On Thursday, Jay Clarke will walk onto Court 1 to play the biggest match of his life against the great Roger Federer. While he is certainly the underdog for this match, the young Brit has made big strides over the past year and has a great opportunity to gain experience against the best in the world.
About Jay Clarke
Clarke, born in Derby in 1998, made his breakthrough in the juniors in 2012, when he became the number #1 under 14 player in Europe. He continued to have a successful junior career, being the British junior number #1 until 2015. Throughout the years, many players have had success on the junior tour, but struggle to make the step up to the professional game. However, Clarke was quick to rise through the senior rankings, racing from his ranking of #1621 in June 2016 to #291 by the end of 2017.
He made headlines at Wimbledon 2017 when he beat the number 1 pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicholas Mahut in the doubles alongside Marcus Willis. It was a win that appeared to give the young Briton real confidence. He made his first challenger final later that year, but 2018 was even better for him. He played his first ATP match at Queen’s Club, losing to Sam Querrey, before notching his first tour-level win over Ryan Harrison in Eastbourne. Following this success, he received a wildcard to Wimbledon 2018, but lost in a heartbreaking five set-match to Ernests Gulbis. To make matters worse, he partnered with his countryman Cameron Norrie in the doubles, but lost 4-6 7-6 7-6 4-6 20-22 in the first round. He did have a very positive mixed doubles campaign though, reaching the semifinals with Harriet Dart.
Clarke’s year so far
The world number #169 didn’t have a great start to the season, but won a challenger event in Anning in April. He then experienced a six match losing streak, losing many close three set matches. However, his fortunes finally changed when he won his first Grand Slam match against Noah Rubin in four sets. He displayed his fighting spirit in his three hour battle and overcame some nerves to close out the match.
On Thursday, he will step into a situation he has never experienced before as he faces eight-time former champion Roger Federer. He has never faced a top 10 player, meaning he has never played against anyone close to the same league as Federer. It’s clear that the Swiss is the favourite, but with the support of the home crowd, the 20-year-old has a chance to make a big impression in front of a big audience. Win or lose, he can learn a lot from the opportunity, which will surely continue to benefit him. And besides, last time Federer stepped onto Court 1 as the heavy favourite he lost. Clarke will certainly be hoping that lightning will strike twice in SW19.
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