Niland's Wimbledon exploits fire feel-good factor in Irish camp

TENNIS:POST WIMBLEDON and a warm breeze continues to blow from Conor Niland's exploits at the All England Club. 

As Ireland face into this weekend’s Davis Cup tie against Tunisia, Niland, Wimbledon and the blaze of publicity that accompanied the Limerick player’s first-round match, sets Ireland’s ambitions at Riverview tomorrow in an unusually positive frame.

With team-mates Barry King and James Cluskey at the venue hitting with Niland yesterday afternoon, the feeling was of the Ireland number one having deconstructed the myth of SW19. Prior to two weeks ago neither of the younger players had ever seen an Irish male playing in the men’s singles at Wimbledon as they weren’t born until after the mid 1980s.

Quite suddenly the prospect of being involved in the biggest tennis tournament in the world on merit has become less far fetched than ever before.

Niland in time may weary of the constant references but for this weekend at least, the power of the Grand Slam remains very much in the Irish camp for the Euro/Africa Zone Group II fixture.

“I took a lot of confidence from the week,” says Niland. “Obviously I came into some good form the last couple of months. I’m playing well. Hopefully I can play some good tennis. Keep going this weekend. Keep winning matches.

“Most Davis Cup ties there are always expectation and you are expected to beat the guys you are ranked ahead of. You know there is always a close match in terms of ranking and this weekend it’s sort of similar.

“I don’t think anything more is expected of me and I don’t feel I’m putting any pressure on myself. I would expect to play well in a Davis Cup tie.”

Niland’s long-term focus is on the US Open, which begins at the end of August. The hard courts of Europe and America are much to his liking but for now, his influence on the team has been instructive for tennis in Ireland.

Success changes everything.

“Seeing him there was special,” says Cluskey. “I knew he could do it. We all knew he could do it. I was playing with Sam (Barry) at a futures in Spain when it was going on, you know a 10k (€10,000 prize fund). It was tough. The conditions were tough. The hotel was not that good. I remember talking to him (Conor). He’d been there. He’d been through all that and he’s come out the other side. It made us proud. It was special just seeing one of our own there.”

Niland has been there and it is one of the reasons why he has finally broken through. His frayed passport and mileage clocked up is testament to a selfless path chosen out of necessity more than choice. Ranking points respect little other than industry.

But this home draw over three days represents a comfort of sorts before he hits the road again to Russia, Kazakhstan, Europe and the USA seeking the ATP points and eventually competing in the qualification tournament for Flushing Meadow.

More closely watched than before, Davis Cup captain Gary Cahill is hoping to harness the relative surge of attention “From my point of view I’m looking for more Conor Nilands,” he says. “To get more players like this you need more players playing tennis so they work together. One side is performance the other side is sheer numbers. I’m hoping more young people will take up tennis racquets in the parks and in the clubs.

“It gives confidence to players, not just players on the team but young players coming through to realise that the step is not actually that big.

“I suppose if you ask Conor, then it is something he has always wanted to do. Suddenly it happens overnight. It wasn’t because he had changed overnight. It’s just that he played a few very good matches in a row. Its not that it’s a huge step. I sense and feel a lot of confidence about the team from it. I can feel it. But he’s speaking even in a more confident way. It has been very, very good for tennis in general.”

And if Niland’s attitude is a barometer, it’s not the end.