Tennis’ next rising star

We’ve had Henman Hill and Murray Mound but is James Ward about to reach the peak of his tennis career in London SW19 in the next fortnight?


You may well be asking who James Ward is. Well, so were most sports fans until last weekend. That was until the 24-year-old, ranked 216 in the world, beat the odds to reach the semi-finals of the Queen’s Club Championships. (Photo: Dave Sandford)


Ward’s dogged performances at Queen’s – including victories against the defending champion and the world number 14 – have propelled him into the spotlight and raised hopes of British success at Wimbledon beyond solely the magic of Andy Murray.


Our nation loves a sporting underdog and Ward will no doubt feel both tremendous support and unbearable pressure next week. But will he be mentally and physically strong enough to cope and not crumble, especially if he grabs a few victories.


His coaches certainly believe so. Curiously, it was revealed that Ward has been helped by a former cage-fighter who has been putting him through his paces in recent weeks, rapidly improving both Ward’s physique and psyche in recent weeks.


Kevin Mitchell, tennis correspondent of The Guardian, fears for Ward at Wimbledon, however, pointing to disappointments of the past. ‘History, sadly, suggests the journey will be pot-holed,’ writes Mitchell. ‘Behind him on that road lie such briefly illustrious names as Jamie Delgado, Arvind Parmar, Barry Cowan, Martin Lee and Luke Milligan.’ A quick web search of these names reveals some near-misses; ten years ago, Cowan took Pete Sampras to five sets whilst Delgado snatched a set off Andre Agassi.


We’ve seen many times how fans’ enthusiasm and the media’s hunger for a hero (or celebrity) can be a major factor in British sportsmen and women failing on the biggest stage. Just look at any England football team in the recent past. If only we learned to lower our expectations, cherish small successes and understand that there’s more to sport than only winning, then perhaps we might enjoy watching sport again. Our footballers, cricketers and tennis players may just play with a smile on their faces as well. Even Andy Murray.


I hope that James Ward doesn’t enter the ‘if-only’ annals of British sporting history and that he rises admirably to Wimbledon’s challenge. It could be a steep slide from the summit if he doesn’t.

See BBC Sport's article on a similar subject.