WISHING ON A STAR
After a rapid rise, McHugh has gone from Bearsden to Murray’s Miami training camp and then a Melbourne semi-final. Now the teen ace is...
THERE are two immediate questions for Aidan McHugh. First, where precisely did you meet the genie? And what is your third wish?
Surely the only explanation for the past year in the life of the 17-year-old tennis player from Bearsden, Glasgow, lies in a bottle, a puff of smoke and the appearance of an exotic figure with the propensity for making dreams come true.
The reality, of course, is embed in talent and hard work. But first the surreality.
McHugh was sitting in the SSE Hydro last November as part of an 11,000 crowd watching Andy Murray take on Roger Federer. His reverie was interrupted by Murray approaching him, giving him his racket and inviting the former pupil of St Aloysius College to play two points on the serve of the greatest of all time. Two successful returns did not make for even a point won and McHugh bemoans a backhand that did not find its target.
This extraordinary intervention probably counts as wish two, as wish one was the invitation by Murray for McHugh to be mentored by the two-time Wimbledon champion’s 77 Sports Management company. In November, McHugh travelled to Miami to be part of Murray’s boot camp. Last month, he hit with Murray in Nice as the Scot stepped up his recovery from hip surgery. In between, McHugh reached the semi-finals of the junior competition at the Australian Open. So, what is his third and final wish? ‘To be competing week in, week out on tour with the world’s top players and to be one of the players going deep in those events,’ he says soberly.
McHugh gained enough qualifications at school to suggest he could follow his father, Chris, and mother, Heather, into a career in medicine. Instead, he has taken time out to pursue a dream with practical purpose.
There is nothing romantic about a schedule that includes batches of hard practice interrupted by life on the road on the futures circuit, the least glamorous in the world of men’s tennis.
He is regularly accompanied by his coach, Toby Smith, brother of Davis Cup captain, Leon, and they are pursuing a plan to contend at the business end of all the junior Grand Slams and push McHugh’s ranking up by competing on the men’s circuit. McHugh is one of the best ten junior players on the planet but his ranking in the men’s game hovers around the 1,200 mark.
The next Grand Slam is in Paris next month. The sophistication of Roland Garros follows McHugh making the hardest of yards in tournaments in Yucatan, Loughborough and Sharm El Sheikh.
It all started, though, at Thorn Park Tennis Club in Bearsden. His ATP profile states that McHugh began playing when he was four, but he says: ‘I remember playing with my brother but I can’t remember my age as I was too young.’
His first glimpse of his mentor is clearer. ‘I have a vivid first memory of seeing him (Murray) play at Wimbledon,’ he adds. ‘I liked him being a fiery and competitive character and from somewhere quite near to where I lived.’
The pace of McHugh’s progress is such that the entranced toddler became the teenager who last year hit with Murray at the Aorangi courts in Wimbledon as both made unsuccessful tilts at the championships.
Murray, of course, was hampered by injury that required a hip operation and his fellow Scot has been on hand to help his mentor prepare for a return to the game. At just over 5ft 9in, McHugh talks with awe of facing Murray.
‘The first time was the feeling of how heavy and strong his hit was, way more than anyone I have been on court with,’ he says. ‘This helped me feel more comfortable when playing others and also made me much more aware of the quality I need to produce on court.
‘With Andy helping to give me advice and guidance, it helps to motivate me and also have a good insight about what’s ahead and what I need to do to keep improving as I move through the levels.’
More than a flash of genuine class and promise was shown in Melbourne in January when McHugh reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open, where he lost to Tseng Chun-hsin of Taiwan in a tight three sets.
‘It was a positive experience,’ says McHugh. ‘It was a good insight to being in the spotlight a little and dealing with things like the media and other off-court things.
‘This made me aware of just how important it is to keep focused on routines and to take care of the important thing for my matches.
‘Also, by the quarter and semifinals, it was great to play on the bigger courts with big crowds as I enjoy that stage.
‘There was another benefit. By the end of the week, there are only a few players left and that made it easier to get on with match preparations, booking courts for practise and transport to and from the hotel. You didn’t have to wait as long in the queues at the café.’
There may be an innocence in this but McHugh has been toughened by his immersion into the tennis tour. He admits he misses ‘family and the fresh air of home’ but gives the answer of the hardened competitor when asked about the joys of the road.
‘What I love is the feeling of competing with the chance of winning matches and putting a good run together in an event,’ he says. ‘It’s pretty satisfying when the work comes together with the evidence of success.’
His coach points out that McHugh has already shown his mettle. Smith says: ‘For a young player, he has made an early
decision to dedicate himself to the game with no compromises. Both on and off the court, he shows the willingness to work very hard and to do his best to learn about the qualities and the attributes to become a top professional.’
McHugh does not hesitate when asked what he plans for the future, adding: ‘To keep working hard and to continue to surround myself with the best people possible.
‘As well as trying to win matches, it is important to keep developing physically and mentally.’
With Murray as mentor and Federer as a one-time, if brief, opponent, the teenager could be forgiven for being carried away on a hurricane of hype. He resists that temptation.
‘I just want to improve,’ he says. His coach adds: ‘Fortunately both Aidy and myself are from Glasgow, so families and friends have a good way of keeping things in perspective.
‘We are also surrounded by experience from the likes of Andy, Leon and others. We have good people who know that Aidy still has a long way to go with a lot of challenging times ahead.’
One of these tests could include the $100,000 ATP Challenger event that starts in Scotstoun next week. Smith says: ‘At this moment, we will plan to be around the event as it will be great for Aidy to perhaps get to train with some of the higher-level players. But if he was given the chance to be involved, he’d be more than delighted.’
This invitation to play in front of a Glasgow audience might not be as dramatic as walking out to play Federer, armed with Murray’s racket but constricted by jeans and jacket. But McHugh, a couple of months away from his 18th birthday, has already made some memories and is determined to make more.
He is regularly asked about his encounter with Federer and admits with a chuckle: ‘Life would have been so much easier if I had made that backhand passing shot.’
He may yet have another chance on the Federer serve. It will be hard work, talent, and a modicum of fortune rather than any genie that could bring that backhand to pass.
AIDAN’S GOT THE MURRAY LOOK GOING AT LEAST!