London: Even when Matt Barton walked away from competitive tennis for half of 2014, he retained the belief he had a future in the game. What he needed was to recharge, get his mind in order, and freshen up after years of grinding away for little reward.
The pay-off, partly, will come on Tuesday, when the 24-year-old plays his maiden grand slam match. At the biggest tournament of all. As the world No.274, Barton was the last man into Wimbledon qualifying, his entry only confirmed 30 minutes before the cut-off time. The previous day, he was still six places out. No chance, they said. But then there was, and he took it. "A great draw," he admits, but not disrespectfully, referring to a first-round appointment with Frenchman and fellow qualifier Albano Olivetti.
"It's unreal. I can't believe it. It still hasn't sunken in," said Barton, who flung himself onto his back on the less-manicured Roehampton grass after serving 28 aces past top seed Karen Khachanov on Saturday. Luke Saville followed, in five sets, to extend Australia's collective main draw presence to a still-modest nine.
Five times previously, Barton had tried – and failed – to reach the main draw of a major. Torn ankle ligaments cost him seven months last year, which he admits was "pretty shattering", for he had just started to play well. The voluntary, but necessary, sabbatical had come the season before when he kept hitting, and did some coaching, but did not compete.
"I had to put the racquets down for six months and just get my headspace sorted and I managed to do that," Barton said. "(I was) just struggling mentally, as a lot of tennis players do. You go through your down periods, but, yeah, I freshened up well and I always wanted to pursue this and do it, and here I am and I'm really proud of what I've been able to achieve."
The year had already been a good one, as a fit Barton qualified and won ATP-level matches in Auckland and Houston. Using late bloomers such as John Millman, Sam Groth and Marinko Matosevic as examples of "huge inspirations" for their perseverance, the unassuming Sydneysider kept the faith that success was possible.
"For sure. I could see myself playing these kinds of tournaments, and I feel like that's why I'm here," he said. "I always had that mental strength somewhere in me and I've found it, so it's good. I felt like I belong here."
Saville, in contrast, has been in this place before. Twice, now. Another year, another third round qualifying five-setter for the 2011 junior champion, this one after trailing by two sets to one. "It was a pretty amazing to dig out of that hole. No match points. The last couple of years I was down match points, so not quite that epic," said the world No.221.
Having beaten young Austrian star Dominic Thiem on debut in 2014, and fallen to Richard Gasquet first-up last year, Saville faces fellow qualifier Dennis Novokov, a regular practice partner on the Challenger circuit with a shared fondness for faster surfaces. But not a seed. So it could be worse.
"It's a massive opportunity," Saville said. "I've been here before, he hasn't, he's never played main draw Wimbledon, so I'll use that to my advantage. Hopefully I can elevate my game and play the better match on the day."
Both qualifiers will join the Australian majority due to open on Tuesday, with only Sam Stosur and Sam Groth of the nine main draw starters featuring on day one.
Stosur has never been at her best at the All England Club, and struggled with a cold through her only warm-up match at Eastbourne, where the French Open semi-finalist took just three games from Caroline Wozniacki after a short battery-recharge break at home in Australia.
Seeded 14th, Stosur's 14th Wimbledon starts against Poland's Magda Linette, about whom she knew precisely nothing when the draw was released on Friday. "Have to, I guess, work some things out, but we've never played, we've never practised, never crossed paths, so it's going to be something quite different actually, on Monday when I have to play."
Groth faces a more challenging task against fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who nevertheless will have some concerns of his own against an opponent who is not in peak touch, but on his favourite surface. "Have tough first round, especially on grass. Have great serve, aggressive player," said Nishikori, who admits he is not yet fully recovered from a rib injury as he enters the only major where he has not reached at least the last eight.
Still, new ground is being broken. Matt Barton is proof of that.
