0:00:02 > 0:00:04Quiet, please.
0:00:04 > 0:00:05That's it.
0:00:07 > 0:00:10A fabulous match, a really fabulous match,
0:00:10 > 0:00:12and I believe it's one of the greatest,
0:00:12 > 0:00:14if not THE greatest match, I've ever seen at Wimbledon.
0:00:20 > 0:00:23Wimbledon, the world's greatest tennis tournament,
0:00:23 > 0:00:27and the setting for some of the sport's most unforgettable moments.
0:00:27 > 0:00:31For British tennis fans, it's the green, green grass of home,
0:00:31 > 0:00:35and for two weeks every summer, a national obsession.
0:00:35 > 0:00:38Over the years, we've been on the edge of our seats,
0:00:38 > 0:00:39glued to the television,
0:00:39 > 0:00:43watching legend after legend battle it out shot by shot,
0:00:43 > 0:00:45point by point,
0:00:45 > 0:00:47fist pump by fist pump,
0:00:47 > 0:00:50in a quest for the ultimate victory on Centre Court.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54Today, we're celebrating some of the most ground-breaking
0:00:54 > 0:00:56of those players.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58The champions who broke down boundaries,
0:00:58 > 0:01:00set new levels of excellence...
0:01:00 > 0:01:02He's done it, he really has done it.
0:01:02 > 0:01:06..and, in some cases, shocked us with their antics.
0:01:06 > 0:01:07They made us gasp...
0:01:07 > 0:01:09You cannot be serious!
0:01:09 > 0:01:12..then made us think, then made us gasp again,
0:01:12 > 0:01:16as they fought it out in this most hallowed of sporting venues.
0:01:16 > 0:01:18They are the game changers.
0:01:26 > 0:01:31The early 1970s belonged to two true game changers.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe.
0:01:34 > 0:01:37Both in their own way were pioneers.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40They were at the top of their game and, with the world watching them,
0:01:40 > 0:01:43had a platform that would allow them to raise awareness
0:01:43 > 0:01:48of long-standing sexual and racial discrimination within their sport
0:01:48 > 0:01:50and, through their sport, within the world at large.
0:01:52 > 0:01:54Billie Jean King was the Queen of Wimbledon.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57She had established the Women's Tennis Association
0:01:57 > 0:01:59and threatened to boycott tournaments
0:01:59 > 0:02:02if women's prize money wasn't the same as men's.
0:02:02 > 0:02:06And if that wasn't enough to make her famous, there were her tantrums.
0:02:06 > 0:02:10She was throwing wobblies on the court long before John McEnroe.
0:02:10 > 0:02:13And tennis traditionalists didn't always approve.
0:02:14 > 0:02:17The game is possibly not quite so attractive today
0:02:17 > 0:02:20with the emphasis on some of the girls, like...
0:02:22 > 0:02:25..Billie Jean King, who charges around the court
0:02:25 > 0:02:27very much like a man,
0:02:27 > 0:02:31rather than the old days when you had somebody like Doris Hart,
0:02:31 > 0:02:35who looked exceptionally graceful on court.
0:02:35 > 0:02:37Yes, I'm not very fond of Billie Jean.
0:02:37 > 0:02:38I think she's too fond of herself.
0:02:38 > 0:02:41She was a very nice young lady the first year she won.
0:02:42 > 0:02:45But the second year wasn't so hot.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49I know we're all out to win, but she really doesn't like losing.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51I think they liked me until I won.
0:02:52 > 0:02:55Then they weren't so enthralled with me.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58But I think most players have said that that's the way it is
0:02:58 > 0:03:00around the world, not just Wimbledon.
0:03:00 > 0:03:02But Wimbledon...that does happen.
0:03:02 > 0:03:06Then I think as you get older, then they appreciate you again,
0:03:06 > 0:03:08cos they can see you're in your twilight years
0:03:08 > 0:03:09and you might not be there much longer.
0:03:09 > 0:03:11You said it was good and you called the score.
0:03:11 > 0:03:13How can you change your mind now?
0:03:13 > 0:03:15'You know, certain days, everyone in the world gets up
0:03:15 > 0:03:17'and they don't feel on top of the world
0:03:17 > 0:03:20'and they have to go to the office at nine o'clock.
0:03:20 > 0:03:23'Sometimes a tennis player has that same feeling,'
0:03:23 > 0:03:25and I can't walk up to the microphone and say,
0:03:25 > 0:03:27"Look, I feel lousy today,
0:03:27 > 0:03:30"will you forgive me that I'm having a little temper tantrum?"
0:03:30 > 0:03:32You know, "I care very much whether I win this match
0:03:32 > 0:03:34"and I hope I don't bother you."
0:03:34 > 0:03:37That's the way you feel when you're out there.
0:03:37 > 0:03:40But you can't do that, can you?
0:03:40 > 0:03:43In 1969, BBC cameras followed Billie Jean
0:03:43 > 0:03:47as she attempted to win her fourth consecutive Wimbledon singles title.
0:03:47 > 0:03:49Things didn't go to plan.
0:03:49 > 0:03:53At least she's performing on her favourite stage, the Centre Court,
0:03:53 > 0:03:54as befits a reigning champion.
0:03:54 > 0:03:57To some people, however, like the ticket touts,
0:03:57 > 0:04:00she's just another tennis player who might do a deal.
0:04:00 > 0:04:02- Anything to sell, Billie?- No...
0:04:02 > 0:04:05- Going to win this year, or what? - Am I going to win this year?
0:04:05 > 0:04:09- I don't know.- I've got a few quid on you.- I never sell tickets.
0:04:09 > 0:04:11No, I know you don't.
0:04:11 > 0:04:14- So...- You don't buy them, neither, do you?
0:04:14 > 0:04:16- Must win today.- Hi. - You've got to win.- Thanks.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25Can I have your autograph, please?
0:04:25 > 0:04:27I'm sorry, but I have to prepare, get ready.
0:04:27 > 0:04:30Sorry. I would otherwise.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38No, I'm sorry, I have to practise.
0:04:38 > 0:04:41If I do it for you, then I've got to do it for everybody, right?
0:04:41 > 0:04:42Sorry. Later.
0:04:42 > 0:04:45One point to the championship for Ann Jones.
0:04:53 > 0:04:55Game, set and match.
0:04:58 > 0:05:023-6, 6-3, 6-2.
0:05:08 > 0:05:11Hold it up, Ann. Hold it up, you big fake.
0:05:11 > 0:05:14You waited long enough.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20The climb to the top takes special qualities
0:05:20 > 0:05:23and gives back its own rewards on the way.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26Only when you've made it, when you are a champion,
0:05:26 > 0:05:31can you appreciate how much more vulnerable you've become to defeat.
0:05:31 > 0:05:34Do victories last a shorter time than defeats?
0:05:34 > 0:05:37Oh, much. Defeats last a lifetime,
0:05:37 > 0:05:39victories only last for a fleeting moment.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40At least for me.
0:05:42 > 0:05:44How long is it going to take you to get over this one?
0:05:44 > 0:05:47I'll never get over it. I mean, any time...
0:05:47 > 0:05:52You could ask me 20 years from now, that's still how I feel about it,
0:05:52 > 0:05:56I'll still get the same painful feeling within myself
0:05:56 > 0:05:58that I have at this moment.
0:05:58 > 0:05:59But that was a rare defeat.
0:05:59 > 0:06:01By the time she retired,
0:06:01 > 0:06:05Billie Jean King had won an astonishing six Wimbledon singles,
0:06:05 > 0:06:09ten women's doubles, and four mixed doubles titles.
0:06:09 > 0:06:10Now on to Arthur Ashe.
0:06:10 > 0:06:13On the one hand, a hard political animal,
0:06:13 > 0:06:16happy to take the lead during a players' strike in 1971.
0:06:16 > 0:06:21No tournament in the world, no tennis event can make anyone play.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25But on the other hand, a deeply sensitive man who, during a match,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27would enter a state of meditation.
0:06:29 > 0:06:35What you are trying to achieve here is to empty your mind.
0:06:35 > 0:06:37..And by two sets to one.
0:06:39 > 0:06:42Arthur Ashe... one game away from the championship.
0:06:43 > 0:06:47You try to put your entire being, mentally and physically,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50on automatic pilot while you're playing tennis.
0:06:50 > 0:06:52The fewer decisions
0:06:52 > 0:06:54you have to consciously make,
0:06:54 > 0:06:55the better.
0:06:55 > 0:06:58Another way to say it is to converge
0:06:58 > 0:07:05your thought processes to such a razor's edge that...
0:07:05 > 0:07:07everything is concentrated on the razor's edge,
0:07:07 > 0:07:09so everything else is blocked out.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11And you forget the score, you forget where you are,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14you forget what your name is.
0:07:14 > 0:07:16But the experience of
0:07:16 > 0:07:20I guess what some people may think of as the inner game,
0:07:20 > 0:07:24that happened so infrequently that I guess there is a mystique about it
0:07:24 > 0:07:26because it didn't happen every day.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29But only one time, albeit a very important time,
0:07:29 > 0:07:34when I actually felt, before playing the match, "I can't lose today,"
0:07:34 > 0:07:37and that was the final with Jimmy Connors at Wimbledon.
0:07:37 > 0:07:3840-15.
0:07:47 > 0:07:49And his conviction was borne out.
0:07:49 > 0:07:52His shock victory over Connors in 1975
0:07:52 > 0:07:55goes down as one of the greatest upsets in Wimbledon history.
0:07:55 > 0:07:58That victory also made Arthur Ashe
0:07:58 > 0:08:00one of the most famous black men on the planet.
0:08:00 > 0:08:04A role model and a significant voice for change.
0:08:05 > 0:08:06I remember reading a...
0:08:08 > 0:08:12..a People magazine, which is a very popular magazine in the US
0:08:12 > 0:08:15which does short features on people,
0:08:15 > 0:08:18that had a big cover story on Elton John.
0:08:18 > 0:08:19The last sentence was...
0:08:19 > 0:08:22he would trade it all for the men's singles title at Wimbledon,
0:08:22 > 0:08:23which I thought was...
0:08:25 > 0:08:29I wanted to call him up and say, "You'd better stay where you are."
0:08:29 > 0:08:33Being world-famous and being black means that, wherever you go,
0:08:33 > 0:08:36whether you like it or not, you're a sort of ambassador,
0:08:36 > 0:08:38a representative of your race.
0:08:38 > 0:08:40Is that a responsibility that you feel?
0:08:40 > 0:08:41Oh, yes.
0:08:41 > 0:08:44I don't like it, but I feel it, and I don't shrug it off.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50Mainly because there does still persist in the world myths about...
0:08:51 > 0:08:57..on athletes in general, that they are all brawn and no brains.
0:08:57 > 0:08:58Specifically black athletes,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02that they have even less brain and more brawn,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05because we tend to do disproportionately well
0:09:05 > 0:09:08in athletics, running, jumping, whatever, boxing.
0:09:11 > 0:09:14And I like to fight the myth.
0:09:15 > 0:09:18And I assume that role heartily.
0:09:20 > 0:09:23There are lots of us, athletes in general,
0:09:23 > 0:09:26and black athletes in particular, who can think as well as run, jump,
0:09:26 > 0:09:30hit tennis balls, dump basketballs, box or whatever.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32Of course, it also means that you have a certain power.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35I mean, because you're famous...
0:09:35 > 0:09:37Only as long as you're still winning.
0:09:38 > 0:09:40If my ranking suddenly dropped to 50...
0:09:41 > 0:09:43I mean, I'd still have certain power, I guess,
0:09:43 > 0:09:46because I once was up near the top, but...
0:09:46 > 0:09:49If you care to visit South Africa or you care to draw attention
0:09:49 > 0:09:51to the apartheid situation...
0:09:51 > 0:09:53- Yes. - ..then you pull a lot of weight.
0:09:53 > 0:09:54Erm...
0:09:56 > 0:09:59I don't think... Yes.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01I wouldn't say a lot of weight.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I would say weight, yes, but just how much, I really don't know.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06And after my four trips to South Africa,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09I really can't assess how much it has...
0:10:09 > 0:10:13Although, I guess I stick out so much in that situation that...
0:10:15 > 0:10:18..there have been lots of movements started to stop me from going.
0:10:18 > 0:10:23So if they think that much of my clout, then...
0:10:24 > 0:10:27..maybe I am having some influence. But that's...
0:10:27 > 0:10:30Are you conscious in any other way of your colour,
0:10:30 > 0:10:33or has success opened all the doors...
0:10:33 > 0:10:37You're always... Oh, no, you're always conscious of your colour.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40If you're Polish or if you're Jewish
0:10:40 > 0:10:44or if you're Russian or if you're French...
0:10:44 > 0:10:46It's not as immediately obvious as being black.
0:10:46 > 0:10:49You're walking down the street, you don't know what that person is.
0:10:49 > 0:10:51You know definitely what I am. But...
0:10:52 > 0:10:56..you get used to living with that and it's not really a problem...
0:10:57 > 0:10:59..unless sometimes I'm in New York City
0:10:59 > 0:11:01and I want to get a taxi.
0:11:01 > 0:11:06Sometimes they won't stop because they think I'm going to Harlem.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08I don't live in Harlem, but anyway...
0:11:08 > 0:11:10While Billie Jean King and Arthur Ashe
0:11:10 > 0:11:12were breaking new ground in tennis,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15another star was about to start breaking hearts.
0:11:15 > 0:11:19Bjorn Borg first hit Wimbledon in 1973
0:11:19 > 0:11:23and changed things forever by bringing a new Swedish sex appeal
0:11:23 > 0:11:24to the game.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26A teenage sensation,
0:11:26 > 0:11:30his sudden popularity helped to boost TV audiences and prize-money.
0:11:30 > 0:11:33And in 1979, he became the first player
0:11:33 > 0:11:36to earn 1 million in a single season.
0:11:36 > 0:11:39Bjorn Borg is locked in the dressing room,
0:11:39 > 0:11:41unable to walk about even at Hurlingham,
0:11:41 > 0:11:45lest he be mobbed by teenyboppers.
0:11:45 > 0:11:47Excuse me.
0:11:47 > 0:11:49His entrance to play an exhibition game
0:11:49 > 0:11:51is stage-managed like that of a pop star,
0:11:51 > 0:11:54which, of course, is what he is.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Bjorn Borg is 18, the son of a Stockholm grocer,
0:12:09 > 0:12:12who this year has already won £40,000.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15He plays a rough, unorthodox game,
0:12:15 > 0:12:18playing his opponents as if fighting in a bar-room brawl.
0:12:18 > 0:12:21Borg arrived last year at Wimbledon for the first time
0:12:21 > 0:12:23to scenes of near riot.
0:12:23 > 0:12:26Police have to beat a path for him to every court
0:12:26 > 0:12:29through mobs of girls who want to touch him.
0:12:29 > 0:12:32Borg fits uneasily into the British tennis scene,
0:12:32 > 0:12:34as do the other young champions.
0:12:34 > 0:12:37He makes a lot of money, but pays a high price for his success.
0:12:38 > 0:12:41What do you feel about the teenyboppers
0:12:41 > 0:12:43who come up to you and mob you?
0:12:43 > 0:12:44What do you feel about them?
0:12:44 > 0:12:47For the moment, I don't care about that, because...
0:12:47 > 0:12:50I think it's very good, because if you play your match
0:12:50 > 0:12:52and they are cheering you...
0:12:52 > 0:12:53For me, you know,
0:12:53 > 0:12:56maybe it's very disturbing for the opponent, you know?
0:12:56 > 0:12:58They maybe get mad, you know?
0:12:58 > 0:13:00That's good, I think it's great.
0:13:00 > 0:13:03So you're prepared to use the cheering and the adulation
0:13:03 > 0:13:06- to help you win matches. - Yeah, for sure.- Who are your idols?
0:13:06 > 0:13:08The people you admire most?
0:13:08 > 0:13:11For the moment, I don't have any idols.
0:13:11 > 0:13:14But for the first two years, I had Laver like an idol
0:13:14 > 0:13:18when I started to play tennis, but, no, I don't have an idol.
0:13:18 > 0:13:21- Why not?- I think because, for the first,
0:13:21 > 0:13:25now I've been playing so well, you know, I can beat everyone.
0:13:25 > 0:13:27That's why, I think.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30- You are your own idol, do you think? - Yeah, why not?
0:13:30 > 0:13:33Is there anybody in the world you'd rather be except you?
0:13:36 > 0:13:41Er... Yes, maybe sometimes I want to be a private person,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43so nobody knows you.
0:13:43 > 0:13:47When I go out, nobody looks at me and things like that.
0:13:47 > 0:13:49That happens sometimes.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51But is there any other tennis player
0:13:51 > 0:13:54or any other public figure you'd like to be except Bjorn Borg?
0:13:54 > 0:13:56- No, I don't think so. - You like yourself?
0:13:56 > 0:13:58Yeah, I like myself.
0:13:58 > 0:14:02Borgmania culminated in one of Wimbledon's greatest ever finals -
0:14:02 > 0:14:07his 1980 clash with the man who was, in many ways, his polar opposite.
0:14:07 > 0:14:08John McEnroe.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11So, having had seven championship points,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14Borg now has two more.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26That's it.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Borg.
0:14:31 > 0:14:35But the intense media pressure on Borg eventually became too much.
0:14:35 > 0:14:40In 1983, aged just 26, he announced to the world that he was retiring,
0:14:40 > 0:14:44and then explained his decision to the BBC.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47In the beginning, it was fun, because, you know...
0:14:48 > 0:14:51..it was a new thing, you got very excited.
0:14:51 > 0:14:54But I think by the end of it, it...
0:14:54 > 0:14:56it was a little bit too much.
0:14:56 > 0:14:59I mean, even if you still enjoyed it.
0:14:59 > 0:15:04But to have the pressure, there was no way I could walk outside.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08Was there a moment where you sort of suddenly said to Mariana,
0:15:08 > 0:15:11"Mariana, that's it, I'm finished"?
0:15:11 > 0:15:12How did it happen?
0:15:12 > 0:15:14It happened in November.
0:15:14 > 0:15:17We were practising in Stockholm, I was playing...
0:15:18 > 0:15:20..practising with the Swedish juniors up there.
0:15:20 > 0:15:22And from September to November,
0:15:22 > 0:15:26I'd been trying hard and I've been really forcing myself to go out
0:15:26 > 0:15:29and work for hours and really to see if I enjoy it
0:15:29 > 0:15:30or if I don't enjoy it.
0:15:30 > 0:15:33So just one morning when I woke up,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35before we went to practise,
0:15:35 > 0:15:38I said to Mariana that I'm going to retire from tennis.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42She started to laugh because she thought I was crazy.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45I mean, like I'm joking in the morning.
0:15:45 > 0:15:46She said, "No, no, no."
0:15:46 > 0:15:49I said, "Really, I'm going to retire from tennis, because...
0:15:49 > 0:15:53"now I'm sure that I don't enjoy it any more.
0:15:53 > 0:15:55"I don't have the same motivation."
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Once you announced it and it was out, did you feel good?
0:15:59 > 0:16:03Most like relief. Even when I took the decision, found the decision,
0:16:03 > 0:16:08like I had it, I'm going to retire, it was like a relief for me,
0:16:08 > 0:16:10because when you have this...
0:16:11 > 0:16:14..you think about retirement is such a big step
0:16:14 > 0:16:17and when you have it inside, thinking about it every day,
0:16:17 > 0:16:19"Should I not retire? Should I retire?
0:16:19 > 0:16:22"Is it the right decision?" or whatever.
0:16:22 > 0:16:26But when I did it for myself, it was like a relief.
0:16:26 > 0:16:30And then when it came out even later, there was even more relief,
0:16:30 > 0:16:34because I knew that every single one knew about it.
0:16:34 > 0:16:37You have been one of the greatest players ever,
0:16:37 > 0:16:40which was your ambition, of course.
0:16:40 > 0:16:42So you've given tennis a tremendous amount,
0:16:42 > 0:16:44tennis has given you a tremendous amount.
0:16:44 > 0:16:47Well over £10 million, which is an awful lot of money.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51So what have you got in terms of...
0:16:51 > 0:16:53to show for it, in tangible terms?
0:16:53 > 0:16:56The shop here on the seafront.
0:16:56 > 0:17:00An apartment here on the seafront. An apartment in Long Island.
0:17:00 > 0:17:02A speedboat out there somewhere?
0:17:02 > 0:17:05- Somewhere.- Is that right? - Yes, I have a boat, yes.
0:17:05 > 0:17:06Really, a fast one?
0:17:06 > 0:17:09It's pretty fast, yeah, because I like to...
0:17:09 > 0:17:11I enjoy waterskiing quite a lot.
0:17:11 > 0:17:12- Do you?- Yes.
0:17:12 > 0:17:15It's been a great 10 years, 12 years.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18- No regrets?- No regrets.
0:17:18 > 0:17:20I mean, I had ten wonderful years,
0:17:20 > 0:17:25and, you know, even if I missed a few things during those ten years,
0:17:25 > 0:17:26I had a lot of fun.
0:17:26 > 0:17:30I enjoyed myself and I love tennis.
0:17:30 > 0:17:35I mean, I had ten great years and I don't really regret anything.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40With Borg gone, it was time for another groundbreaker
0:17:40 > 0:17:42to step into the spotlight.
0:17:42 > 0:17:45Yes, step forward, Boris Becker.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47In 1985, he showed Wimbledon
0:17:47 > 0:17:50and the world what unseeded teenagers are capable of
0:17:50 > 0:17:53by winning the tournament aged just 17.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58He became, and remains, the youngest ever men's singles champion,
0:17:58 > 0:18:00and that victory altered his life forever.
0:18:00 > 0:18:03He's such a familiar face around Wimbledon now
0:18:03 > 0:18:05that it's hard to remember Boris the boy,
0:18:05 > 0:18:08but here he is talking tennis with the late Sir Terry Wogan
0:18:08 > 0:18:11a short time after that first big win.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14Have you found...? Have you found that people are...
0:18:14 > 0:18:16a lot of fans gathering around you now?
0:18:16 > 0:18:20Well, now it's more than before Wimbledon, that's for sure.
0:18:20 > 0:18:22Yes?
0:18:22 > 0:18:26When I'm walking down the street
0:18:26 > 0:18:28and the people are coming to me and want to shake my hand
0:18:28 > 0:18:30or want to talk to me,
0:18:30 > 0:18:35it's quite amazing how many people that is.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37It's not amazing at all.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39Obviously, it's a naive question,
0:18:39 > 0:18:42but how has life changed for you since you won Wimbledon?
0:18:42 > 0:18:44Or do you notice anything?
0:18:44 > 0:18:46Because you're playing tennis most of the time.
0:18:46 > 0:18:49Well, I hope not that I've changed since Wimbledon.
0:18:49 > 0:18:52I think the people have changed to me.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54You haven't changed, you don't think?
0:18:54 > 0:18:57Er... Maybe a little bit, but, you know, it's...
0:18:57 > 0:19:00What little...? What little bit has changed?
0:19:00 > 0:19:01LAUGHTER
0:19:04 > 0:19:06I'm a little bit older now.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10I think you're going to be 18 any minute, aren't you?
0:19:10 > 0:19:12- In 12 days now.- 18.
0:19:12 > 0:19:15You're an old man, Boris, you're over the hill.
0:19:15 > 0:19:18Yes. Then I'm officially a man.
0:19:18 > 0:19:21Officially a man. You can drive a car.
0:19:23 > 0:19:25It's amazing.
0:19:25 > 0:19:28How are you coping with the pressures?
0:19:28 > 0:19:31With the press conferences? With the photographers?
0:19:31 > 0:19:32With people who are now...?
0:19:32 > 0:19:35You had a private life before Wimbledon,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37you've had no private life since then, have you?
0:19:37 > 0:19:40Yeah, at the beginning, it was a little bit difficult for me,
0:19:40 > 0:19:44you know, to understand that now when I'm going on the street,
0:19:44 > 0:19:47people are coming to me or want to talk to me.
0:19:47 > 0:19:49I have to give press conferences.
0:19:49 > 0:19:53When I'm talking, there are, like, 50, 60 journalists
0:19:53 > 0:19:57all over the world there, and they listen to every word I'm saying.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01But now I think I've got used to it,
0:20:01 > 0:20:04and sometimes I even enjoy it a little bit.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07John McEnroe said last week,
0:20:07 > 0:20:09and I know you don't pay any attention to him,
0:20:09 > 0:20:12but he said that if you continue to throw yourself around the court
0:20:12 > 0:20:16the way you do, you will be an old man before you're 21.
0:20:16 > 0:20:17Um...
0:20:17 > 0:20:19I mean, you'll do some damage to yourself.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21- Yes... - HE KNOCKS ON TABLE
0:20:21 > 0:20:22So far nothing happened to me.
0:20:22 > 0:20:24I hope you don't think that was wood.
0:20:24 > 0:20:27LAUGHTER
0:20:27 > 0:20:28He's just knocked on plastic, then.
0:20:30 > 0:20:35But I'm not diving on a hard court, or not very often.
0:20:35 > 0:20:36No, you're not that foolish.
0:20:36 > 0:20:39No, but I like to dive on grass, for example.
0:20:39 > 0:20:42Yes. Can you think of, like Borg,
0:20:42 > 0:20:47getting fed up of it all after a few years and retiring at 24?
0:20:47 > 0:20:49Well, you know, I just started to play tennis,
0:20:49 > 0:20:51I'm not thinking about retiring now.
0:20:51 > 0:20:54No. No, but you can see it stretching ahead of you,
0:20:54 > 0:20:57tournament after tournament, year after year,
0:20:57 > 0:20:59millions and millions of pounds.
0:21:01 > 0:21:03- Won't you get tired?- Er...
0:21:04 > 0:21:07I just can't say for the moment.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11Tennis... I even play tennis when I'm on holiday, for example.
0:21:12 > 0:21:15Tennis is for me not only a job, it's also my hobby.
0:21:15 > 0:21:17So I don't think I would quit before I'm...
0:21:17 > 0:21:19I don't know how old.
0:21:19 > 0:21:21But I was wondering how long you would go on playing
0:21:21 > 0:21:26before it becomes a job and less of a hobby, less fun.
0:21:27 > 0:21:29I have no idea.
0:21:29 > 0:21:31What about your social life?
0:21:31 > 0:21:33Have you any time for a social life
0:21:33 > 0:21:37- with the tournaments and going around and playing?- Er...
0:21:38 > 0:21:41Well, not very much, you know?
0:21:41 > 0:21:43I'm playing a lot of tennis, but...
0:21:45 > 0:21:46..sometimes I'm reading.
0:21:46 > 0:21:50I've started to read now because my coach said it's good for me.
0:21:50 > 0:21:52- Reading?- Yes.
0:21:52 > 0:21:54Does your coach let you go out with girls?
0:21:54 > 0:21:56Er... Well...
0:21:56 > 0:21:59LAUGHTER
0:21:59 > 0:22:03Er... I... Yes, I do like girls, but my coach...
0:22:03 > 0:22:05he doesn't like it so much.
0:22:05 > 0:22:08Becker's youth wasn't the only thing that made him a game changer.
0:22:08 > 0:22:11Boom-Boom Boris, as he came to be known,
0:22:11 > 0:22:14also had one of the fastest serves ever seen in tennis.
0:22:14 > 0:22:16John McEnroe said...
0:22:16 > 0:22:19IMITATING MCENROE: "No-one has ever hit the ball that hard at me."
0:22:19 > 0:22:23It was the birth of a new style of play - the power game.
0:22:23 > 0:22:25A new generation of graphite rackets
0:22:25 > 0:22:29became the weapon of choice for this new generation of power merchants.
0:22:31 > 0:22:34The appliance of science has made it all possible.
0:22:34 > 0:22:36Racket manufacturers have plundered the materials
0:22:36 > 0:22:38developed for shuttle missions
0:22:38 > 0:22:42to produce their brand of wide-body, power-shaft, biokinetic,
0:22:42 > 0:22:44dynamic-damping, transient-contoured,
0:22:44 > 0:22:46stress-reduced thunder sticks.
0:22:46 > 0:22:51They are truly the explosive product of space-age technology.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54The new graphite-shafted monsters make the old wooden frames
0:22:54 > 0:22:58look like antiques. But tests carried out by Mark Philippoussis,
0:22:58 > 0:23:01the world's fastest server, cast doubt on the theory.
0:23:01 > 0:23:06The graphite shaft, the average serve was faster, but not by much.
0:23:06 > 0:23:08The real reason the game has changed, says Philippoussis,
0:23:08 > 0:23:11is a new brand of player - bigger, stronger and fitter -
0:23:11 > 0:23:13not just a new brand of racket.
0:23:13 > 0:23:17With graphite, obviously, you get a bit more power over it and control,
0:23:17 > 0:23:19but, yeah, I think it is the players.
0:23:19 > 0:23:21I mean, if someone hits the ball extremely well and hard,
0:23:21 > 0:23:24they are going to hit the ball hard no matter what they play with.
0:23:24 > 0:23:26I think it's more the player.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29Guys are, after all, getting bigger and stronger anyway.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31They're training harder than they used to.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33It's gotten more serious in a way,
0:23:33 > 0:23:36so in a way it's good that these guys are better prepared.
0:23:36 > 0:23:39So the last thing you do is need to put some graphite
0:23:39 > 0:23:40or titanium in their hand
0:23:40 > 0:23:44that gives them the ability to hit a ball 130mph.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47You barely can even see the ball, especially at Wimbledon.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51And I think the fans and the players deserve more than that.
0:23:51 > 0:23:53At yesterday's Stella Artois Championship,
0:23:53 > 0:23:56Goran Ivanisevic was so worn down by the Philippoussis serve,
0:23:56 > 0:23:59he asked a ball girl to take the heat for a while.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01Philippoussis, who went on to win the tournament,
0:24:01 > 0:24:06gallantly changed tactics and joined in the longest rally of the match.
0:24:06 > 0:24:07What a lovely moment.
0:24:08 > 0:24:11I suggest the idea of going back to a wood racket
0:24:11 > 0:24:15because I think I'd prefer to see a Pete Sampras
0:24:15 > 0:24:17show more of his versatility,
0:24:17 > 0:24:19which I'm assuming he'd be capable of doing,
0:24:19 > 0:24:22or Agassi or the other top player.
0:24:22 > 0:24:25It wasn't just the rackets that looked different in the '80s.
0:24:25 > 0:24:27Since the very first tournament,
0:24:27 > 0:24:31Wimbledon has been famous for its strict rules on dress and behaviour.
0:24:31 > 0:24:34Those rules have often been tested over the years,
0:24:34 > 0:24:38but never quite as much as they were being tested now.
0:24:38 > 0:24:40It seems strange to see you without a headband.
0:24:40 > 0:24:42Did you throw the last one away or something?
0:24:42 > 0:24:44No. Well, that quite often happens, actually.
0:24:44 > 0:24:47Not so much in London here, but at home.
0:24:47 > 0:24:50- Yes.- You know, I walked down the street, for instance,
0:24:50 > 0:24:54and people really don't have any idea who I am.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57But then somebody says, "Oh, there goes Pat Cash."
0:24:57 > 0:24:59"Oh, I didn't recognise him, he hasn't got his headband on."
0:24:59 > 0:25:01- That's right. - People come up to me and say,
0:25:01 > 0:25:03"Will you put this over your head?" You know?
0:25:03 > 0:25:05Like a headband, so they can recognise me.
0:25:05 > 0:25:07Well, it is your signature.
0:25:07 > 0:25:10How did it grow up that you threw the headband to the fans?
0:25:10 > 0:25:11How did that happen?
0:25:11 > 0:25:14Well, it really just happened this year at Wimbledon.
0:25:14 > 0:25:17My second round match, where I was just so happy to win the match,
0:25:17 > 0:25:20it was a very tight match against Russell Simpson, from New Zealand,
0:25:20 > 0:25:22and I was pretty nervous when I went on there.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25It was a close match and I was just very happy after the match.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27Somebody said, "Can I have your headband?"
0:25:27 > 0:25:30And somebody on the other side said, "Yes, give me one, too."
0:25:30 > 0:25:34So I ended up passing a lot of headbands and sweatbands around.
0:25:34 > 0:25:37Pat Cash wasn't the only player whose behaviour raised eyebrows.
0:25:37 > 0:25:41In fact, he looked positively restrained compared to some.
0:25:41 > 0:25:44Andre Agassi's colour choices were disturbing enough,
0:25:44 > 0:25:47but he would go on to change perceptions of tennis
0:25:47 > 0:25:50in a far more serious way after his retirement.
0:25:50 > 0:25:53In his autobiography, he admitted to taking drugs,
0:25:53 > 0:25:55revealing that he'd used crystal meth
0:25:55 > 0:25:58and failed a doping test in 1997.
0:25:58 > 0:26:01He confessed that he'd also lied to avoid a ban,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04blaming a contaminated drink for the drug's presence in his body,
0:26:04 > 0:26:08which he talks about here with the BBC's Stephen Sackur.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10Perhaps the most difficult thing in your professional life,
0:26:10 > 0:26:13which was your taking of illegal drugs.
0:26:13 > 0:26:17- Yeah.- Something which has attracted a huge amount of comment
0:26:17 > 0:26:21and criticism from people inside tennis.
0:26:21 > 0:26:25Are you disappointed with the reaction of,
0:26:25 > 0:26:27for example, Martina Navratilova,
0:26:27 > 0:26:32who says that she really resents the fact that you took drugs?
0:26:32 > 0:26:34She believes you should have been suspended,
0:26:34 > 0:26:36she points out that you beat other professionals
0:26:36 > 0:26:38at a time when, actually, you should have been suspended.
0:26:38 > 0:26:40And she's been very harsh about it.
0:26:40 > 0:26:41Well, no question.
0:26:41 > 0:26:45My first disappointment is that I ever took drugs
0:26:45 > 0:26:47in the first place,
0:26:47 > 0:26:49that I ever found myself at that stage in my life.
0:26:49 > 0:26:52But as I look at how that all played out, you know,
0:26:52 > 0:26:55I have to ask one question, which is, have you really read the book?
0:26:55 > 0:26:58Have you seen where this fit in my life?
0:26:58 > 0:27:00Why, what the drug was?
0:27:00 > 0:27:02Not performance enhancing,
0:27:02 > 0:27:04but a recreational, destructional drug.
0:27:04 > 0:27:07- Crystal meth. - Crystal meth is a term they use.
0:27:07 > 0:27:10There's a technical name for it as well.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13And what happened during that time I actually took the drug,
0:27:13 > 0:27:15I mean, I didn't win anything.
0:27:15 > 0:27:18If you actually went to the rule book at the time,
0:27:18 > 0:27:20it would have been a three-month suspension
0:27:20 > 0:27:23during a time when I wasn't even playing tennis.
0:27:23 > 0:27:26I suppose one point, specific point,
0:27:26 > 0:27:28about the drugs issue
0:27:28 > 0:27:33is that you wrote a fairly lame, it has to be said, excuse
0:27:33 > 0:27:35to the ATP Tour as to how the substance
0:27:35 > 0:27:37had been found in your body.
0:27:37 > 0:27:40And rather than check it out or really challenge you,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43they accepted it, and you were not suspended.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45And it looks as though you were not suspended -
0:27:45 > 0:27:47and this obviously goes back to 1997 -
0:27:47 > 0:27:50it looks as though you were not suspended because you were still,
0:27:50 > 0:27:52despite poor form, a big name in tennis.
0:27:52 > 0:27:56You were, in a sense, too big to bring down.
0:27:56 > 0:27:59Do you think we as outsiders can assume
0:27:59 > 0:28:03that that philosophy may still be there in professional tennis,
0:28:03 > 0:28:06they don't want to know if some star names may be dabbling in drugs?
0:28:06 > 0:28:08I think the cynicism is good
0:28:08 > 0:28:10cos it makes you hold things up to the light.
0:28:10 > 0:28:12But I do think you have to look at it in its full context,
0:28:12 > 0:28:15and this is pre-age of steroids in sports
0:28:15 > 0:28:19and this is that time when tennis was actually leading
0:28:19 > 0:28:22in their own desire to monitor the habits,
0:28:22 > 0:28:26the usage of illegal or recreational drugs for their sport.
0:28:26 > 0:28:29We had a system in place, we oversaw the system in place,
0:28:29 > 0:28:33and maybe as a result of my case, or others...
0:28:33 > 0:28:34I don't know about the business
0:28:34 > 0:28:37of how everything has gone down over that particular...
0:28:37 > 0:28:38But that's really what I'm asking.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40Do you think there are still stars who are as so big
0:28:40 > 0:28:43that the ATP Tour doesn't want to know?
0:28:43 > 0:28:44Well, this is the point I'm getting at,
0:28:44 > 0:28:49which is, as a result of that, we've now gone to a third party governance
0:28:49 > 0:28:52over our drug oversight.
0:28:52 > 0:28:57So we now use Wada, which is recognised as an independent party.
0:28:57 > 0:28:58The anti-doping agency.
0:28:58 > 0:29:03Yes. ATP has no say so now in any results that happen.
0:29:03 > 0:29:04And that's been for a long time.
0:29:04 > 0:29:07I consider our sport to be very, very clean,
0:29:07 > 0:29:11and I consider us to be on the leading edge of that accountability.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14Andre Agassi was, of course, one of a long, long line
0:29:14 > 0:29:16of overseas Wimbledon champions.
0:29:16 > 0:29:21McEnroe, Connors, Ashe, King, Evert, all Americans.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24Borg, Swedish. Becker, German. Cash, Australian.
0:29:24 > 0:29:26We Brits were forever being reminded
0:29:26 > 0:29:31that our last singles champion was Virginia Wade in 1977.
0:29:31 > 0:29:32As for a men's champion,
0:29:32 > 0:29:36that was the legendary Fred Perry about 250 years before that.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Or at least that's how long it felt.
0:29:38 > 0:29:42We needed something to give, someone to really shout for.
0:29:42 > 0:29:45We needed hope. We needed Tim Henman.
0:29:45 > 0:29:48OK, so Tiger Tim never quite managed to pull off the big one,
0:29:48 > 0:29:50but he did give us a lot of excitement,
0:29:50 > 0:29:52altered our expectations,
0:29:52 > 0:29:54and he was the closest thing we've had to a contender
0:29:54 > 0:29:56since Slade had been number one in the charts.
0:29:56 > 0:30:01# So, cum on, feel the noize
0:30:01 > 0:30:04# Girls, grab the boys... #
0:30:04 > 0:30:06Why didn't it quite happen for him?
0:30:06 > 0:30:10The all too common accusation was that Tim was too TIM-id.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13A surprisingly and totally justifiably feisty Henman
0:30:13 > 0:30:17defends himself here against those wrongly but widely-held opinions.
0:30:17 > 0:30:21Pete Sampras, a friend and, of course, a former world number one,
0:30:21 > 0:30:23Wimbledon champion goodness knows how many times,
0:30:23 > 0:30:25he has recently assessed you like this.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28Is Tim the best player in the world? No. Is he a truly great player?
0:30:28 > 0:30:31No. But he's an extremely talented player,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34and if things fall into place, it can happen.
0:30:34 > 0:30:36You still have that drive and ambition?
0:30:36 > 0:30:40- Absolutely.- Yes. - As I said to you, why wouldn't I?
0:30:40 > 0:30:44I've obviously got a pretty solid record at Wimbledon
0:30:44 > 0:30:48over the years and, you know, the last 12 months,
0:30:48 > 0:30:502004 was my best year.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54Absolutely, you know, you need some things to fall into place
0:30:54 > 0:30:57and you need to play well at the right time
0:30:57 > 0:31:00and you probably need a little bit of luck,
0:31:00 > 0:31:02but that's certainly the aim.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04But maybe it's not just luck,
0:31:04 > 0:31:06and, of course, luck plays its part in every sport.
0:31:06 > 0:31:10Do you sense that there's something maybe lacking mentally?
0:31:10 > 0:31:12Because that appears to be the perception.
0:31:12 > 0:31:15- Whose perception? - The perception, for example,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19of a sports psychologist called John Syer.
0:31:19 > 0:31:21- Have I ever met him? - I don't know.- No.
0:31:21 > 0:31:24But he doesn't have to meet you, maybe, to do an analysis.
0:31:24 > 0:31:26- I think he does.- Does he?
0:31:26 > 0:31:27Yeah, I think so.
0:31:27 > 0:31:29Maybe he just makes his analysis from television
0:31:29 > 0:31:31and seeing your body language on television.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34- You may say that's a big distance. - I think it is, yeah.
0:31:34 > 0:31:36He says that you've clearly got all the technical skills,
0:31:36 > 0:31:38- you're clearly fit. - I wouldn't agree with that.
0:31:38 > 0:31:41- Oh, really?- No, I think I could improve my technical skills.
0:31:41 > 0:31:44- In what way?- But it's like... Why is a sports psychologist
0:31:44 > 0:31:46talking about my tennis technical skills?
0:31:46 > 0:31:48Well, let me get to the point, because you interrupted it.
0:31:48 > 0:31:51The point is that if you assume that he does have the technical skills -
0:31:51 > 0:31:54I know you deny that - and he's looking after himself,
0:31:54 > 0:31:57- there must be a failure somewhere mentally.- Right.
0:31:57 > 0:32:00I suppose my question to you is, after all that preamble,
0:32:00 > 0:32:03my question to you is, psychologically,
0:32:03 > 0:32:04are you properly prepared?
0:32:04 > 0:32:05Absolutely.
0:32:05 > 0:32:09Maybe people would actually like you to produce the kind of performance
0:32:09 > 0:32:11that you put in in Hamburg recently
0:32:11 > 0:32:13when you got very shirty about a dodgy line call.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16They'd like you to be more like McEnroe, more fiery, more...
0:32:16 > 0:32:19But, again, you can't... But, again, that's...
0:32:19 > 0:32:23I still feel it's most important that I concern myself
0:32:23 > 0:32:25with what I think is right. And I could...
0:32:27 > 0:32:29But you're saying, in a sense, there is no other way.
0:32:29 > 0:32:32I could talk to you about a hundred quotes where people say,
0:32:32 > 0:32:35"Oh, you know, he's trying to get fired up on the court,
0:32:35 > 0:32:36"and that's not him."
0:32:36 > 0:32:39And then I could show you a hundred quotes where people say,
0:32:39 > 0:32:42"Oh, he's too passive, he needs to get fired up on the court."
0:32:42 > 0:32:45- OK.- And at the end of the day,
0:32:45 > 0:32:49as I said, I'm not the best player there's ever been
0:32:49 > 0:32:53by any stretch of the imagination, but, you know, at some stage,
0:32:53 > 0:32:56I've been the fourth best player on the planet,
0:32:56 > 0:33:00and I've won, you know, numerous tournaments worldwide.
0:33:00 > 0:33:03So I've got to be half decent at what I do.
0:33:03 > 0:33:05- Sure.- And when it comes back to Wimbledon
0:33:05 > 0:33:09and we talk about some of the matches that I've played,
0:33:09 > 0:33:12you know, we talk about your quote from the psychologist.
0:33:12 > 0:33:15How about I wasn't good enough on the day?
0:33:15 > 0:33:18How about Pete Sampras was better than me on the day?
0:33:18 > 0:33:21I think that's where people sometimes shy away from that.
0:33:21 > 0:33:23I'm honest enough to sit there and say,
0:33:23 > 0:33:27"Yeah, when I lost to him in the two semis, he was better than me.
0:33:27 > 0:33:28"I need to improve."
0:33:28 > 0:33:32Tim gave us a glorious decade of grace and hope,
0:33:32 > 0:33:35but our next game changer actually got his name
0:33:35 > 0:33:36on the famous gold trophy.
0:33:36 > 0:33:40Andy Murray, rewriting the story of Britain's Wimbledon record.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42With him in the running,
0:33:42 > 0:33:45victory became and remains a real possibility.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48What makes Murray different from the rest?
0:33:48 > 0:33:50Well, one possibility may have been that other British players
0:33:50 > 0:33:53were not as fit and didn't train enough,
0:33:53 > 0:33:56or at least that was a controversial opinion expressed
0:33:56 > 0:33:59the week before this chat with Jonathan Ross.
0:33:59 > 0:34:00OK, Wimbledon's looming.
0:34:00 > 0:34:02- Yes.- Of course. And this is the time when British players,
0:34:02 > 0:34:04I guess they dread it, to an extent,
0:34:04 > 0:34:06because you're the British number one,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08all eyes are going to be on you now. Yes, and you know it.
0:34:08 > 0:34:10Are you prepared for... what do they call it?
0:34:10 > 0:34:13Murraymania? Andymonium? What do they call it? It's...
0:34:13 > 0:34:16- I think Murraymania is the name. - Murraymania.- Yeah.
0:34:16 > 0:34:19How do you deal with that? Do you gird your loins?
0:34:19 > 0:34:21- Do you welcome it? Does it help in any way?- Er...
0:34:21 > 0:34:25I mean, we do get awesome support during the tournament.
0:34:25 > 0:34:26When we're on the court, as well,
0:34:26 > 0:34:28it's different to any of the other tournaments we play,
0:34:28 > 0:34:31but it's more the build-up that's harder before you get on the court.
0:34:31 > 0:34:34I was there when you played, I think, the first time at Wimbledon.
0:34:34 > 0:34:36I was in the audience. I had some terrible seats,
0:34:36 > 0:34:38right at the back somewhere. And you played Nalbandian.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41- Yes.- Yes, and this was about, what, three years ago?
0:34:41 > 0:34:44- Yeah, 2005.- OK, it was a great match, of course.
0:34:44 > 0:34:47Fabulous match. One of the exciting things for everyone in the crowd,
0:34:47 > 0:34:49as well, but I guess for you, as well, if you were aware,
0:34:49 > 0:34:51- was Sean Connery was there.- Yes.
0:34:51 > 0:34:53Now, did you know he was going to be there in advance?
0:34:53 > 0:34:54Was he there to support a fellow Scot,
0:34:54 > 0:34:56or did he just happen to be there that day?
0:34:56 > 0:35:00Yeah, I guess he likes tennis, but it was a bit strange for me,
0:35:00 > 0:35:03cos pretty much the day after my match,
0:35:03 > 0:35:04he gave me a call.
0:35:04 > 0:35:06So to get a call from James Bond
0:35:06 > 0:35:08when you're playing Wimbledon for the first time...
0:35:08 > 0:35:10That's quite a week in your life.
0:35:10 > 0:35:12So you played Wimbledon for the first time
0:35:12 > 0:35:13and James Bond phoned you up.
0:35:13 > 0:35:15LAUGHTER
0:35:15 > 0:35:17- That was pretty...- What did he say to you when he called?
0:35:17 > 0:35:19He was just like, "It's great, keep it going."
0:35:19 > 0:35:21He used to always say to me,
0:35:21 > 0:35:23"Don't let the press affect you, "don't let the press affect you."
0:35:23 > 0:35:26- Is it, like... - IMITATING CONNERY:- "You must not let
0:35:26 > 0:35:29- "the press affect you"? - Yeah, exactly like that.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31"I saw you playing the other day.
0:35:33 > 0:35:35"I thought it was very good."
0:35:35 > 0:35:38- I ran out of the voice then. - That was exactly right.
0:35:38 > 0:35:41You are the number one ranked player,
0:35:41 > 0:35:43and I have to be careful how I say that,
0:35:43 > 0:35:47- here in the United Kingdom. - Yes.- Number one.
0:35:47 > 0:35:48Put that in context for us.
0:35:48 > 0:35:50What does that mean in terms of global scale?
0:35:50 > 0:35:52Where are you in the world if you're the number one Brit,
0:35:52 > 0:35:54and what does that mean for you personally?
0:35:54 > 0:35:56Yeah, I'm ranked 11th in the world just now.
0:35:56 > 0:35:59Wow. Well, congratulations. That's pretty good, isn't it?
0:35:59 > 0:36:00- Thank you. - APPLAUSE
0:36:00 > 0:36:0311 in the world. Just 21.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07Yeah, I mean, the British ranking's not really that important.
0:36:07 > 0:36:10We don't have too many players just now, so it's more...
0:36:10 > 0:36:12The world rankings are a bit more important.
0:36:12 > 0:36:14Why is it we don't have too many players right now?
0:36:14 > 0:36:17Because there seems to be a lot of players come out of Russia,
0:36:17 > 0:36:18and obviously Russia is a vast continent,
0:36:18 > 0:36:21but, you know, there's a lot of people from there
0:36:21 > 0:36:22and they go to Miami and train them up.
0:36:22 > 0:36:24They come out of there and they seem to be really good.
0:36:24 > 0:36:26The Swiss seem to have quite a few.
0:36:26 > 0:36:28Why is it that, so far, we haven't managed to produce
0:36:28 > 0:36:30the people in the top level?
0:36:30 > 0:36:31I've absolutely no idea.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Well, that's not what you said in the papers this week, sunshine.
0:36:34 > 0:36:36LAUGHTER
0:36:40 > 0:36:43Oh, someone's changed their tune(!)
0:36:43 > 0:36:45It's got a bit hot in the old kitchen.
0:36:46 > 0:36:48No, I mean, yeah, it's difficult.
0:36:48 > 0:36:49I mean, the Russians, obviously,
0:36:49 > 0:36:52have got an unbelievable work ethic and stuff.
0:36:52 > 0:36:55Do you think that's what it is? Is it just wanting it more?
0:36:55 > 0:36:58Yeah, I guess so. I moved to Spain when I was 15 to go and train there
0:36:58 > 0:37:01because I felt like it was more competitive practice,
0:37:01 > 0:37:05it was harder work and a better environment for me to train in,
0:37:05 > 0:37:08but I don't know exactly what the problem is.
0:37:08 > 0:37:09Let me ask you about your family,
0:37:09 > 0:37:12- because your mum was a tennis coach, is that right?- Yeah, she still is.
0:37:12 > 0:37:15She still is. And your brother is also a gifted tennis player.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18- Yep.- He's slightly older than you, is that right?
0:37:18 > 0:37:21- 15 months.- What's the competition like between the two of you?
0:37:21 > 0:37:24When you were playing against each other as youngsters, how was that?
0:37:24 > 0:37:27When did you start beating him? When did you start outstripping him?
0:37:27 > 0:37:30It got pretty ugly. I've actually got a dodgy nail.
0:37:30 > 0:37:33He punched me once after I won against him.
0:37:33 > 0:37:36Hold on, hold on. That is hardly a big injury, is it?
0:37:36 > 0:37:37LAUGHTER
0:37:37 > 0:37:40Saying I have a dodgy nail on my left hand...
0:37:40 > 0:37:41I've got a dodgy nail
0:37:41 > 0:37:44from shutting it in the bloody toilet door last week.
0:37:44 > 0:37:46- It's not nice, is it? - No, it's not good.
0:37:46 > 0:37:48Anyway, I apologise.
0:37:48 > 0:37:50So you would actually get physical with each other?
0:37:50 > 0:37:53Yeah. I mean, when we were younger, yeah.
0:37:53 > 0:37:55When we were 14, I started to improve much more,
0:37:55 > 0:37:58and Jamie obviously only plays doubles now.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00Let's talk about Tim Henman a little bit,
0:38:00 > 0:38:01because I know he's a friend of yours.
0:38:01 > 0:38:03- Yep.- A great player.
0:38:03 > 0:38:05I know he's retired from the game at that level now,
0:38:05 > 0:38:07but he was a great player while he was there
0:38:07 > 0:38:09- and he got that close to winning Wimbledon, didn't he?- He did, yeah.
0:38:09 > 0:38:12Cos I know, it's in your book, which I've been reading...
0:38:12 > 0:38:15Hitting Back is your book. You kind of didn't write it yourself.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17I guess you spoke to someone and it comes out of that.
0:38:17 > 0:38:20You're 21, you won't have time to write a proper book.
0:38:20 > 0:38:21No, and I'm not bright enough.
0:38:21 > 0:38:23You don't have time to read a magazine.
0:38:23 > 0:38:25Anyway, Hitting Back is the book.
0:38:25 > 0:38:27I've been enjoying reading it, cos I'm a tennis fan anyway,
0:38:27 > 0:38:29but you talk about Henman in there,
0:38:29 > 0:38:31you talk about the amount of advice he's given you.
0:38:31 > 0:38:32It must be nice to have someone
0:38:32 > 0:38:35who has essentially been through what you are going through
0:38:35 > 0:38:36and about to go through, I guess.
0:38:36 > 0:38:40Yeah, I mean, he's been great since pretty much when I went on the tour.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43I didn't know any of the players at all. I was obviously 18.
0:38:43 > 0:38:45Tim, yeah, he obviously gave me a lot of advice,
0:38:45 > 0:38:49I practised with him a lot, he paid for a few of my dinners and stuff,
0:38:49 > 0:38:50so that was good.
0:38:50 > 0:38:53How is it when you then go on to play someone like that
0:38:53 > 0:38:55who's been a bit of a mentor, perhaps, been a friend,
0:38:55 > 0:38:57and then you have to play them professionally?
0:38:57 > 0:39:00Of course, I'm imagining you want to stuff them as much as possible.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02How do you get yourself in the different mind-set
0:39:02 > 0:39:04to stop seeing them as a friend and...?
0:39:04 > 0:39:06Yeah, that's probably the toughest part.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09It's only really been when I played against him I found it difficult.
0:39:09 > 0:39:11I've played him four times on the tour, but, yeah, that's...
0:39:11 > 0:39:14It's really tough, there's not too much you can do.
0:39:14 > 0:39:16You've just got to try and focus on winning the match,
0:39:16 > 0:39:18but it's a bit uncomfortable at the end of the match
0:39:18 > 0:39:20when you've got to shake hands and say, "Tough luck,"
0:39:20 > 0:39:22- when you don't really mean that. - Yeah.
0:39:26 > 0:39:29We end with what is perhaps one of the biggest game changers
0:39:29 > 0:39:32in the history of the world's favourite grass court tournament.
0:39:32 > 0:39:36But it has absolutely no personality at all.
0:39:36 > 0:39:39Wimbledon fortnight was always a hostage
0:39:39 > 0:39:40to the great British summer
0:39:40 > 0:39:43and, over the years, became synonymous
0:39:43 > 0:39:44with the phrase "wash-out".
0:39:44 > 0:39:47I've known nothing like it at all, ever.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49I've asked various people like Fred Perry,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52and he can't remember anything like this.
0:39:52 > 0:39:55I think this must be the worst one on record.
0:39:55 > 0:39:57I can't remember seeing anything...
0:39:57 > 0:40:00anything as strong as this at Wimbledon.
0:40:00 > 0:40:02I feel sympathy for the people braving it there
0:40:02 > 0:40:05under their umbrellas.
0:40:05 > 0:40:06They are taking a battering.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Ladies and gentlemen, play is suspended.
0:40:11 > 0:40:12Along with the rain,
0:40:12 > 0:40:16the carefully planned Wimbledon schedule has been washed away,
0:40:16 > 0:40:19meaning that some top players have been frustrated,
0:40:19 > 0:40:23spending more time in the locker room than on the court.
0:40:24 > 0:40:26It's been a day of frustration for Tim Henman
0:40:26 > 0:40:28and millions of British tennis fans.
0:40:28 > 0:40:32Rain interrupted much of his crucial semifinal clash
0:40:32 > 0:40:33with Goran Ivanisevic.
0:40:33 > 0:40:36Just 51 minutes' play were possible before the rain returned,
0:40:36 > 0:40:39putting the match back again till tomorrow,
0:40:39 > 0:40:42with a decision on when to play the final left to the winner.
0:40:42 > 0:40:44Wimbledon could have a serious problem
0:40:44 > 0:40:46concluding the championships tomorrow.
0:40:46 > 0:40:52And then, in 2009, finally, everything changed.
0:40:52 > 0:40:53On Centre Court, at least.
0:40:53 > 0:40:57And, arguably, nothing has had a greater impact on play
0:40:57 > 0:41:01over all the years at the All England Club.
0:41:01 > 0:41:04The sight of hundreds of tennis fans huddled under umbrellas in the rain
0:41:04 > 0:41:07on Centre Court will now be a thing of the past,
0:41:07 > 0:41:10and that's because Centre Court finally has a new retractable roof.
0:41:23 > 0:41:26They have decided now to close the roof.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41It takes eight to ten minutes to close.
0:42:38 > 0:42:40So, there we go.
0:42:40 > 0:42:43We've had women's rights, civil rights, fashion wrongs,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46boom-boom, swoon swoon,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48a so-nearly man, a very-real-y man,
0:42:48 > 0:42:52and what turned out to be a very good plan, man.
0:42:52 > 0:42:54It's still the ivy-covered, flower-drenched,
0:42:54 > 0:42:59impeccably mown corner of SW19 we've loved forever,
0:42:59 > 0:43:01but thanks to all these game changers,
0:43:01 > 0:43:05Wimbledon is also a whole new ballgame.