Champagne and strawberries, anyone?

Following Andy Murray's exit at the semi-final stage at Wimbledon this summer, the wait for a British grand slam winner, and more specifically a Wimbledon winner, goes on. And unless Murray can end the years of hurt for British tennis fans, it is likely to go on for a long while longer, as there is hardly an influx of talented young tennis players coming through the ranks. Murray owes his ability and determination to two main factors - the determination of his main carer, mother Judy, and the schooling he received in Barcelona on the clay courts of the Sanchez-Casal Academy. So, nothing at all to do with the vast sums of money the LTA pump into tennis in this country, which begs the question - where does all the money go, and why does Britain lag so far behind the likes of Spain, Russia and USA? Is it a question of attitude rather than attitude? Namely, is there the hunger among young British players there should be? And does the money go to the right places which will benefit the performance of British players.
Let's start with statistics. The last British man to win Wimbledon was the great Fred Perry back in 1936, and the last woman to win the great tournament was Virginia Wade in 1977. That year, current BBC presenter Sue Barker also made it to the semi-final, but British success in the sport has been limited since. No British man has won any grand slam since the great Perry won the US Open in 1936, and before Murray qualified for the final of the US Open in 2008, and the Australian Open this year. Greg Rusedski (a naturalised Brit) reached the final of the US Open in 1997 before losing to Pat Rafter, and TV commentator John Lloyd reached the same stage in Australia 20 years earlier, but lost to Vitas Gerulaitis in five sets. That is a pretty damning indictment on the state of British tennis - and is hardly a glowing reference for 74 years of 'hard work.' Wade's Wimbledon win was the last time a Brit even came close to winning a grand slam - as we apparently 'invented' this sport, these statistics are something we (or more specifically the LTA) should be ashamed of.
The success of Murray in the last few years (and Tim Henman and to a lesser extent Rusedski before him) were in spite of, rather than because of, tennis' governing body within these shores. Rusedski learnt his trade in his native Canada, while it is fair to say the people who matter in the LTA never had high hopes for Henman - the likes of Martin Lee and Jamie Delgado were thought of as brighter prospects when they were all youth players. So that shows what the LTA know about talent - Henman reached six grand slam semi-finals, including two at Wimbledon, while Lee and Delgado never qualified for a grand slam, only appearing at Wimbledon due to the very generous wildcards the LTA hands out to struggling British players.
This atmosphere surrounding British tennis is something which needs to be addressed. To the LTA's credit, the number of wildcard's dished out has been vastly reduced in recent years, as they've come to realise British players need to show their ability for more than just the two weeks that the eyes of the tennis world are trained on Wimbledon. But there need to be many more changes to make a real difference, not least riding tennis of this country of its reputation of a middle class and elitist sport. Every year when the spectators flock to Wimbledon, both in the stands in the courts and in the surrounding fields, there is such an air of expectation among the masses. But the hoardes are left disappointed on a year-in, year-out basis, but also seem to expect there wille no change in the immediate future.
There is such a defeatist air in the corridors of power at the LTA. Every time there is a changing of the guard, targets are set - these shrink with every passing regime. In 2006, when Roger Draper became the new chief executive, he said the target was to have half a million juniors by 2008, and five players in the top 100. And by 2008, what were the statistics? Shockingly, only 12,000 juniors were in regular competition, while Andy Murray was the only player in the top 100, both men and women. That remains the case today. I think as much as funding, attitude is the problem, both in the players but also in the LTA. In countries such as Spain, Russia and more recently Serbia and Switzerland, tennis is seen as a sport to be proud of, where winners should be produced. In Britain, tennis is a four week 'event' which starts with Queens Club tournament and the start of the grass court season directly after the French Open, and culminates in the Wimbledon fortnight. This is not how it should be - tennis is now almost a year long pursuit, starting in the first week of January and lasting until the middle of November with the Masters' Series showpiece. It is therefore neglected in Britain - as long as it provides a nice social, elitist setting, then that's job done. As long as those who attend Wimbledon get their champagne and strawberries, they are happy.
But they shouldn't be - why watch (and play) sport at the highest level if winning isn't important. Money has been pumped into tennis on a regular basis by the LTA, and the facilities needed to succeed are in place - but as long as tennis remains in its middle class roots in this country, the problems will remain. Where does the LTA's money go - £26 million just from Sport England last year? The Wimbledon just gone will generate estimate profits of £25 million, pre tax, which will be pumped back into the LTA to improve the standard of tennis in this country. But still there is no genuine sign of improvement, for a variety of reasons.
The kids need court time to nurture talented players - this needs patience, not just throwing money at the problem. Tennis lessons are extremely expensive, and more free tennis clubs, and free coaching would be a start. This is why it is so unlikely for the so-called 'working classes' to make a breakthrough in the sport. Children from all walks of life need to be introduced to the game at a young age, but the youth don't play a part in the clubs, which thrive on subscriptions to survive. This is not the case in sports such as football and rugby, where all the players need is a ball, enough like-minded individuals and a field or a pitch to hone their skills. Which is far from the case in tennis.
Patience is definitely the watchword. Even if all of the LTA's initiative's prove to be successful, it could be a decade or more before anything tangible comes from it. There will still be no guarantees, and in the meantime, the hopes of a nation will continue to rest on the shoulders of Murray, and on the female side, young Laura Robson will have a heavy burden on her back, as she seeks to avoid being yet another talented British youngster who fades away when she joins the senior ranks. But there is a long road ahead, and it won't be easy if the LTA are to shake of years of neglect and mistreatment.