Confident Ward sees chance to make big impression

James Ward gets the opportunity to continue making an impression on the British tennis public when he competes in the first round at Wimbledon today.

The 24-year-old son of a London cab driver faces 25th seed Michael Llodra as he looks to prove his run to the semi-final at Queen’s a fortnight ago was not a flash in the pan.

Ward was defeated by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga at Queen’s but on a rare start on the main circuit, it was a fine performance and one that raised hope that Andy Murray may not be the lone Briton as Wimbledon builds towards its second week.

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Ward, said: “I’m feeling really confident at the moment with the way I’ve been playing over the last few weeks on grass.

“Llodra will by no means be an easy match.

“He’s got a really good grass court game, with a big serve and he serves and volleys a lot.

“He won Eastbourne last year so it will be tough but I’m really looking forward to it.

“The support I’ve had over the last fortnight has been amazing and hopefully myself and all the other British players will enjoy exactly the same at Wimbledon because it makes the world of difference.”

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Like Murray, Ward’s tennis education began away from the British Isles.

As a teenager, he went to Spain to train at Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy near Valencia and in December 2009 he spent a considerable amount of time as Rafael Nadal’s hitting partner.

He now trains at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton and plays mostly on the Challenger Tour, the level below the ATP Tour.

His captivating run at Queen’s catapulted him to a career-high ranking of 176, although he dropped places yesterday after losing in the first round of Eastbourne, a tournament in which he reached the quarter-finals last year.

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In 2009 he won a Challenger tournament in Sarasota, Florida, on clay, the first British player to have been achieve such a feat at that level or above for more than a decade.

He has impressed since making his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain against Lithuania in March last year.

He has won five of his six singles matches, including a five-setter against Turkey’s Malek Jaziri in Bolton in March to clinch victory, and will almost certainly be the second singles player when Andy Murray returns to Davis Cup action against Luxembourg, which will commence the week after Wimbledon.

n British No 3 Dan Cox endured a challenging start to his Wimbledon debut before rain cut his first round match short.

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Cox was trailing 6-2 0-1 to the towering Sergiy Stakhovsky of the Ukraine on Court 14 when the weather intervened.

The 20-year-old wild card entry from Lincoln was overwhelmed in the opening set by his powerful opponent, who stands 6ft 4in tall, despite displaying spirited resistance.

He drew first blood in the second set, but needs a major reversal in fortunes today to reach the second round.