Ah, Wimbledon. For tennis fans these two weeks are absolute bliss.

Not so relaxing, though, for one former British number one who will be flexing his forehand in the over 35 doubles.

Local champion Chris Wilkinson, who holds the over 35s title, made it through to the same age group doubles final with partner Mark Petchey at Wimbledon last year.

And he is going for glory again in the doubles in the tournament that suits him down to the ground.

As well as previously living in Wimbledon, near to the scene of the action, he has always been at his best on grass courts.

"I think many of the spectators feel of the power of today's game is sometimes too overwhelming and may be even too fast. I have always preferred playing on grass as it helps my game to get a better pace," he explains. "Grass is more suited to my style of play."

And the atmosphere is, of course, unique: "Wimbledon is a great opportunity for any Brits to play at. It's a home environment, a home crowd that really gets behind you.

"It has the best atmosphere of any championship in the world."

Having representd Great Britain at the Olympic games in Barcelona 1992, Chris - who lives just outside Emsworth, and whose two daughters attend Oakwood School near Chichester - went on to reach the third round of the Wimbledon singles no less than four times, tying with Stefan Edberg in 1993, as well as reaching the quarter finals in the doubles.

He represented GB again in the Davis Cup during the early 90s. His greatest moment was beating Goran Ivanisevic at the Stella Artois championships prior to Wimbledon in 1993.

But it wasn't always all about tennis. "I actually wanted to be a footballer. Co-incidentally, when I was in my teens, I did a youth training scheme at the Lee-on-Solent club, where I'm based now.

"I went to college one day a week and studied with Alan Shearer. I trialled for both Coventry and Aston Villa back then too - I'm still waiting to hear from them!"

Encouraged by watching his parents, who were both keen players at local club level, Chris entered the tennis world professionally at the age of 18.

Today he is still very active on the professional circuit, and admits it is not for the faint hearted - even more so now.

"It's a huge commitment both on financial and personal side of things. Tennis is, and always will be an expensive game. When you play professionally you are on a constant emotional roller coaster and the travelling is relentless.

"I love the one to one situation, facing an opponent and winning, but then losing is a tough one."

The game also brought him further personal fulfilment when he met his wife, Amanda,through tennis.

"Amanda organised the tournaments and I played in them. She knew quite a few people from the Chichester area so when we married we decided to move down here.

"Our two girls both go to Oakwood school. The eldest, Alice, is a very keen player at Chichester Tennis Club, she plays in the minis and is really keen to do the tournaments. Emily also really enjoys playing there."

Does he feel there is enough being done for youth tennis in this country? "It's certainly much better than it used to be, especially at the minis level, but the clubs need to be more involved.

"It's all very well the governing body being involved but it's at club level that it counts. The focus needs to be on the coaches, the club and the right programmes."

Chris is very involved in putting this into practice himself. He develops the programme at the LOST Club where they have a team in the national club league. Martin Lee, the Sussex player, is one of the members of that team.

The club has just celebrated its centenary and works with children from four years old, , hopefully to produce a future Wimbledon champion.

When it comes to Wimbledon, Chris believes it's not only a question of talent but also culture.

"There needs to be that hunger to win. If you look at the Eastern block players, for example, if they are to succeed they have to win, it's simple. They've had to graft really hard to move on to a different life.

"I'm not saying we don't work hard, but we have more opportunities. Henman came up through the David Lloyd Group for example. There doesn't seem to be the same hunger."

Although, this year, the retired Henman will only be commentating at Wimbledon, Chris believes he has a lot to be proud of.

"People forget that Tim actually reached the semis which is a huge achievement. He was unfortunate in that he was playing at the same time as Sampras. Sampras was the king of grass."

He also believes that Wimbledon this year offers many new opportunities.

"The main players are obviously Federer, Nadal and Djokvic, but now that Roger's crown has slipped slightly, it's given hope to more. They can see that he's not invincible. Players like Andy Roddick, for instance, are in with a good chance now, as is Andy Murray, as long as he keeps his head and his form.

"It's going to a more open competition I think. The same goes for the women's side too. Sharapova, Jankovic and Ivanovic are always going to be dangerous."

For Chris, Borg and MacEnroe have always been phenomenal players and he still comes up against them during competitions like the Blackrock Masters.

"They can still command a crowd, undoubtedly. When we played in Belfast this year, John sold the place out."

Despite all his sporting commitments, Chris enjoys relaxation time in Sussex.

"We love going to the Witterings. My wife's parents used to have a cottage there and we've always taken the kids down to the beach .

"And no doubt we'll be watching the girls play tennis at Chichester. I covered the open days there last year and played against Martin Lee.

"I can also reach Wimbledon village in less than an hour which is a huge bonus!"



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