Jay Clarke has said he hopes to inspire other people from working class and minority backgrounds to follow in his footsteps after an impressive Wimbledon singles debut in which he came close to a memorable victory.
The 19-year-old, mixed race British wild card card pushed former top 10 player Ernests Gulbis, from Latvia, all the way before losing the deciding fifth set.
Clarke was born in Derby and a couple of years ago still had to walk three miles to practise because his parents did not own a car. He only received funding from the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) when he turned 18 as part of its player pathway programme. When one of his sponsors stopped funding him before that he had to stop playing because he could not afford to go to tournaments.
He cut a disconsolate figure after his 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-3, 4-6 loss but said: “I hope I inspire people. I don’t think I’m in the position, that high-ranked or well-known to do that at the minute, [but] if anybody was watching today, wanted to pick up a racquet, yeah, that’s a bonus.”
Clarke cut a striking contrast to Gulbis, the son of an investment banker. The 29-year-old, who received a warning for verbal abuse during the match, is now married and a father but had a reputation as a playboy when younger, borrowing his father’s private jet to travel to tournaments as well as parties. He once said: “I do not play tennis for the money, but I do need to work. I don’t want to live off others.”
Clarke warned before the tournament that the lack of official funding for junior players was hampering the search for British talent. After his defeat, he said more facilities would help grow the game. “It’s a tough sport to get into ... If there’s more opportunity, maybe there would be more players,” he said. “I’m not sure if there would be more elite players making it to this level, but for sure there would probably be in the UK.”
He was tearful, having come so close to victory, but his parents, who shouted encouragement to “JJ” during the match, were more upbeat.
His father Earol said: “We are both very proud, he’s worked hard. It’s always been his dream. He watched it [Wimbledon] on TV [when he was a child] and asked me many a time, ‘Are Agassi and those guys going to be there when I play there’?”
He expressed his hope that it was the “start of something special” for his son.
“We are showing we can succeed at tennis, [even though] we are not from a wealthy background” said Earol, who coached his son when he was younger.
Gabriella Taylor, another British wild card making her debut in the singles against a big name player, also gave a good account herself on Tuesday. Taylor came back from a 6-0 drubbing in the first set to win the second against the 2014 finalist, Eugenie Bouchard. However, Taylor succumbed to the Canadian 6-3 in the final set.
Unfussy straight sets wins for Kyle Edmund and Johanna Konta, both carrying extra expectations in Andy Murray’s absence, ensured that the number of victories for British players exceeded that on the first day, when Katie Swan was the sole home winner.
At her press conference, Konta, a semi-finalist last year, gave her backing to making the rules fairer for women returning to action after maternity leave. While Serena Williams was seeded 25th for Wimbledon, this was only at the discretion of Wimbledon. The former world number one, Victoria Azarenka, pointed out after her match on Monday that she was not afforded the same treatment when she returned last year.
The odds were always against Naomi Broady, another wild card, who was drawn against defending champion Garbiñe Muguruza first up on centre court. Nevertheless, she put up a creditable performance, particularly in the second set, losing 6-2, 7-5.
Broady said that, far from being overwhelmed by the biggest crowd she had ever played, it gave her a boost. “I’m a player that definitely plays better in front of a crowd. The more they were cheering, my level was going up, so they needed to cheer louder and maybe it would have gone up even higher.”
