When you were starting out, who inspired you and what motivated you to become a top tennis player?

When I was very young I just enjoyed playing and was inspired by Andre Agassi. I loved watching him play and I had all his gear – the denim shorts with the pink lycra shorts underneath, and I even had a Nike cap with a blond pony tail attached to it!

When I was 14 I realised I wanted to become a tennis player and I chose to leave Scotland and base myself in Spain. That’s when I really started to focus on being the best I could be and the motivation was all internal.

What are the traits necessary to become a champion in your sport?

You need to be very strong mentally and physically to get to the very top and to stay there. You also need to have a good tactical brain and be able to solve your own problems. Every point is a problem to solve!

What would you say have been the key reasons behind your success?

I am lucky enough to be strong tactically and to have a lot of variation in my game. I like working out my opponents’ weaknesses and exploiting them. That’s why I also like to follow boxing.

How important is plain old hard work and practice? 

 You can’t get to the top on talent alone, you need to work hard and put the hours in on court and in the gym. Since I was 15 I’ve trained about 5 hours a day. As you get older and there aren’t so many technical issues to work on, players probably train about 2 hours a day on court and an hour in the gym.

Where does intelligence, self-belief and mentality come into your sport?  

You have to have self belief – confidence is often the key to success. At the top level it’s really important to be able to analyse what’s going on during a match and to be able to employ tactics and patterns of play that will upset your opponent’s game.

How would you define the term ‘winning mentality?’

Finding a way to win, whatever the circumstances.

How much attention do you have to pay to your lifestyle in this modern era?  Are nutrition, hydration, proper rest and conditioning essential to the 21st century athlete?

Yes these are all really important. I learned a lot more about these elements in the last 2 years since I came out of juniors. The senior tour is so much more physical and you have to play longer matches often in extreme conditions.

I had a lot of problems with cramp when I was transferring from junior to senior and that made me aware of what and when and how much I ate and drank in both training and competition.

Proper hydration is essential, and rest is important during the day when I’m training, as well as getting the competition schedule right so I don’t play more than 3 weeks in a row.

Is coaching important to you?  How much faith / reliance do you place in a coach to get you to the level you want to be?

Yes, coaching is important especially in terms of technique and tactics in the early years. The better you get and the further you climb up the rankings, the mental and physical elements become the decisive factors.  Your trainer and physio can help you with the physical parts but a lot of the mental skills come from within.

How would you define ‘winning’?  What makes someone a winner, and can anybody be a winner?

Winning is finding a way to overcome every challenge you face.

Thanks Andy 

RO
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