One of Sam Groth's biggest matches of his year had just guaranteed the biggest pay-cheque of his career.
And yet Groth, who moved into the third round of Wimbledon for the first time with a 7-5, 6-4, 7-6(6) win over James Duckworth, couldn’t help but feel some regret. “It’s a hard one, isn’t it?” smiled the-big serving Australian, pleased yet respectful as he acknowledged that his fellow countryman is not only an admirable adversary but also one of his closest mates. So close, in fact, that they not only share the same coach as they travel the tour, they are also sharing the same house in Wimbledon Village.
Many were quick to make the nostalgic link to a time when Australian room-mates Roy Emerson and Fred Stolle cooked breakfast for each other before contesting the 1964 and ‘65 Wimbledon finals. "I wish Sam would cook me some breakfast," Duckworth laughed before his meeting with Groth.
It was not fun at all. The worst tennis day of my life
There was a different kind of normality for the younger Australians in the lead-up to a first Wimbledon second round appearance for both men. “We’ve probably both been thinking about the match a bit but it was fine,” said Duckworth, explaining that football scores were the main topic of conversation. “We joked around and acted as usual.”
And with the players targeting a third-round meeting with Roger Federer, the friendship was understandably cast aside when it came to competing against one another.
Despite firing up his big serve to record 24 aces, Groth acknowledged the match was awkward at times. “I think we were both a bit tense out there to begin with and it showed,” he said.
The Australians aren’t the only players to have found their personal lives clashing with their professional ones. Tennis is filled with examples of players who are good friends off the court but adversaries on it – and often in the highest-stakes contests. A close friendship between Serena Williams and Caroline Wozniacki is enduring, despite world No.1 Serena having defeated the Dane in all but one of 11 career matches.
The bitter-sweet battles that have already been contested at Wimbledon this year include Sara Errani’s straight-sets win over her countrywoman, Francesca Schiavone. Sabine Lisicki’s impressive first-round win was at the expense of Jarmila Gajdosova, a doubles and hitting partner as well as a good friend.
It’s perhaps even more challenging when the player at the opposite side of the net is a sibling. While the 25 all-family matches between Venus and Serena Williams have been well-documented, they have mostly occurred at the business end of Grand Slams – three of them in the final of Wimbledon, with Serena winning two.
There were fewer people watching when Jurgen Melzer faced his brother, Gerald, in Wimbledon qualifying. The older Austrian defeated the younger one 6-4, 6-2 but was hardly elated at his achievement. “It was not fun at all. The worst tennis day of my life and I hope we will never play each other again,” said Jurgen, who is 10 years Gerard’s senior. “The age gap was obviously very big so we hadn’t played against each other growing up. We have practised a lot together but never played each other before.”
You have to spare a thought for members of the players’ support teams, too. For Ben Mathias, coach of Groth and Duckworth, the match between his two charges was awkward enough to warrant watching from afar. The Australian had earlier hinted at watching it on television from a nearby hotel and was nowhere to be seen when the players faced off at Wimbledon.
But there can be an upside that doesn’t come with any other match – such as really caring about the opponent who beat you. When Serena defeated Wozniacki to win the 2014 US Open, the pair celebrated together in the hours and days afterwards. Similarly, you sense that Duckworth will be cheering on Groth when he takes on Federer. For now, they are at least making dinner plans. “Yep, he’s buying!” Duckworth laughed.
