Is the sun setting on Greg?

14 April 2012

The sense of Wimbledon deflation must have been familiar enough for him by now but still nobody could wipe that ever-optimistic grin off his face.

Today, insisted Greg Rusedski, he'd be back out there practising, plotting his preparations for next year's quest and still dreaming the big dream.

You had to admire a fighter. At the 13th time of asking here, he had come up short once again, departing in the second round for the third successive year. At 9.12pm, it was so gloomy as the giant Swede Joachim Johansson finally put paid to the growing hysteria on the Centre Court after four wham-bam sets that it felt as if the lights were being put out once and for all on Rusedski's grand ambition.

Not a chance. You have to hand it to a 31-year-old who hasn't been past the third round of any tournament this year and hasn't seen beyond the fourth round here at SW19 for seven years. For even as he was being gently asked afterwards about the possibility of calling it a day, Rusedski made it clear he still believed in himself - even if no one else did. Forget resignation or retirement. He made this almost sound like a renaissance.

Could he still win Wimbledon? "Well, I'll just redouble my efforts, go out there and give it my best. We all have dreams and aspirations of wanting to win. I have that dream, all players have it. That's why we play. We ask for a magical two weeks. Just gotta come back next year and give it a go," he said.

What about retirement? "I'm not thinking about it yet. I'm still enjoying playing. If I can play as well as I did tonight, why should I? It was really close out there; I pushed the number 10 player in the world to the limit and I haven't played as well as this since I beat Andy Roddick on the Centre Court back in 2002. I've got one more year at least."

Good for him for accentuating the positive because he did indeed play some tremendous stuff. Yet when you play your best but still lose to a 6ft 6in giant who's nine years younger than you, who has a serve to make your own legendary delivery seem almost puny and who attacks every line quite fearlessly, it must be guaranteed to make you feel old.

Anyway, hadn't the ancient double act of Henman and Rusedski been now gatecrashed by our own young Andy Murray? "The era's not over yet. I'm not retiring," smiled Rusedski, before adding cheekily: "You might want to talk to Tim, but I'm still playing." And the more he plays here, the more Wimbledon seems to appreciate him. Even though he has always had a noisy following, it's never been quite the same as the shrill barminess that surrounds Henman.

Inevitably, there's been a bit of an ambivalent attitude towards a Canadian-reared player who's often seemed almost to be trying too hard to please, yet I can't recall warmer support for him than last night. It almost felt as if the fans were sensing this could be the last time he appeared on this court.

Perhaps that's why David Felgate, the Lawn Tennis Association's performance director, chose the aftermath of Rusedski's exit last night to suggest the nation might be prepared to adopt another 'foreigner' as our own.

Felgate said: "If somebody has the birthright or passport to be British then I don't see any issues with it.

"We are talking a Grand Slam finalist who reached No4 in the world. That's a pretty good career.

"We would take a few more like that, that is for sure. Having Greg has been of great value to British tennis. It is difficult to quantify it, but I look at having him as a positive. I hope we have another 10 years with him. We are not in the market of enticing somebody or doing special favours to make someone British.

"You make the commitment, come and live here and acquire the passport and then you are on an equal footing. That was the case with Greg. If we are going to be successful we need numbers. Having two at the top is great but if there were three or four, we could just get on with developing their games."

Felgate reflected the mood among the crowd and Rusedski could feel the genuine affection. "I think they appreciate what I've given for this game and my effort level, always giving 100 per cent," he said. This 10th anniversary of our adoption of Rusedski should indeed have reminded us of that spirit. The man's had plenty of low times, from the nandrolone scandal to the constant injury woes, but he never gives up.

You could see him rationalising everything in his own mind. Yes, he'd lost more matches than he's won this year but hadn't nine of his 12 defeats come at the hands of top 10 players? "And I haven't had much luck in the last few years," he added, reflecting on how, if the Swede's appeal for the match to be suspended for bad light at 5-5 in the fourth set hadn't been turned down by referee Alan Mills, he'd still be out there battling to win it today.

There's no time to feel sorry for himself. Next stop is probably a grass-court tournament in Newport, Rhode Island. "I need to keep that ranking up," he said. "I'll probably be there because the goal has already started today for next Wimbledon. That's the way it works." British tennis should wish the old warrior the luck he so desperately seeks.

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Is the sun setting on Greg?

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