The Tennis Centre’s James Ward has drawn Fernando Verdasco in the first round of Wimbledon in what will be the biggest match of his career.
Ward is making his first ever appearance in a grand slam and playing against the Spanish number seven seed is a perfect opportunity for him to showcase his talent on a world stage.
Ward, who recieved a wildcard into the main draw, cannot wait to get on court at SW19.
He said: “Wimbledon is the biggest tournament of the year and it will be an honour to be involved.
“To play in a grand slam in your home city and in front of your own fans is a dream come true.
“A match against Verdasco is massive and I’ll just go out and do the best I can.
“There is nothing to lose and I feel I have been steadily improving on the grass in the last couple of weeks.
“The transition from playing on clay has been tough but I won my first ATP Tour match at Eastbourne so that is a big step forward and I’m feeling good about things.
“I have been serving well which has contributed to my recent good form and hopefully I’ll be able to continue doing this at Wimbledon.”
Read a recent article on Ward on the Islington Gazette website.
4 responses so far ↓
the tennis centre // June 20, 2009 at 10:32 pm |
I am well excited for this match! Verdasco is my fave player and obviously i’ll be rooting for Ward! Hopefully he can cause a major upset but even if he can take a set it will be a massive achievement for him. Plenty of big shots expected from both these two!
Andrew Johnson
Tom Cameron // June 21, 2009 at 3:34 pm |
I am excited for this young lads big chance. Yes he probably will not win. But it will give him the valuable experience he needs to further is career.
Stefan // June 21, 2009 at 11:24 pm |
Very pleased to see this blog up and running again, although can you please make it so that when you hover over a link it doesn’t pop up?! it’s annoying lad!!! x
mjweatherup // June 22, 2009 at 7:29 pm |
Hello there Stefan, I believe this problem you speak of is a feature of your browser.