Andy Murray, a great role model: Dan Bloxham

Bengaluru: Following Andy Murray’s exploits which saw the Scotsman snatch the World No.1 ranking from Serbian Novak Djokovic, All England Club head coach and Master of Ceremonies for Centre and No. 1 courts during Wimbledon, Dan Bloxham believes that the 29-year-old has made a huge impact on British tennis.

“We have improved. Andy has shown what you can do,” he said. “Because of that, the younger players get some sense that what they are doing is correct because they can see the result in Andy. He is such a good role model.”

When asked about the time in British tennis before its recent renaissance, Bloxham, who is here at the Karnataka State Lawn Tennis Association as part of the Road to Wimbledon national U-14 tournament, remarked: “The rest of the world did it properly, we kind of got expecting, because of our heritage, we should be the best. If you don’t invest in time and structure, you get left behind,” he explained.

High praise for Konta, Evans
He also spoke about other British players on tour, notably Dan Evans and Johanna Konta who have both enjoyed strong starts to the season.

“We knew that on his day Dan can do amazing things, but he just didn’t have enough days. He has raised his standards off court, at practice, worked harder and lived better so he is doing well,” Bloxham stressed.

“Konta had a mental trainer to help her out. Her mind has improved a lot and her approach is lot more industrious.” The experienced coach also stressed that for India to climb up the ladder in tennis, the process needs to start at the
bottom.

“Your best coaches should work with the players when they are young. There is nothing wrong with the talent here but tennis has moved on from just the hand-eye coordination. Now we need athletes with hand-eye coordination.”