ANDY Murray is the toast of tennis after winning Wimbledon earlier this month; but a Bucks coach achieved something at the 2013 Championship that even the British number one might struggle to emulate.

When Jamie Delgado stepped onto court seven on June 27 for a first round men’s doubles match, it was his 21st successive summer competing at the most famous tennis tournament of all.

In that time he has taken on some of the most famous players of all time and experienced the unique thrill of being a Brit on centre court.

He said: “When you’re growing up you always watch Wimbledon, that’s the tournament you want to play in, but I was lucky enough to play there as a junior when I was 15 and I’ve played every year since then.

“I’ve played on centre, the new court one, the old court one, the graveyard court number two...I think I’ve played on every court.

“It’s a dream just to play there once, but I’ve worked hard and stuck at it. It hasn’t come easy, that’s for sure.”

His first appearance in the men’s singles draw came in 1997 and he won his first singles match the following year.

The draw hasn’t been kind to him though, with his list of conquerors including Pat Rafter, Andrei Medvedev, Juan Carlos Ferrero and a couple of defeats to Sebastian Grosjean.

And then there was Andre Agassi. On centre court. Twice.

Delgado said: “There is playing at Wimbledon and then there is playing on centre court.

“It was packed both times and walking onto court and getting that roar is a very special feeling. The crowd went bananas. I’ll never forget it.

“Agassi was my favourite player growing up and even though I lost both times I played to my potential in the second match.

“I remember one shot to break his serve and win the third set. He had just ripped a forehand and I hit a top spin lob over his head to win it. The crowd went nuts.

“I’ve got it recorded but I don’t look back on it now. I think it’s at my parents house and watching it again is something I’ll probably only do when I’m older.”

But with the highs come the lows.

Delgado said: “The real heart-breaker match was when I lost to Nicolas Lapentti. He went on to reach the quarter finals but I had five match points against him.

“I was two sets down and got it back to two sets all and was 5-3 up in the fifth.

“But I got a bit unlucky with a few match points and he went on to win it 7-5.

“I used to play well on grass and felt I could have done better than I did in the singles, but that was the toughest one for me to take, I think.”

This year Delgado competed with Tara Moore in the mixed doubles and also joined up with Matthew Ebden to knock Leyton Hewitt and Mark Knowles out of the men’s doubles event.

He said: “I love it there. Even now when I go on court I’m still nervous and still get the butterflies.

“It’s still as special as it was the first time I played there.

“It’s the only grand slam left on grass, it’s got the history, the all-white rule...there’s not just one thing that makes it special.

“There is just something in the air that makes it more special than all the other ones. It’s every tennis player in the world’s dream to play there.

“Maybe I’ve been a bit selfish playing for 21 years, but hopefully I’ll play a few more as well.”

* Jamie Delgado is a coach with the Living Tennis academy, which delivers high quality coaching in and around Bucks.

Venues include Great Marlow, Widmer End LTC, Wycombe High and Wycombe Abbey.
 

www.livingtennis.co.uk