Divine Providence
SHOT AT GREATNESS: Richard Sutcliffe fulfils a sporting dream in the beautiful playground of the American aristocracy.
REAMS of another Wimbledon triumph may have been dashed on Centre Court last month as Andy Murray lost once again to Roger Federer. But, for this keen, if frankly very amateur tennis enthusiast, this summer has brought to life a long-held ambition that I had long ago dismissed as being barely possible.
Namely, the chance to experience ce what playing tennis on grass at one of the game’s iconic settings is really y like.
Alas, it wasn’t in SW19. Obtaining a ticket to sit in the stands at the All England Club is tough enough. Instead, my chance to finally play on grass came almost 3,500 miles away at what is considered to be the cradle of US tennis.
Newport Casino, Rhode Island, staged the first ever US Open in 1881 and remained the tournament’s home for the next 34 years. Today, it is the first post-Wimbledon stop-off definitely not have realised on receiving his winner’s cheque to great acclaim on July 19 is that almost exactly a month earlier, the main court at Newport had been not so graced as pounded by yours truly.
A visit to the Hall of Fame in the spacious grounds of the casino provided an opportunity I was not going to pass up despite sporting trainers with no grips and having no racket. It meant I must have looked an unlikely “star”s attraction to those enjoying lun lunch in the restaurant that can be fou found down one side of the court wh which hosted that historic first championship in 1881. chI
I’d like to say I did justice to su such a beautiful setting, the court be being ringed on all four sides by vie viewing areas that wouldn’t look ou out of place at Eton or Harrow. Bu But, alas, a first serve that – much to the concern of those dining just 20 yards or so to my left – almost cl cleared the baseline suggests ot otherwise.
Thankfully, my second serve la landed in but, as I struggled to co cope with how the ball skids for the ATP Tour in July and among those competing in the 2015 Hall of Fame Tennis Championships were Dustin Brown, fresh from beating Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon, and Ivo Karlovic, whose own hopes had been ended by Murray in the quarterfinals. As ever, the standard of play at the historic venue was high as Rajeev Ram defeated Karlovic in the final to succeed 2014 men’s champion Lleyton Hewitt and lift the trophy.
What the American, however, will through on grass compared with the concrete courts of my youth at Riddlesden Tennis Club, it was hard to believe the club’s founders – motto: “A shrine to the ideals of the game” – were staring down approvingly at my efforts.
Still, I enjoyed myself tremendously. As I also did afterwards when chatting to John Austin, who together with sister Tracy won the Wimbledon Mixed Doubles in 1980,
I must have looked
an unlikely ‘star’ attraction to those enjoying lunch.
about his role as the International Tennis Hall of Fame’s new director of tennis.
He may not have been overly impressed with my racket skills. “Er, you hit very, erm, enthusiastically…” was his opinion. But he proved fascinating company, especially on the skills required to play on grass compared with other surfaces.