Last week, I was in London captaining one of the teams in the Battle of the Brits competition, which was dreamed up and organised by Jamie.
I’ve been sitting on court with the players from 11.30am to 8.30pm each day and, although it’s been fantastic to be part of such a ground-breaking event, the heatwave down south has meant I’ve been absolutely battered by the sun. I’m a delightful shade of beetroot.
The event started on Monday and finishes today, and my team, The Union Jacks, got off to a rough start. The first team to win 60 points is the champions, and we lost a lot of very close matches on the first two days in final-set tie-breaks.
But we came back strongly and, with 29 points up for grabs today, it’s all to play for.
There are no spectators so we have had to create our own atmosphere, and the heckling has been world-class.
Andy and Dan Evans have been relentless in their court-side “sledging” of the opposition, and our air horns and water bombs have gone down well, too.
The tournament has been the best event in British tennis I’ve been involved in at senior level – bringing 24 of the best male and female players together in one place has never happened before, and it’s been a really great bonding experience for everyone.
Hopefully, it will continue as an annual event that runs in the off-season. Although, next year, I’ll invest in stronger sunblock.
Enjoy the convenience of having The Sunday Post delivered as a digital ePaper straight to your smartphone, tablet or computer.
Subscribe for only £5.49 a month and enjoy all the benefits of the printed paper as a digital replica.
Subscribe