‘Mature’ Golding enjoys his new return
WHEN Oliver Golding became the forgotten man of British tennis it was entirely of his own volition. In 2014, the US Open junior champion of 2011 found himself in a hotel in Kazakhstan playing a lowly Futures event, and decided that he wanted no more of it. Aged 20, less than three years on from causing such a stir at Flushing Meadows — the first British male to win a junior Grand Slam since Andy Murray in 2004 — he quit to train and work as a financial adviser. The British game appeared to have clocked up yet another on the might-havebeeneonly side of the ledger. He retreated from the sport, only to surprise himself this summer by rediscovering the urge to compete. Still only 23, Golding decided to spend three weeks at a tennis academy in France and then ventured to Belarus in early August to try out at a Futures event. The results have been eye-catching. He qualified in Belarus and then won his next event in Italy, where the tournaments at this level are notoriously competitive. Then he reached the final in Nottingham, and this week could be found in the twilight chill at Roehampton where he reached the second round. ‘I came back into this reallyy not having a clue where I would be,’ heh says. ‘I barely picked up a racketrac for two and a half years otherot than coaching young kids. I have started all right, but whether I can do that weekon-week we will find out.’ Golding used to compete on evene terms with the likes of worldw No 7 Dominic Thiem. The playerpla he beat in the US Open final,final Jiri Vesely, is now ranked 59 and had the distinction of defeating Novak Djokovic last year. A child actor who appeared in feature films, Golding has never been consumed by tennis and in May began an Open University course in politics, philosophy and economics. He says: ‘I like foreign politics, particularly China and Russia. It has never been as relevant. I’m fascinated by Putin.’ Golding now has a 10-month-old son, Leo, with Russian partner Marta Sirotkina, a former player and believes becoming a parent will help. But winning the US Open juniors had proved a burden. ‘I played with a lot of pressure on my shoulders,’ he says. ‘That last trip to Kazakhstan, I was thinking I don’t want to be here and I’d been thinking like that for a long time. ‘It got to a breaking point. I started off as a financial adviser and running my mother’s tennis coaching business in Richmond, which we are still doing.’ Now he is being realistic about this comeback. ‘I’m under no illusions about how hard it will be,’ he says. ‘I guess it comes from maturity. I’ve always been calm off the court, but on the court I’d get pretty irate. I don’t want my little one seeing me throwing rackets. Mentally I feel a lot stronger than I was before. ‘I’m not one of those people who is completely wrapped up in tennis. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. Whether or not that’s the way it has to be to be successful, I don’t know.’