It will be strange not having Mike Dickson at Wimbledon this year. He began working as the Daily Mail’s tennis correspondent long before I played professionally and I vividly remember our first meeting.
I had been given a wildcard for Queen’s as a teenager and a couple of us ended up going for a night out in London. Dicko picked up on our misdemeanours and hammered us.
It was the first time I’d been in the press and I was livid about it. I was young and trying to make a good impression. I spent a few months stewing about it before I actually met Dicko for the first time, at a competition in Bath. He was so kind and polite that it was impossible to be angry with him.
The older I got, the more I understood the importance of what he did. Everything Dicko wrote was balanced and fair. Tennis needs guys like him and he was part of the furniture. We ended up sharing a couple of dinners together and I had great admiration for him.
His was the first face I expected to see opposite me in a press conference — and my media session at January’s Australian Open sadly turned out to be the last he attended before he passed away. The outpouring of grief showed what a popular man he was. He will be missed but he will certainly be remembered.
Mike Dickson poses with the Ron Bookman Media Excellence Award he won in 2016
Every year at Wimbledon, I rent a place for a couple of weeks in the village, not far from where Dicko’s family live. I pop down to Demitasse coffee shop every morning and I love the familiarity of it all. You turn up the weekend before and it’s all so peaceful and quiet — perfectly displayed flowers everywhere — then the gates open and it is pandemonium. It’s my favourite competition on the circuit.
On a personal note, I’m just happy to have made it here because I injured my knee a couple of weeks ago and the initial prognosis was not good. I was pretty much ruled out so I’ve not had much practice and my expectations are fairly low. But it’s a good opportunity to get on court before I hopefully play doubles with Andy Murray at the Olympics in Paris.
It’s unfortunate that Andy’s fitness is up in the air for Wimbledon because he’s one of the icons of British sport. His work ethic and resilience have inspired people beyond tennis. I don’t think we’ll see a British tennis player do what Andy’s done, given all the setbacks he’s had. I hope he gets the send-off here that he deserves. He will get a special reception, regardless.
British No 3 Dan Evans says it will be strange not having Dickson at Wimbledon this year
There are 12 British entrants on the men’s side, which is the most we’ve had for a long time. Eight of those are wildcards and four are direct acceptances. It’s an indicator that British tennis is in OK health but next year we should be aiming for eight direct qualifications.
With so many promising Brits around, like Jack Draper and Henry Searle, there’s an amazing opportunity for a couple of young guys to make a name for themselves. If a youngster ranked 240 wins a round then that’s big points for them.
Wetting your feet at this level can do all sorts for your ambition and inspiration. It can really set some of the young guys on their track and hopefully we see that over the next week or so.
