SPEAKER_03 0:00

I remember every weekend, you know, speaking to all your mum and dad and being like, Oh, I don't know if I want to do this, like it's so tough. I trained with him even at sixteen, seventeen, you know, when you know couldn't get a look in over here and I'm playing with world number one in Spain. You know, sometimes you're you know, caught in Uzbekistan and you turn around and there's no one there. Zero people, yeah. There's no one clapping, there's no one watching. Yeah. And people don't see that side. Two sits down and you're one in five. I think it's fifteen, thirteen in the third. I've come from so many tournaments where there's nothing going on and you don't see anyone, and there's no atmosphere. It's actually quite nice to just you know play in front of people.

SPEAKER_00 0:33

Yeah, they're they're making a movie on the the life and times of James Ward.

SPEAKER_03 0:36

Jason Statement. Why not? Jason's. Just a bit short of the movement.

SPEAKER_00 0:47

My next guest is a true British tennis legend, the Davis Cup champion, and a fighter who gave everything when he stepped on the court. His peak, the British number two behind a certain Andy Murray. He was almost famous for his flamboyant match shirts on court, which is why today I'm wearing my loudest jacket in his honour. And finally, he is one of the most passionate Arsenal fans you will meet. Are they actually going to win something this year? Ladies and gentlemen, James Ward. Good morning, good afternoon. Welcome, James. Good to have you here. So uh we're looking forward to Arsenal's end of the season.

SPEAKER_03 1:20

No, I'm definitely not. I went to uh the Newcastle game at the weekend and I was sat there sweating and panicking until the 97th minute.

SPEAKER_00 1:29

But they're getting the wins.

SPEAKER_03 1:30

They're getting over the line just about, but it's uh it's not enjoyable, let's put it that way.

SPEAKER_00 1:35

But in Arteta we trust.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Absolutely, he's the man. The way he's turned it around, I mean, and from what when he took over, what, six years ago? We're a disaster. Yeah. Um, but yeah, it's uh it would be nicer if it was a bit smoother.

SPEAKER_00 1:50

Well, we're gonna crack into that a little bit later on, but first things first on Beyond Tennis, we go through your tennis career chronologically, and then we're gonna do a little bit of stuff uh about what you're doing beyond tennis since you stopped playing professionally. So let's start from the beginning. I ask everybody, how did you get a rack in your hand? What's how did a tennis journey begin?

SPEAKER_03 2:07

Uh started a little bit later than most, I would say. Uh, probably when I was nine, nine or ten years old. Um, my dad played a little bit again at a local club. It wasn't really our thing. Everyone was into football. Jimbo. Um, Jimbo, the legend. And um yeah, so I just went along with him every now and again to play, and then you end up having a lesson with a coach, and oh, he's all right, he can play. Uh good hand-hand-eyed coordination and play more regularly, start playing some tournaments, it becomes every weekend, and then you get to 14 and you're like football tennis, which one you're picking. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:39

Um depends quite late to start.

SPEAKER_03 2:42

It is, yeah. Um, but then again, I played quite a lot of tournaments from sort of 12 to 14. Yeah. Um, and I was doing all right. Um, again, match plays at the weekends, yeah. Um cramming them in. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Um, but it was uh yeah, it was good.

SPEAKER_00 2:57

Because I we we're trying to go through people's journeys from the beginning of the career to the end and how they transitioned from juniors to seniors. Looking at your career from 10 to 14, or when you started, what was your typical week looking like tennis-wise then?

SPEAKER_03 3:09

Probably be after school, a couple of hours in the evening, every day. Um every day, well, five days a week, maybe maybe a bit on Saturday, Sunday off, which probably stayed throughout the whole career, but um didn't mind a day off. Um, but yeah, during the week, obviously school, and then I actually uh had a great agreement with my school at the time, um, head teacher who was into tennis and basically allowed me to sort of come out about one, two o'clock. Uh so then I ended up playing sort of three, three and a bit hours each day uh until you know it ended up being too expensive, and at 16 finished GCSEs and then decided to go and and where were you playing before you left school? Uh I was in Oakley Park, yeah, um in North London.

SPEAKER_00 3:53

And you you said that's super expensive.

SPEAKER_03 3:55

Yeah, but um again, look, uh Darren Cruelty was a man who taught me how to play the game, yeah. Um, who was a great guy and great coach, uh technically very good. Um, and but it but again, it's every day you're playing, you know, playing with one person, there wasn't a lot of people to play with sort of in that area, yeah. Um, and again, you know, if you're playing a coach, uh court fees, lights, uh, fitness, you know, you start. Yeah, especially in this country, so um that's why. But 16, I'm sure you'll get to that. But we'll uh ended up going to Ferreros Academy in in Spain and stayed there for just under five years.

SPEAKER_00 4:29

But before you went to Spain, what sort of level were you playing at then?

SPEAKER_03 4:32

Probably top eight to ten in the country.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Okay, so you're pretty high up nationally anyway. It wasn't useless, wasn't it? But but it wasn't the best either. No, but i everyone to speak to them, everyone seems to have a different journey. Yeah, like you got some I've spent some people who were just flying at 13, 14, and then other people that had weren't playing for their country, let's say, until they were uh into the seniors.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

Yeah, I I definitely wasn't at GB level at the at that age. Yeah, um, but yeah, that came a bit later on.

SPEAKER_00 4:59

Yeah, so then you got to 16, you finished your GCSEs, and how did that conversation go with?

SPEAKER_03 5:05

I thought you were gonna ask me the results of GCSEs. We just leave that one. Yeah, no one needs to know the G's a long time ago now.

SPEAKER_00 5:11

Um how how did you make that decision to go to Spain? That's quite a big decision.

SPEAKER_03 5:16

Yeah, so we had a uh holiday home that we used to go to a lot in Spain, so we'd obviously grown up playing there again in summer holidays, Easter, maybe if you go there at Christmas, the odd time. Yeah um, and obviously at that time of well, 20 years ago now, long time. Um Spain had the most amount of players in the top 200 by far. Yeah. Uh and there seemed to be academies, you know, in every city, so there was plenty of options, and we picked one that we thought was a bit smaller, you'd get a bit more attention. Yeah, um Ferreros Ferreros Juan Carlos, yeah. So at the time he was world number one when I moved there, he'd just won French Open.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Um and so were you able to train alongside and then you saw it?

SPEAKER_03 5:54

Alongside him, I trained with him even at 1617, you know, when you know I couldn't get a look in over here, and I'm playing with world number one in Spain. So that's what they were amazing at. Like everyone was treated the same, everyone was equal. Yeah, and suddenly I went into a group of probably eight guys who were top 250, 300, wow, all you know, dirt ballers on the clay. So again, you spent a lot of time learning the game, how to build a point, how to construct. Um, and you've you learned that discipline. The tough part, obviously, when I moved there, I didn't speak a word of Spanish, which now I do, thank God. I had to. Yeah, just a bit. Um, no, so I had to because if not, again, back then there's probably Juan Carlos and maybe one other guy who's who travelled who were able to speak English. Um you had to, if not, you know, you're living in dorms with guys, and yeah, you know, you gotta get by.

SPEAKER_00 6:45

Um so you you were in the dorms you were living on site there?

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Dorms on site for yeah, probably the first year.

SPEAKER_00 6:51

And what what was you you I'm I'm guessing the training went up a little bit more and it got a little bit more intense.

SPEAKER_03 6:56

What was your day looking like in in the Yeah, you'd probably do four hours a day and an hour and a half, maybe two hours fitness. Um you'd probably play in the morning. Um again, days suited me. I woke up a bit later, yeah. You'd play until lunchtime, you have your lunch, you have a nap, siesta. Yes. You'd come back at like four or five, you play till seven, seven thirty.

SPEAKER_00 7:17

Okay, so this is a big jump from what you're doing in the UK.

SPEAKER_03 7:19

Yeah, yeah, for sure. And then you'd also get that you know, later dinner, everything's late in Spain. You eat at nine, ten o'clock at night, um, when normally you'd already be in bed in London. Yeah. Um, so again, getting used to that uh difference, but yeah, you it seemed like you sort of got more done in your day as they sort of spaced it out. Yeah. But um the biggest thing was you know, lodging, food. If you wanted to do education, you could have carried on your fitness, your tennis, all sort of rolled into one. It just happened to be in the middle of nowhere, which wasn't ideal. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:49

No, but I think you you you weren't kind of known for your your fighting spirit in the matches. Do you think you got that in Spain? Yeah, I think so. But I again Or was that something you had the bit earlier?

SPEAKER_03 7:59

Yeah, I think I had to you know fend for myself when I was 16, not speaking the language, and you have to get by. And also, I was I wasn't too short, but I wasn't the tallest when I was younger, and I was sort of 16 to 17 and a bit. So just as I moved there, I had a massive growth spot I had problems with my knees. So I actually didn't play a lot, that's why I didn't play like the junior stuff. Yeah, so you didn't you didn't you didn't play the ITFs? No, I didn't play the ITFs from 16 to 18, like most people do, and then people start hearing about you because a lot of people said, Oh, I didn't think you're playing anymore. And then I got my first ATP points when I was 18. Oh wow, I didn't realise that I was young. Yeah, and the futures in Spain, yeah, grinding that's a difficult place to get your first point as well. 128 qualies. Um, but it was funny, I was talking to someone last week about it like the level of guys back then. You go and play Monfis in 128 quales in Spain every week. You've got to win four matches to get through, so then win one more just to get one point to get you on the board, which at the time was obviously the be all and end all, right? Yeah, yeah, you just want to get ranked and call yourself a pro. Yeah, yeah. Um when you look back, it doesn't really mean anything. But of course, you set yourself little milestones. Yeah. Um, but yeah, it was a yeah again.

SPEAKER_00 9:09

One of the themes of this series is the transition from juniors to seniors. So yours is a slightly different way of doing it in terms of you you kind of became a pro at 16, yeah, and you're living a professional tennis life, but you were already focusing on the senior events before the junior events.

SPEAKER_03 9:24

I think it was kind of forced upon me, and again, sort of that mentality in Spain, they weren't trying to make you play like a junior, they were wanting you to play the men's game, and again, the guys who I would who I were training with was you know already pros, all of them had points. Yeah, so they're all playing futures and they were playing challenges. Yeah, you know, we had so many good players there. Um, Garcia Lopez, Santi Ventura, yeah, Nicol Magro. Okay, yeah, you know, uh David Ferre used to come down and train a lot, but we had we uh you know and who were not the not the people you were training with, yeah. You had six or eight other guys as well, Juan Misuch, Guillermo Bournology, you had uh Sanchez de Luna, all these guys got to sort of top 250, 200. Yeah, again, back then on the clay was tough to do, right? Because they never went to Asia, they never went to Africa, they didn't pick up some of the uh cheaper points. Points, yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, you know, four rounds of quallies and then drop. They're all beating each other every week, so um yeah, they they definitely went through the grind.

SPEAKER_00 10:18

You're again I've noticed when I was doing a bit of research on was your didn't follow me that closely then, Johnny. No, but no, but clay was your favourite. No, see, I don't know why that no, not really. I was gonna say not many British people at that age have spent that much time on clay. No, and obviously you're quite a tall guy.

SPEAKER_03 10:38

Yeah, but the actually the first challenger I won was on clay, but it was like a green clay in Sarasota in uh in Florida, yeah. Um but again it so yeah, yeah, how did I was comfortable on it because I'd spent so much time on it. Yeah, would it be my favourite? No, because it took you know forever to win a point. Uh what what seemed like that at the time, yeah. Um even though green clay was a bit quicker, but still I was comfortable on it. And again, you play a lot of the Americans, weren't really, they all grew up on hardcore. Yeah, so yeah, that would but probably after winning that tournament, I probably said, Yeah, it's the best thing in the world, and that's got what's gone down on uh online.

SPEAKER_00 11:13

Stayed on your record, stayed on your record. Um, and then yeah, what was your kind of journey ranking-wise? Because to jump up to where you got into the top hundred by the end, there must have been some time in between to build yourself up. How long did you spend in those kind of futures?

SPEAKER_03 11:28

You're asking me to go a long way back here, money. Uh I it took a while, obviously. As I say, like the the level in Spain back then was so tough. Yeah, so it took a long time. I remember every weekend, you know, speaking to Corey Mum and Dad and be like, Oh, I don't know if I want to do this, like it's so tough. Like, you've got to win four matches, you're knackered, you've almost like won a tournament by the time you got past quality. That's mad, yeah. Um, because again, you don't have the budget to go and travel and go to pick and choose where you want to play.

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Yeah, um, so yeah, but budget-wise, you were kind of restricted to playing in Spain or something. Yeah, big time.

SPEAKER_03 11:59

Yeah, and that's sort of also the done thing, right? When you're in an academy, there's one coach, two, three, four players maybe. Yeah. And you get in the bus and you all drive up to Barcelona four hours, you stay there, you play, and then you're back to train for the rest of the week, you know, until the next one. It's like every week there's an opportunity, which is the great thing about tennis. Yeah. But it's also tough when you if you lose a first round, you've got seven days to think about what went wrong.

SPEAKER_00 12:19

Do they have futures pretty much every week in Spain? They used to.

SPEAKER_03 12:22

Uh I would say they've still got quite a lot now, but they definitely used to.

SPEAKER_00 12:26

Um that kind of restriction on your budget travelling the world probably actually helped you a bit playing those. Those Spanish are a great breeding ground, yeah, massively.

SPEAKER_03 12:34

Um, and I say later on in life when I moved more towards hard courts, I'd pick more Asia, um, because and again, and the States is probably where I played the most, yeah, just because it suited my game style, but I'd still didn't mind playing French, pass quality at the French one year. Yeah. So again, like which was a bit unheard of, you know. I think nearly 15 years or something since the last Brit had done it before that to pass quality because you know, not many people grew up playing on it. They they played on it because they had to, not because they really wanted to.

SPEAKER_00 13:04

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And and yes, how long were you kind of spending again? We speak spoke to a few people that it can be quite dangerous sometimes at that futures level, kind of picking up bad habits and things.

SPEAKER_03 13:15

Yeah, of course, and you you can linger around there for a while.

SPEAKER_00 13:18

But you you never really kind of fell into the floor.

SPEAKER_03 13:20

I did for a while, and then I um and then around 2021, um Papa Hutch asked me to come and train back at Rahampton, and that would just open up and that was uh the new place to be. Yeah, and again I'd kind of had my 2006, five, six, seven years. Yeah, I'd had my time in Spain and wanted to spend a bit more time at home with family. Obviously, it was easier as well to travel. Everywhere was a direct flight from London. Yeah. Um, where I was in in between Alicante Valencia, you had to go to Madrid or Barcelona, then connect on, and like if you're doing that every week, it ends up being a bit of a grind. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:53

Um so yeah, you sorry to jump in there. Um, you say Papa Hutch, so Paul Hutchins, he kind of invited you back to training the had you not had much of a relationship with the LTA before that? Nothing, nothing at all.

SPEAKER_03 14:03

Nothing. Um, and he sort of got in touch, he was head of men's tennis at the time. I remember he came and picked me up at Barnes Station, yeah. Um, and took me to NTC, showed me around, sort of told me a bit about what was going on. Yeah, um, and then yeah, and then that was me converted, and I uh kind of based in the UK.

SPEAKER_00 14:22

So that was three three years in Spain, then you're kind of based from the rest of the UK. 25 years in Spain. I suppose 16, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:28

16 to sort of 20 and a bit, 21 nearly yeah. Yeah, it's quite a long stint. Yeah, it was. Yeah, that's why I was done, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

And then so then for the rest of your career, you're kind of based in based in London, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 14:38

Based in NTC, a bit of practice at Wimby here and there, yeah, when we could. Um, but yeah, mostly NTC.

SPEAKER_00 14:44

Yeah, yeah. Um, and what sort of who were you practicing with? Who were you guys that you were?

SPEAKER_03 14:48

Oh god, again, you go back. Um, it would have been Jamie Baker's, um Chris Eaton's um who else would have been back then? God, you're asking me. Uh Josh Goodall. Josh Goodall's um yeah, good shout. Um yeah, it was a good group again of guys who were similar sort of ranking, everyone was sort of futures turn playing in turning into sort of challenger level, yeah, and everyone was kind of pushing each other as well. So it was a good place to be. And I say for me, it was more just a change of scenery to come back to London. Yeah, and again, then LTA started to help me financially with uh funding, being able to travel more, yeah, um, and then you get your own coach, and so again, as soon as you got that ranking up, then life became a little bit easier.

SPEAKER_00 15:31

Yeah, and when did you get that ranking into the top 100? Because it's it's a very, very small selection of people over history and Britain. There's been a few more in the last few years, but up until the point that you got into top 100, there wasn't an awful lot of people getting into top 100. When what age can you remember what age you were when you broke in?

SPEAKER_03 15:47

Uh what am I now? Uh so 10 years ago, so it would have been around 28, 29, I think I did it. Yeah, but I think the average age at the time was around 27, 28 to break into top 100, or or the average age of the player inside that top 100 was then.

SPEAKER_00 16:03

So you've been playing kind of full-time for 10 or 11 years to get into the top 100.

SPEAKER_03 16:07

Yeah, that's interesting. Um, and I was on the challenger circuit for a long time, um, dipping into uh tour quallies and obviously playing slam quallies a lot, yeah. Um results up and down, but then yes.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

Well, one thing I'd say again, just as your mate, yeah, you always kind of dealt with playing bigger named people pretty well. Yeah, which which I enjoyed it, yeah. In history, yeah, there's quite a lot of British people that sometimes the occasion got to them and stuff. I don't I never really got the feeling that you were kind of nervous about playing some nice.

SPEAKER_03 16:38

But I think um again, maybe sort of from that upbringing of like football, yeah. I think if we talk a bit about like Davis Cup stuff, yeah, I enjoyed sort of playing for a team. Yes, and everyone was so close, we had such a good group that everyone stayed together throughout that sort of 10-year period that I was playing. It's the same staff, yeah, pretty much the same players, minus one or two.

SPEAKER_00 17:00

Did you start off with John Lloyd and Davis Cup?

SPEAKER_03 17:02

John Lloyd picked me first, yeah. Uh Lithuania away. Yes. And then that was his first that was my first tie with him and his last. Yeah. Um and then Leon went in and well, yeah. I mean, the Davis Cup journey was fantastic. Eastbourne, Eastbourne on the Grass, yeah, was the first one.

SPEAKER_00 17:18

So you kind of touched on it there with with Leon. Obviously, we were culminating becoming the world champions, the Davis Cup champions in 2015. But people sometimes forget that long journey that you guys went on to get to that position.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

Yeah, I don't even know the name of the group we were in, but um we played in Bolton, we played Eastbourne, we played in Coventry. Um we played some tough matches.

SPEAKER_00 17:40

Over a six, seven year period.

SPEAKER_03 17:41

Yeah, to get us back to sort of world group. Um yeah, and then good on Andrew started to play when we got back up there, um and helped us out when the bigger boys. It was me, um Jamie Baker, uh Dan Evans, Dan Evans, yeah, um, and Chris Eaton was there, and then Dub's guys was Ross Hutchins, Colin Fleming, uh Johnny Mary, Jamie Murray, yeah, um Dom Englot a little bit later on.

SPEAKER_00 18:12

And that was the kind of the six year, six, seven year period of the year.

SPEAKER_03 18:14

Yeah, and I'd say it was a bit of chopping and changing of who would play each tie around then, but yeah, I was um but managed to get a lot of wins. There you go.

SPEAKER_00 18:23

But we we do need to touch actually one of my favourite memories was I think back in 2007 or eight or nine, one of the ties. Yeah, that might be the first tie, actually, where John and Lloyd uh made you play the playoffs.

SPEAKER_03 18:35

Oh god, dude.

SPEAKER_00 18:36

And you you you and I want to say Chris Eaton.

SPEAKER_03 18:40

Chris Eaton yet to be beaten, yeah, at the time.

SPEAKER_00 18:43

And you guys played a six and a half hour match hours to get into the Davis Cup team.

SPEAKER_03 18:47

Six hours forty, Johnny. Six so it was a it was a playoff. Yeah. Um, because I think around that time everyone was sort of ranked more or less the same. Yeah. And it was tough for John to pick me or Eaton, I think, as like the number two. Yeah. Um, because it was gonna be our first tie as well. So he didn't really know who would cope with the pressure again, because as you say, a lot of people sort of didn't like performing when it played it played Davis Cup. Yeah, um, and he he was like, let's have a playoff at Rahampton, which he obviously no one expected was gonna go on nearly seven hours. But we played on court one at VC and everyone was hanging over the balcony, and like throughout a full work day, they just kept coming and going, thinking, is this still going on? Um six hour, 40 minutes, and I lost 21-19 in the fifth set. Oh yeah, it's never nice talking about the loss. No, but it was uh but you look back now and you think again, great experience because playing a five-set match, dealing with that sort of pressure, yeah. And I think, well, yeah, something must have happened to Chris. Like he might have got injured or something, didn't play, so I ended up playing in Lithuania anyway. Okay, was that the Lithuania playoff? Was it over? I think so. Um and that was your first tie, yeah. And I and I won my first match there, so then after that, it sort of just carried on rolling.

SPEAKER_00 19:59

Yeah, yeah. Well I said you had a great record in Davis Cup. I mean, a couple of things I was looking through last night, USA, two separate ties, yeah, two unbelievably good wins, you'd be Sam Query in San Diego, in San Diego, Petco Park, yeah. Petco Park, how was that match?

SPEAKER_03 20:17

What was the that was class? We played in like a in a baseball stadium, um, which was obviously completely different, yeah. Uh sort of cornered off one part of it. Um, and they put a clay court down, which now um even last year at Wimby I spoke to uh Mike Bryan about it, and he was like, Oh, when we when we talk about that tie back then, we thought we we put it on clay because it's like no chance the Brits know how to play on clay, and he's like, And then you turned up and like playing better on clay than query, which we thought at the time, why have they put it on clay? Because that wasn't Query's surface. You put it on hard, and he was 20, 20 in the world around then? Yeah, he was like 15, I think. 15 in the world. So then you look and you go, you know, big serve, big forehand. Yeah, well, why was he on clay? But it did us a favour. Um, but yeah, great match. I think I was down in that as well. I think uh two sets to one down. I think I won him four in five there.

SPEAKER_00 21:07

I mean, I again I'll put this out to the the the audience. I don't know how many British people have won away against the United States in Davis Cup. That's quite a tough.

SPEAKER_03 21:16

Someone will come back to you. So yeah, put it in the comments. Someone will comment on that. Actually, Johnny, someone did.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah, if there has been any British people to have won in Davis Cup let us know. Let us know. But yeah, but that's that's because your ranking would have been what round about then? In the ones, probably.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

Yeah, ones, maybe early twos. Yeah. Um there's a big jump. Yeah, there's a big difference, big difference. But you had that kind of belief probably from pla practising with exactly, but also yeah, practicing a lot with again better players from a younger age, yeah. Um so sort of not being overawed by it. Um, but then also again enjoying the occasion of playing for a team and yeah, um yeah, it was so what's what's what is the difference then the team and an individual? Well, again, if when you're traveling on your own and you don't have Funds to have a coach, trainer, physio, like you have maybe later on in your career, or only a handful of people who really get that. Um you know, if sometimes you're in a court in Uzbekistan and you turn around and there's no one there. Zero people, yeah, there's no one clapping, there's no one watching, yeah, and people don't see that side of it. Everyone says, Oh, amazing tennis, and I'm very grateful for you know the journey I've had and what tennis has given me. But you also don't see that you know you're on your own in uh a lot of hotel rooms, there's a lot of waiting around, there's a lot of flights, a lot of jet lag, yeah, and a lot of lonely times as well. Because again, unless you're incredibly successful, in which case you wouldn't be going through that journey for long, it would be a short period. Um, you know, you've got to keep bouncing back all the time ever after every tournament. You know, you have to try and get back up for the next week and give yourself another opportunity to play.

SPEAKER_01 22:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 22:50

And again, when you have people around you pushing you, guiding you, it's complete opposite. It's like if someone tells you, you know, uh to go in the gym, yeah, yeah, I'll go, you know. But if someone's there on site pushing you and goes with you, it's a different story. You go and get the workout done, it doesn't take as long.

SPEAKER_00 23:06

That that Davis Cup team that that that Leon obviously put together was it was great, when it had a whole team of people looking after you, completely different.

SPEAKER_03 23:12

Yeah, we had great guys on there, and um, as I said, I think everyone it was a good opportunity for again for the coaches as well to to push themselves. And um I think it was yeah, from the start, we had probably the same group until we won. Um again, adding in one or two more because as you get more successful, again, you got adding more in the team, but there was still the same core group of people all the way through.

SPEAKER_00 23:35

Well, I had um David Lloyd on a last episode, and he was talking about when he was captain, it was a part-time role. Yeah, he said, like nowadays with Leon, it's obviously a full-time role, and I think that that's definitely kind of shown in the performances having a full-time supporting.

SPEAKER_03 23:49

He would travel around and watch you in different tournaments around the year, definitely all the slam quallies, and you have a better relationship with someone. Um, so again, you know them better, it's not just like you're seeing a stranger and trying to you know do your best for them just for one week, and if not, it doesn't matter. You know, everyone we saw each other every week, we're all seeing each other on tour, yeah. So it's um it makes it a bit easier, and again, we all got on well, everyone talks about football all the time, everyone supported different teams, so it was a lot of a lot going on, and then obviously the big the big year 2015, so the Davis Cup year.

SPEAKER_00 24:22

Um, now that you're back in the world group, first tie again the states, yeah. Unbelievably good win against John Isner, who was number 11 in the world at the time. I mean, that was indoors. Where was that?

SPEAKER_03 24:34

Glasgow.

SPEAKER_00 24:35

Glasgow. That was an incre I remember watching that at home, yeah, and that was absolutely incredible atmosphere. Yeah. Talk to us a bit about that match because that that was one of your best wins, I'd say.

SPEAKER_03 24:44

Yeah, probably my best win. Um, again, because of the moment as well and what it meant for the tie, because obviously at the time Andy was probably two in the world, so it was always expected that he was gonna put the win on the board. He obviously had a quite a good record against John, I think, as well. And then I think Donald Young was the number two, and then the Bryan brothers. So we obviously didn't really bank on the dubs match. Um who won that dubs match? Was it? I think Brian's won that match, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:09

So you you were playing Isner at what score?

SPEAKER_03 25:11

So Isner, I was two sets down, yeah. Uh but I played him first, sorry, I played him on the Friday or I played him on the Friday. I must have played him, I think I played him second match because Andy won. So we went 2-0 up. Yeah, then we lost the then we lost the doubles, and then Andy beat um Isner in the first match. So you're two sets down against Isner that day. Two sets down, um, and yeah, one in five. I think it was 15-13 in the fifth.

SPEAKER_00 25:33

I remember some big vampses.

SPEAKER_03 25:34

Yeah, a couple of them getting the crowd pumping.

SPEAKER_00 25:37

But that's but again, I again being around British tennis for all my life, you do see, you know, is it some people can kind of go in their shell in those environments, but I never thought that when I was watching you, even when you're playing matches on Wimbledon or whatever, or Queens, you you kind of enjoyed that crowd.

SPEAKER_03 25:54

Yeah, I enjoyed it again. The support, um you want it to be a bit louder, right? Again, you've come from I've come from so many tournaments where there's nothing going on, yeah, you don't see anyone, there's no atmosphere, it's actually quite nice to you know play in front of people. Yeah, and I say, like it wasn't just the crowd because they were amazing in those. Yeah, obviously, we went back to Glasgow mostly because of Andy because we were gonna sell the place out because everyone wanted to watch Andy play, yeah. Um, but then obviously to get one of my biggest wins there as well, yeah, was uh I remember everyone going bananas about that, it was fantastic, and almost as loud as the crowd was your shirt.

SPEAKER_00 26:28

You were famous for your mat shirt. No, it was a good one.

SPEAKER_03 26:32

It was a classic, yeah. I was uh sponsored by Ted Baker, um Ray, who you know Ray, yeah, was a big fan of tennis and um and helped me out a lot as well at the time. Uh probably had three or four years wearing his stuff, yeah, made me my own line, it was really cool. And he just wanted to do something different, you know, not go down the normal sports where you want to do different designs.

SPEAKER_00 26:52

At the time, it would have been one of the first ones kind of yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:55

I had polka dot socks on, and then I had a Paisley design, obviously from Scotland. There he goes, he's he's got a pair on now. So I had a Paisley design shirt on. Yeah, um again. That's specifically for Scotland. Yes. So again, he designed things specific for different places that I went to. Yeah, again, just a bit more thought than just the usual, you know.

SPEAKER_00 27:15

Yeah, but you were you were kind of known about it. Yeah, it was cool.

SPEAKER_03 27:18

Yeah, it was nice, it was a good time.

SPEAKER_00 27:20

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, okay, then going beyond your career, uh into back into your singles career. I noticed you got semis at Queens.

SPEAKER_03 27:27

I did.

SPEAKER_00 27:28

Would that be your furthest at a tour event?

SPEAKER_03 27:30

Yes, yeah, yeah. Semis at Queens. I loved Queens because live sort of 20 minutes from there. Um, and yeah, I think it was it's just again an intimate crowd, everyone's a bit closer. Yeah, um, you play later on in the day, everyone's had a few drinks. Again, they get into it a little bit more. Yeah, um, when you're from London, everyone likes that story as well.

SPEAKER_00 27:50

Yeah, um, you got quarterfinals the year before as well, didn't you?

SPEAKER_03 27:53

Yeah, I played alright at Queens. I played alright, and um and I beat some good players that run to semis. I think I um I beat Sam Quiry, who was defending champ. Sam Quiry, though? Yeah. That name again. Got him again, yeah. Sorry, Sam. Um and Manorino, and then I was at that time actually, I was playing court one because on centre Rafa was playing Songa. Okay, yeah. And I was playing Manorino. I don't know why they put me on court one instead of centre, but okay, Rafa. So then you could hear obviously what was going on, and I just beat Manorino, so I'm in semis, like obviously Dreamland. And at the time I was like, I want to play Rafa in London, yeah, and it was the only time that Rafa's gone and lost, so I played Songa. So then again, it's almost a tough one on the grass, which again, like the guy who made semis of Wimbledon, like top on the grass, he's served as a joke. Um, and yeah, I went down four and six to him in the semi.

SPEAKER_00 28:51

So it was uh yeah, again, tough one, but it would have been so that that that result would that those points put you up to your highest ranking or yeah, so that that's what yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:58

And then again, you kick on again and you start playing bigger tournaments again, Wimbledon, and then over the summer in the States started to then be able to play like A to P quallies um and push yourself on and you got to 80? Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 29:11

Yeah, around about that. Yeah, um, and then as we go towards the end of your career, again I like to ask people what their thought process, and again, everyone's been different, but what's the thought process to ending your career? And how long did that period take of thinking, right, I'm gonna stop playing? What age were you and what was going through your mind?

SPEAKER_03 29:28

I was 34, yeah. Um, and actually I was playing, so I had knee surgery after I was my best ranking, um, after Davis Scarp, after being top hundred, and then I had nine months off with knee surgery, um, which then takes another six to nine months to get back to the level. Your rankings dropped, so I had to sort of start over again, and I just started to play well again, um, and I actually made a final challenger in Wren and I lost to Rinderick, okay. Who's doing great who's playing great ball at the moment? Um, and the week after that was when COVID started. Yeah, um, and obviously that rumbled on for a long time. There were less tournaments, less opportunities. You know, a lot of players were sort of protected with rankings um above us, and it was tough. There's two, three challenges a week, so there's only a couple of guys who were able to make that jump up. Yeah, and it was difficult. And at that time, my ranking still wasn't where I wanted it to be. I was like, I'm getting a bit older, I know the grind it's gonna take, and I didn't really fancy it. And at that time I thought, you know what, let me look at some other opportunities, and I was happy with it. It's never easy because then you stop playing, you put uh something on Twitter or Instagram, and everyone sends you well wishes and you feel great for 10 minutes, but then you wake up and you're like, I should go training, but you don't because you you finish, you're not playing.

SPEAKER_00 30:52

You're not so so you say how what were you kind of what things were you thinking about doing after your playing career?

SPEAKER_03 30:57

What was then your I don't think uh too many ideas. I started to help a couple of people, like hitting with them. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 31:03

Um you've been out in Saudi as well a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 31:06

Yeah, I was in Saudi. Uh I was helping a lovely family there. Um their young son was 13 when I started with him. I've been helping him for the last couple of years, on and off. Every couple of months I go back there for a a week or so. Um, and again, a country like that that's got you know all the funds to do things, but they don't have a lot of quality sort of coaches, they don't have a lot of people. Yeah, and they also don't have many centres for people to play, so um yeah, helping him out and uh he's slowly getting better.

SPEAKER_00 31:35

So yeah, yeah. Yeah. Have you ever had any thoughts of uh working in the UK's like in the LTA or things like that?

SPEAKER_03 31:42

No one's ever been in touch with me. No, no, since I stopped, and it's quite sad if I'm not no weird. Um yeah, it is sad because I spoke to a few people about it in the last year to 18 months for sure. Um and it'd be nice to give back to sort of British tennis and help people who especially are in that journey of you know, between one to three hundred, yeah, where I spent a large chunk of my career to you know try and give them a little bit of help of you know, at least someone who knows how that feels to be there and what changes you actually need to make to make that jump. Um, and again, even hitting-wise, I'm still hitting all right um to jump in and and help someone out a little bit here and there. But as I say, no one's has uh been in touch. So that's why you've got to look elsewhere and look abroad, and people say, Oh, why are you going abroad? But there's there's not too many opportunities here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 32:34

They seem to be, I mean it not just Audit's but the Middle East, they're kind of really into their tennis, aren't they?

SPEAKER_03 32:38

Yeah, they're making a uh a push for it, but sport in general, because they realise again their populations generally haven't been the uh the healthiest in the past. So I think that they're trying to make a a big push for that. Okay. Um and that obviously they're physically healthy, just in general, sort of participation for you know everyone in the country, and then to try and get the next champion and set a pathway, grassroots, again, coaching, and what is the infrastructure like there at the moment? It's good, there's plenty of academies, there's loads of people that have expats that have gone and set up and uh and building a good business there and and again trying to help the the community out, but there needs a bit of a uh a better structure in place, yeah. Um, so hopefully I can help out with that.

SPEAKER_00 33:22

And and what while you've been aware, have you managed to keep up to date with the Arsenal?

SPEAKER_03 33:26

I have indeed, but um and again I should just jump in here.

SPEAKER_00 33:28

I'm I'm a Millwall fan, so it's quite fun watching uh the Arsenal guys floundering a little bit, but top of the league, right?

SPEAKER_03 33:36

So top of the league, we can't complain. As I said before, like we um from where we came from, he's done incredibly well. In Arteta we trust. In Arteta we trust, full power again. Even this season, you look at the city now, they're going on a great run again when everyone thought they were done. Yeah, you know, they always do it every year, so you shouldn't be surprised. Yeah, love of Guardiola, he does buy sort of the best players whenever he needs to, but we won't go too deep into that. So then you're getting yeah, exactly. Gway and defence. I'm like, come on, mate. Like bought the best, probably attacking midfielder and defender that was available.

SPEAKER_00 34:11

Every time I turn the T every time I turn the TV on, I've got all the pundits all are Arsenal gonna do it, are they gonna they're gonna do it there's a lot of stress on Arsenal as well. Why is that? Because I don't think I've seen that like when Liverpool were going for it, nobody was going, Oh, are they gonna do this?

SPEAKER_03 34:25

But I think as because it's been so long since they were successful, and obviously when they were successful, they were the invincibles, yeah. So they took it to another level, but then there was a massive crash for a long time. Um, and then obviously there's a lot of fans who, without giving them any, you know, um airtime, you know, go online and uh I think it's easy for other fans to pick on them and sort of and want them to do you know poorly.

SPEAKER_00 34:51

So um but you and you you've had a season ticket for years, right?

SPEAKER_03 34:54

Yeah, I've been there years, yeah. I've had it for probably twelve, fifteen years. When did you start going to the Arsenal? Oh when I was younger, my dad highbury years ago, but again, not that often, every every now and again. But all my family, cousins, everyone were all Arsenal, and we all used to go and watch games, or we'd watch it obviously on telly together.

SPEAKER_00 35:11

So you can at least remember the last year, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 35:14

Um yeah, went to Highbury, watched Invincibles and did all that stuff, and then obviously now it's it's nice to carry that tradition on and completely different.

SPEAKER_00 35:22

So what's happened to Highbury? Is it a block of flats now?

SPEAKER_03 35:25

No, yeah, it's flats, it's um it's still obviously round the corner from the from the ground. So if you come out of Arsenal Station, it's round there. It's quite cool to look because they've kept like the front of the stadium to look as if it's a stadium, Marble Hall. Yeah, and I think they've kept that walkway through, but then obviously the the weather pitch was and everything, it's now houses and uh from your years, who's uh who's your top Arsenal players?

SPEAKER_00 35:48

Okay, I tell you what, give me a five aside, give me a five aside of your dream arsenals.

SPEAKER_03 35:53

Dream Arsenals, you've got to go um obviously go layman and goal. Yes, yeah, you'd go like Ashley Cole.

SPEAKER_00 36:05

I mean he what a legend. Okay, just jumping on Ashley Cole. What are the Arsenal fans what's the overall?

SPEAKER_03 36:11

I'm going for top player, not because of what went on. But I think he yeah. Again, it's tough to you know, he seems like he speaks with honesty when he talks that he actually wanted to stay at Arsenal, but the offer wasn't there, and again, who knows what actually went on? Um but he was there long enough and he still goes down as an Arsenal legend because he was part of the best teams.

SPEAKER_00 36:29

He was he was the in the Invincibles.

SPEAKER_03 36:30

Yeah, to then go to Chelsea's a bit of a killer, but I mean that's it's like Midwall playing out to West Ham. Yeah, but I you you still put him in there because of what he did for Arsenal. Yeah. Um I'm not going back to Tony Adams sort of. Oh your time. Yeah, my time. Let's go um Pires.

SPEAKER_00 36:46

Perez. He never seemed to just glide.

SPEAKER_03 36:50

Floating. Yeah, he didn't seem to his legs didn't seem to move. It was just a joke. Yeah. And he just cut in every time and that little curler. So you got so you got Lehman Cole. We're going Leyman Cole at the back, and then we're going full power up front. Full power. Full power. Um we're going Pierez, Henri, obviously.

SPEAKER_00 37:07

Um I mean Henri talked to me about you so you saw him quite a bit.

SPEAKER_03 37:11

Yeah. Yeah, class.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

I mean, uh again, just as a neutral, he was just an absolute rock.

SPEAKER_03 37:16

Yeah, but you you see now on you see even on Sky Sports when everyone's going, oh, best player of all best prem player. Most people are putting Henri down. You know, a lot of people have recently become Rooney, yeah, which I'm not sure I'm having. I mean Thierry was a Thierry is a little bit more. He had a bit more. Yeah. Um, but yeah, I'd go that. You've got one more player. It was going to tie this team together. Actually, let's go Patrick Vier in the middle, no? Let's let's holding midfield, but can go forward when he wants. That's good. That's good.

SPEAKER_00 37:46

So I've asked pretty much everyone to do their five asides. That's good. That is up there. The Arsenal one's up there. Yeah, it's up there. Bear in mind I had a Charlton fan on and an Ipswich fan on. So um I think the Arsenal wants to speak. There you go.

SPEAKER_03 37:56

Just just about.

SPEAKER_00 37:57

So, yeah, this year, what what uh you think they're gonna get it done?

SPEAKER_03 38:02

I do. Um we have to win on Saturday against Fulham to just put the pressure on with that gap because then that's before. Two games in hand, but they still have to win those games just to draw level. We also need to start scoring a few more goals to get that goal difference a little bit different. What is that? I don't know, mate. It's the panic, you know. As soon as they go forward, it's like the final pass seems to just go off, or they're just missing, or someone's just blocking a shot. But it don't know. I think it's the panic and the pressure that you can see is getting into them. Obviously, the crowd going nuts every time someone gives the ball away. I would. I know it's the easiest thing to say because you don't see training every day, but he's almost he's the only one who does probably doesn't get it and is a bit fearless. Yeah. Whereas everyone else knows what's riding on it because they're a bit older and they've been experienced, even when like Saka was out injured, and Madoueki, I think, has been great. Um he creates a lot, but even when he crosses it, there's no one in the box, so he gets blamed for his final product, but there's actually no one there. But if you put down one on, he just everyone takes him forward, you know. Like he's got no fear, he cuts in, goes past one or two people, and you're like, that's what you want to see. You know, you want to see a bit more attacking, like going for it.

SPEAKER_00 39:12

So I'm just thinking here, like you've you've you've named your five a side team, none of them are in the none of the current team are in that.

SPEAKER_03 39:17

No, let's do the other five. Um if you get if you go current, uh you've probably got to chuck like Fabrigas in there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:24

Um but I'm just saying, uh I think this team's very, very good. But I heard Martin Kieran talking on TV the other day. You know, they're not the that they're not the invincibles.

SPEAKER_03 39:32

No, I don't think I think Saka gets in there. You think Saka gets in? For what he's done, he's dropped off a little bit this season with a few injuries, I think, because he's played every game in the last two, three years. Yeah. Um, I think Saka gets in there. Declan. Declan class as well. Uh Gabriel in defence has been class. I actually think he's been better than Calibra in the last couple of years, actually. Yeah. Good battle with Haaland the other day. Yeah. Um, which he was fouled, but yeah, we let that one go. Um But yeah, you you you think they're gonna get it done? I think so. Just I think Everton have got to do us a favour.

SPEAKER_00 40:05

We're um we're filming this before the semis of Atletico. Is that this week or next week?

SPEAKER_03 40:11

It's tomorrow night. Tomorrow night, yeah. Predictions on that one, because it this uh dunno, I think we might sneak a narrow win, but we take a draw there. Away and next you next Tuesday is home.

SPEAKER_00 40:24

So uh I'll be there for that one and as your season tickets, you get the Champions League games. You have to add them on.

SPEAKER_03 40:32

Arsenal aren't chucking those ones in for nothing. Um but yeah, you get the option to do it, so of course I'm I'm all in.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um, and if he doesn't, if he doesn't win it, what happens to Mikel? Let's see ya. Keep ticking over.

SPEAKER_03 40:44

You can't chop him.

SPEAKER_00 40:44

I mean, as I say, well, I've heard a few people say no, if he doesn't win something, he's out.

SPEAKER_03 40:47

No, but he's being judged just on winning, and everyone else is sort of being judged on top four, and because he's come so close. But again, you've got to look at Man City were treble winners, they went on a 15-16 game unbeaten run that one season. Last season they probably put 10 or 11 together and then look like they're doing it a bit now.

SPEAKER_00 41:05

So I just thought that that Arsenal Man City game was a bit ominous in terms of the like of what I felt like the attitude of the Man City players was like, We're here now, lads.

SPEAKER_03 41:15

But it's it's easy to do that when you won the last four, right? It's yeah, it you know, you do back yourself and you're confident, and you're also trying to put them under pressure, but they definitely feel that I think if Arsenal get over the line, they could probably win two or three over the next five or six. I'd love them to get over the line, but yeah, it's the toughest thing, isn't it? Like that final hurdle is uh it's not easy, mate.

SPEAKER_00 41:37

It's not easy. Um, Jocharez as well.

SPEAKER_03 41:39

What's your feelings on the jury's outries out uh if you look stats-wise, he's actually had a great season.

SPEAKER_00 41:44

What in terms of stats?

SPEAKER_03 41:45

I think he's scored over 20 goals. If you look first season at Arsenal with goals and assists, but it's just he looks a bit heavy and first touch is a you know, maybe he's adjusting still to the Prem, but Portugal you get so much more time on the ball. Yeah, you know, in in Prem, people are on him and it's bouncing off him a bit.

SPEAKER_00 42:02

He likes Havertz, though, doesn't he, Marteta?

SPEAKER_03 42:04

Well, if he's not injured, so let's uh let's see what happens uh for the next couple of weeks.

SPEAKER_00 42:09

Um well cheers, mate. That is your beyond tennis and football journey. Pleasure, mate. But you are not done yet. Let's see. You are not done yet. We've got a match tie break. We ask everyone the same question. Um so let's get stuck in. Little drink before we start this one. This is this is this is yeah, if we're gonna be nervous, this is your mastermind, mate. This is your mastermind. So, number one. Who is the greatest tennis player of all time?

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Roger Federer.

SPEAKER_00 42:34

Roger Federer Roger. Tough to argue with that. Number two, who's your favourite tennis player of all time? Pete Sampras. Pete Sampras, why?

SPEAKER_03 42:42

Yeah, just growing up watching him. No emotion, but clinical that little wipe of the old sweat iconic. Yeah, big time, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 42:53

Okay, good. Um, what's your favourite shot to hit?

SPEAKER_03 42:57

You know that one, Johnny. Come on.

SPEAKER_00 42:59

I'm gonna I'm gonna shout it out for the the audience. BH.

SPEAKER_03 43:02

Your backhand crossed personal feeling.

SPEAKER_00 43:05

But why was that?

SPEAKER_03 43:06

So I think everyone has a natural shot that they just feel like you know they're confident they can make from most places on the court. And mine, I just sort of leaned on it a lot and I got a you know, decent angle on it. I felt like from a young age, were you yeah, it was always a comfortable shot. Forehand, I like to think about backhand was you know, even now if I just went and played, I haven't played for a couple of weeks. I feel like I'm not gonna miss my backhand, but forehand we're panicking.

SPEAKER_00 43:30

Solid as a rock. Um, who's the best player not to win a grand slam? Who's the best player across history? We've had vary various answers, but who's the best player not to win a grand slam? From Zverevs, we've had Nalbandians, we've had Rios, we've had uh I think they're the main ones actually.

SPEAKER_03 44:08

Timbledon Henman was being yeah, Tim in uh in his time for sure. Um I'm probably gonna stick with my man Songa actually. Oh Songa, yeah. He was around top five for many years. Final Australia? Yeah, made quite a few semis at Wimby and a few other events that again just beaten by the better guys who were around at the time, right?

SPEAKER_00 44:26

I'm gonna ask you a question. This is a set separate. Do you think because we all look nostalgically back at tennis, but just you mentioning Songa there and looking back, he was an unreal player that was never higher than four or five in the world, but like so good. Do you think that the strength in depth, I've had this conversation with a few people, strength in depth for was better back in the day?

SPEAKER_03 44:48

Obviously, I'm gonna say yes. No, I've had this chat again with other players, but I think the as you say, the depth is I think everyone now is sort of playing the same sort of way. Yeah, I think there was a lot more variation before of guys that you could play against, different game styles. Maybe court speeds were different, but I don't want to go too much into that. I think it's more the actual the style of the players. Um, and I feel like back then, you know, a guy 30, 40, 50 in the world could also beat one of those top guys on a given day. Look at Stahovsky at Wimbledon against Fed. Yeah, yeah. You know, like I don't see that happening now against Sinor Alcaraz. Obviously, they've been dominating for the last three, four years. Yeah. But Songa's a good one, but there's no one who's really jumping out against Zvera, but Zvera's been around for the last 10 years as well. Yeah. So yeah, I'd definitely say it was uh Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 45:40

Okay, we haven't had Songa. Better back in the day, there you go. Yeah, well done, Songa. Um okay, who's this is a difficult, different one? Who's the best non-professional tennis player that you've seen? So that's somebody either a celebrity that plays tennis to a high level that you've seen or heard of.

SPEAKER_01 46:00

That's not easy either.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

Um you know all the celebs, mate.

SPEAKER_03 46:04

I was gonna say that's a name drop now. Um I'll give him a shout out. Romeo Beckham. Okay. Hits a very good ball.

SPEAKER_00 46:13

So I heard back in the day that he was thinking about it.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

He was, he tried to play for a while. Yeah, I still hit with him now a little bit. Yeah. Um, but yeah, he hits a very good ball when he tries, because half the time he's not moving. But um move your feet, Romeo. Yeah, but no, he uh he definitely can hit a ball. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 46:29

How often was he playing?

SPEAKER_03 46:30

Is he I think for a couple of years he was playing most days and he was trying to do it, but then he went back into football, yeah, and now he's just relying on his good looks and got a lot of things.

SPEAKER_00 46:38

One of the boys, one of the boys in a band.

SPEAKER_03 46:41

His younger brother is the younger one.

SPEAKER_00 46:43

There you go. Okay, Romeo Beckham. Good. Um, who is your dream doubles partner? Dream doubles. Because you can play doubles with one person. Who are you playing with?

SPEAKER_03 46:54

Again, got to pick Fed. I think just for the whole the look and just yeah, the class to experience it being on court with him would have been yeah.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

Did you do some pre-season with that?

SPEAKER_03 47:05

Yeah, well, I trained with him a bit in in Dubai over the years. He's like, What was that like pre-season with with class? Um he again just smooth, right? You get on the court and just so easy, nothing stressful, but he he does put the work in.

SPEAKER_00 47:19

Well, I was gonna say I read somewhere that that uh somebody was saying that those those preseasons he did, he worked like an absolute dog.

SPEAKER_03 47:25

No, he does, but again, because of the way he plays, people don't see it, right? Yeah, no, you definitely uh he definitely put the hours in.

SPEAKER_00 47:32

When I had um Keds on, he I was talking to him about doing preseasons with Andy. Yeah, so you've done a preseason with Roger and you've done some pre-seasons with Andy. What was the difference between their pre-season blocks, if at all?

SPEAKER_03 47:46

I've obviously done more with Andy over the time. Um and again with Roger, I didn't do low, um a little bit of preseason, but mostly it was sort of during season, so it was a bit a little bit less. Okay, but but Andy obviously like brutal preseasons doing four hours on court in Miami, going on to the beach doing sprints on the in the aft, then sleeping for an hour or so in the afternoon. You're in the gym or VersaClymer, and you're going to sleep at eight and you do it every day. It's like rinse and repeat. Um but yeah, how did that?

SPEAKER_00 48:15

I mean, I said to Carl, when he came out of that, he felt strong and he was like ready for the season to go ahead. How did you feel after those preseasons?

SPEAKER_03 48:21

Tired stiff! Tell about strong, but tired, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 48:27

Okay, next one, next one. Totally separate question. Who's your favourite musical band of all time? Oasis. No Oasis. Did you do the comeback tours?

SPEAKER_03 48:36

Uh I didn't, but it just never worked out when I was in London and then around trying to go, but it just never worked out. But they were the first ones I went to see years ago.

SPEAKER_00 48:47

Yeah, so you've seen them. So do you know what? I I didn't go either. I wasn't going I'd seen them three times before. I just didn't feel it was a bit Yeah, and I thought I felt it was quite.

SPEAKER_03 48:57

There's still gonna be more. There's still more to come, I think. That's what I'm saying. So then we'll go.

SPEAKER_00 48:59

So I'm even thinking of maybe doing a beyond tennis uh at an Oasis gig. There you go. Get a few tennis guys and see if we can get in there. Yeah, you're in that. Yeah, I'm in. Because I know Jamie Murray was a big fan of the game.

SPEAKER_03 49:07

Yeah, he went, he went to Argentina, didn't he? It's a bit much, Jamie. That's amazing, mate.

SPEAKER_00 49:13

Like Maradona for me, he's my hero, and Oasis in Argentina. I mean, that's a great day, I don't know. That's good work. That's a good work. Um okay, good. Um, one rule in tennis you'd change tomorrow if you're in charge. One rule in tennis.

SPEAKER_03 49:26

Oh, I don't know what it is at the moment if it's allowed or not, but coaching. Yeah, it should be allowed. Yes. Um, I think they were trialling it at different times and different levels. Men's, women's, some were allowing it, women's were allowing it, coaches were allowed on the court at some point. I think that's a bit much.

SPEAKER_00 49:42

So you say no, not coaches on court.

SPEAKER_03 49:43

You don't need it on court, but if you go to the back of the court and you ask a question, it's like you're paying for the coach. You want their insight, not after the match they tell you what happened. It's like it's quite easy to look at the video and work it out yourself. Or most of the time you kind of knew you just needed a few pointers during the match. I don't think anyone's really like shouting instructions apart from Rafa's uncle before every point and telling him where to serve, where to stand, what to do. But you you should be allowed to have a little bit more. If not, what's the point in having someone there?

SPEAKER_00 50:10

Yeah, well, I talked to Jamie Delgado about this. He was saying, you know, he loves having that kind of interaction, and people like watching it at home sometimes. Yeah, I think so. Hearing what the coach is uh saying. Yeah, because it does have to be a listen. I'm a bit struggling on what the rule is at the moment. I don't know. Because I saw yesterday Sitsipass in Madrid, he got a warning for coaching.

SPEAKER_03 50:28

His dad talks more than anyone though, doesn't it? His dad's talking non-stop.

SPEAKER_00 50:31

But but then if you again, just as a tennis fan, I don't know what's allowed and what's not.

SPEAKER_03 50:36

No, I don't again, that should be clear, but they should just make it one way or the other.

SPEAKER_00 50:39

It's either not allowed or it is, and then if it gets too well the thing I heard on commentary was uh it's they're allowed to encourage but not coach. So what are we doing? It's either talking.

SPEAKER_03 50:50

Again, it depends on what language, right? So if you're speaking a language that the umpire doesn't understand, you could say yeah, it's encouragement, which used to happen a lot, yeah. You know, back in Spain, even yeah. Um so you'd say you allow the coaching together. Yeah, of course. I think so. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:03

Then finally, last question, this is the most important question that we have at Beyond Tennis. There's gonna be a biopic movie.

SPEAKER_03 51:10

Who should be your next guest?

SPEAKER_00 51:11

No, who's got a biopic movie about James Ward? Who's playing you in the film?

SPEAKER_03 51:16

Oh god, my movie man, Johnny.

SPEAKER_00 51:19

No, but okay, they're making a movie on the the life and times of James Ward. Jason Staphen.

SPEAKER_03 51:27

Why not?

SPEAKER_00 51:28

Jason Statham, you've got the same muscles. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 51:31

Just a bit shorter than me, but yeah.

SPEAKER_00 51:33

Well, Wardie, thanks for that, mate. Pleasure having you on. Likewise, mate. Good stuff. We'll be watching uh what you're gonna go on to do in the next couple of years.

SPEAKER_03 51:41

Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 51:42

Thanks everyone for tuning in. Make sure you like, subscribe, do all of those things. It helps the channel. Get ready for the next episode and the awesome.