James Ward and Andy Murray are as close as any players dare to be in the cut-throat world of elite tennis, sharing a love of Arsenal, a dry sense of humour and a passion for the Great Britain Davis Cup team. And they know that if they collide in the quarter-finals at Wimbledon all of that will be forgotten, at least for an afternoon.
There is a little way to go before then, of course. To get into the second week of the tournament, Ward must beat the Canadian Vasek Pospisil , then either of Dustin Brown or Viktor Troicki; Murray will be waiting in the quarters for him if he gets past the Italian Andreas Seppi followed by the winner of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Ivo Karlovic.
Meanwhile, Britain’s remaining representatives in the men’s singles draw are going about their routines pretty much the same as ever, Ward arriving each day from Euston, Murray coming up from Oxshott in Surrey.
The notion of a reasonably famous tennis player travelling to and from Wimbledon on the underground – as Ward did before the tournament – makes perfect sense if you know he does not have a driver’s licence and wouldn’t dream of asking his cab driver father to give him a lift.
“I go from Southfields to Victoria and then get on the Victoria line and go to Euston,” he says like a seasoned commuter.
Ward – who now uses the tournament cars each day – is as grounded an athlete as there is in this tournament. He has earned only $92,920 (£59,680) in purses this year, and $796,119 (£511,331) in a career that began in 2004, lives where he was born and grew up and would not have it any other way. He is 28, the same age as Murray, and ranked 111 in the world, 108 places adrift of the Scot and the owner of a wicked forehand.
Certainly, he is no Nick Kyrgios, in manners at least. Quietly spoken to the point of inaudible unless miked up or sitting a few feet away, Ward sheds his natural reticence when speaking about Arsenal – and Murray’s not quite so fanatical attachment to the club. “I call him a TV fan,” Ward says. “He never comes to the matches – even when we’re both in London. I always say to him: ‘Right, I’ll sort it out. You don’t even have to call up and get tickets. I’ll sort it.’
“And he’s, like: ‘Aw, it’s too far to drive, and after the match I’ve got to get home.’ He’s always got an excuse. Then he’s the first one during a match with messaging and talking about the game. But I [say to him]: ‘Don’t bother talking about it any more. If you don’t want to come to the games when you’re in London, there’s no point.’”
They have a rapport that sounds everyday normal, and Ward’s continuing excellence when a team-mate with Murray in the Davis Cup team is a dividend of that. So why does he not figure more often in major victories on Tour?
This is his sixth Wimbledon and the first time in the third round.
“I think a lot of people rise to the occasion, and like the big stage. I am one of them but it is not like I am playing terrible throughout the year. I play a lot of tough players and the level of tennis as you can see here – no one expected Dustin Brown to beat Rafa [Nadal] yesterday but it happens.
“People on the outside go: ‘Wow! it is the biggest shock in the world,’ but people in tennis will probably say he has beaten him in Halle before and it is a decent shot he can do it again, even thought it is over five sets.
“[Rafa] doesn’t like the match-up and for me that is a typical example of guys who are 50, 60, 70 in the world. It is not that big a difference now. Top 10 is a step up but after that, from let’s say 25 down, it is not that big a difference.
“On the day anyone can beat anyone and people just react different in situations. I like playing here, it is a grand slam and everyone gives it their all.”
