Alan Pattullo: Wade's title too often forgotten in search for a British winner

Published on Friday 3 July 2009 23:13

FOR all the hype surrounding Andy Murray, Virginia Wade remains the last Briton to contest a singles final at Wimbledon. It is a fact which Wade will thank you for pointing out since it is in danger of being obscured as the number '71' is routinely banded about.

It is 71 years since Bunny Austin competed in the men's singles final. After last night's defeat for Murray, he remains the last British man to do so. But another number – 77 – must be saluted. It is all too easy to forget that Britain had a Wimbledon champion in the modern era, long after Fred Perry won the men's singles in 1936.

It was Silver Jubilee year when Wade managed to ratchet up the level of patriotism, if that was possible. At one point it looked as though there might be an all-British final to celebrate the Queen's silver jubilee, which would have been an extraordinary achievement. But although Wade overcame the pre-tournament favourite Chris Evert at the last-four stage, Sue Barker lost her own semi-final clash to Betty Stove of the Netherlands.

It was left to Wade to carry a Union flag she still operated under, despite a 14-year spell spent living in South Africa as a child. Her parents moved there from Bournemouth when she was a year old, and her father later became Archdeacon of Durban. If there was a perfect year to win the singles championship, it was 1977. As one sportswriter noted, it was almost as if Wade's father had had a word with his boss. Even back then Britain was thirsty for a winner; Angela Mortimer had won the ladies singles title 1961, and Ann Jones in 1969. There was a feeling, certainly in the women's game, that Britain could produce a Wimbledon champion every eight years, and for a period it did. Wade kept the sequence going in what was a significant year for not just the Queen. It was also Wimbledon's centenary.

If there was to be a British winner, it seemed more likely that it might be Barker. She was in her early twenties and had already reached the semi-finals of the Australian Open on two occasions. The perception was that Wade had already enjoyed her most fruitful period. In her early thirties, her best days lay behind her. Her first Grand Slam win at the US Open had been as long ago as 1968, and this was followed up in 1972 by a triumph at the Australian Open. But Wimbledon had eluded her this far.

"I was 31 in 1977, and I felt that I'd failed myself at Wimbledon but when I found out weeks before that the Queen was going to be there on the final day, that was the extra motivation I needed," she said. "Sports people often trick themselves with motivation, telling themselves they're going to win because they know they ought to believe it. But I really did believe it."

She got to the final with an outstanding victory over Evert, something which must have provided her with faith in herself. The stars seemed to be aligning in her favour, and although a frustrated public had been denied an all-British final, Wade was happy to be playing Stove rather than Evert. "It was never easy playing someone from your own country, and Sue had been playing well that season, better than me," she said 30 years after her finest hour. "I was relieved it was Betty rather than Sue."

There was also the matter of who might have been favoured by the British crowd had Wade met Barker on Centre Court. The latter was fast becoming the darling of British tennis, while Wade's background – she retained her metallic South African accent – meant some were not minded to consider her as 'one of them', which was ridiculous. She fulfilled the chief criteria in that she was born in these shores to British parents and returned home to complete her schooling.

Barker, however, was blonde, and, given her Devon roots, unquestionably English. "I don't remember ever being concerned where the public allegiance was," said Wade. "I always got a good response from the crowd."

She certainly did when stepping out on to Centre Court to take on the big-hitting Stove. Wade compared the atmosphere to the 1966 World Cup final, describing it as "humbling". In true British-style perhaps, Wade lost the first set, but bounced back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-1. So it had everything; drama, a British winner, and even the Queen overcame her apparent coolness towards tennis to attend.