this is the best way to come back from the Wimbledon final. I’ll never forget it.”

Still Problems

Yet despite the successes of the past year, there are still clear underlying problems within the sport. In December 2012 British men’s number three, at the time, Josh Goodall publically announced that he may have to quit tennis the following summer because of financial concerns. The 27-year-old then ranked number 246 in the world had made £258,969 from his whole career – a figure Murray surpassed playing in his first two tournaments of the year.

Without the LTA’s bonus scheme, which provides Goodall an extra £10,000 in income in a bid to help him prolong his career, he may have retired already.

On the matter he told BBC Sport:

“If I don’t see myself getting closer to the top 150 by next summer I will take a look at what I want to get out of this. I’m 27 and I’ve got bills to pay.”

For how much longer that can be sustained though is to be seen as Sport England have reduced its funding of the LTA by £530,000. This is a result of the LTA failing to meet participation targets with figures showing the number of adults playing tennis regularly decreasing by 25% since 2008. Although the LTA will still receive £24.5million over the next four years, the fact that a quarter of people playing the sport have stopped is a worrying statistic.

Future

While the grassroots problems still exist in British tennis, the future at the elite level looks promising. Alongside the likes of Murray, Robson and Watson could well be some new names in years to come. On the boy’s side in particular juniors Ollie Golding and Kyle Edmond are just two names who have the potential to make the transgression to the senior level at some stage.

Edmond’s feats so far include winning the boys’ US Open doubles and his first professional title at the USA F29 Futures in Birmingham – all in the space of a month. As a result he was awarded a nomination for the 2012 BBC Sports Personality of the Year Youth award – something his idol Murray won in 2004.

Just like the London 2012 legacy of ‘inspire a generation’, British tennis needs to adopt after the successful year it has witnessed. Despite the LTA’s funding cut in April, their chief executive Roger Draper hopes an upturn in participation will now occur. Following on from Murray’s US Open triumph he told the Guardian:

“When Andy won the Olympics, 4,000 new members signed up in the space of a week. Certainly Andy’s success keeps people talking about tennis and the big job now is to convert them from armchair followers into real tennis players.”

It will be seen whether or not Draper’s thoughts take full effect. From my own experiences of having been to Wimbledon and the O2 Arena, the venue for the ATP World Tour Finals, there is a clear passion for tennis within this country watching the sport. The problem is the accessibility of playing it.

With records being broken individually by Murray and co. the question now is how far can they kick on for next year and so on? Will they cope with the added pressure? Can they replicate their individual form in a team environment in terms, of the Davis Cup and FED Cup, and make Britain a tennis force once again? Murray and Robson have proved that they could at the Olympics and their performances at this year’s Wimbledon, so hopefully they can continue in the future.

Conclusion

There’s no doubt that the past 12 months have been a breakthrough year for British tennis. The facts provided above prove so, as records as far reaching as 100 years have gone. However, that has mainly been done through players who have come through independently away from the LTA – with the exception of Laura Robson.  Those who have come through the system have occurred problems somewhere along the line which can be attributed to their attitude or misfortune – as Josh Goodall can testify. Ultimately though this rests with the LTA, as for such a wealthy organisation a lot more needs to be done at the top and bottom of the game – especially at the grassroots level where participation in the sport has dropped by a quarter in four years.

Taking on the Olympics legacy slogan is also a key initiative tool that British tennis should use. With children developing their own sporting heroes, the LTA should use someone like Murray as a role-model that they can aspire to. Retaining the ATP World Tour Finals for an extended two years can only help matters further. Spectators can come and see and their favourite tennis players with the added bonus of this sparking up interest in the sport hopefully onto the British public.

When asked about whether or not the future of British tennis, following 2012; is on the rise, Andy Murray had this to say. He told BBC Sport:

“I think you need to sustain it for a few years. We’ve had four girls in the top 100 and Laura and Heather have made a big push this year. They’re around 50 in the world, but on the men’s side we could do with a bit more depth still. The doubles on the guys’ side has been fantastic and the singles on the women’s side has been great too, so if we could get maybe a couple more doubles players on the women’s side and a couple more male players on the singles, that’s really what we need to try to achieve. But we’ve got a lot of good young guys in the juniors, so there’s hope there.”

If Britain’s best tennis player thinks that, then that is surely encouraging for British tennis. The key is now making sure the past year can truly be seen as the revival of British tennis as opposed to just being another great chapter in this wonderful sporting period.

By Luke Augustus

Follow @Luke_Augustus29

This photograph was provided by Marianne Bevis.