He may have a new army of fans after helping stun the defending Wimbledon men’s doubles champions but Jay Clarke will also be wise to keep a keen eye out for his sister too.
With darkness slowly creeping up over south west London, Clarke and his partner Marcus Willis helped get the party started on Saturday night with a headline-grabbing performance.
Willis – the man who came through qualifying before eventually taking on Roger Federer in the second round last year – is no stranger to being catapulted into the nation’s consciousness but this is all new to 18-year-old Clarke.
Taking on the second seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the Brits had already squandered match points in the fourth set before eventually coming through 3-6 6-1 7-6 5-7 6-3.
Although had it not been for the intervention of Clarke’s older sister and tennis coach Yasmin a few weeks ago, the whole situation may not even have come into being for the Wimbledon wildcards.
“I think it was Jay’s sister who sent me a message, do you want to play with Jay?” explained Willis.
“And I said, ‘yeah, absolutely. Let's do it’, although we didn’t actually get into the first two tournaments we entered."
Clarke added: "I didn't actually have a number for Marcus, my sister did. But with what he did last year, and I have seen him play a lot, I knew he really enjoys playing.
"He's very relaxed on court, and that's the kind of person I want to play with."
Prior to this year’s Wimbledon, Clarke had earned just over £18,000 in prize money – just for reaching the third round he is guaranteed at least £26,500 with that amount rising dramatically should the fairytale run at SW19 continue against 16th seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic.
Incidentally, Willis was quick to joke that Clarke’s sister would be getting a cut of her brother’s earnings and not his.
Regardless of finances though, it has been a whirlwind few days for Clarke, who was trying his best to keep his feet on the ground.
“Obviously it means a lot,” said Clarke.
“Not only to win matches here but to beat the guys who won it last year.
“We watch a lot of tennis and we've obviously watched these guys win so many tournaments. To actually beat them, it's unbelievable.
“Everyone's good, especially now in the tournament, even better players are coming through. We just have to keep doing what we’re doing.
“We have only just started playing doubles, really so there is no expectation.”
It proved to be a strong day in general for the British doubles players with Heather Watson and Henri Kontinen safely making it through to round three as they look to defend the mixed doubles title they won last year.
They are joined by top seeds Jamie Murray and his partner Martina Hingis while Jocelyn Rae and Ken Skupski also made it through after beating fifth seeds Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Andrea Hlavackova 6-4 7-5.
“There’s a lot of emphasis in Britain put on the singles but we are here chipping away at the doubles,” said Rae.
“It is nice to see people doing well and getting a bit of recognition for it.
“I asked Ken to play with me around Christmas time, it was very early but I wanted to secure his services.
“He had done well before and we had known each other for a while.
“For me, it really helps if I get on with the person I’m playing with. It’s just really fun. Our games suit each other quite well.
“You want to win when you go on there, you are playing a match at Wimbledon.”
Sportsbeat 2017