When Federer meets Djokovic in the Wimbledon Men’s Final today, there will be many watching with envy as they show off their incredible skills.
Those of us who were keen on the game of tennis in our youth recall dashes to the net and winning points with cheeky drop shots.
But what if, like me, you are now on the wrong side of 50 and let your game lapse a long time ago? Is it too late for us to play to a decent level again, to finally master a Nadal-style backhand or the cool control of a forehand played by Federer?
The La Manga Club’s tennis academy is used as an overseas base for the Lawn Tennis Association, the amenities are first-rate, and British tennis players such as No 1s Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund and doubles specialist Jamie Murray are frequent visitors
Rather than spend months chasing a ball around a court here at home, I opted for an intensive tennis holiday at Spain’s La Manga Club, just south of Torrevieja. Created in 1972, La Manga has a long association with tennis and is equipped with 28 outdoor courts – 20 clay and eight hard.
As the overseas base for the Lawn Tennis Association, the amenities are first-rate, and British tennis players such as No 1s Johanna Konta and Kyle Edmund and doubles specialist Jamie Murray are frequent visitors. You can hire courts by the hour, but if you want to rediscover your game, sign up to the tennis academy for five two-hour lessons over five days during the week, or two two-hour sessions over the weekend.
After a brief knock-up, participants are split into groups according to ability, with each one numbering no more than six. A coach is then assigned to each group to work on every aspect of our game.
Of the 30 or so in the academy during my stay, about a third were 50ish and keen to rediscover that missing something from their game.
‘Don’t go back, move forward and get on top of it,’ shouts our coach on the first morning. ‘Not backspin, topspin.
‘Get a lovely loop on the ball. Make it sing. Yes, that’s it. That was vicious.’
The a Manga Club’s five-star Prince Felipe hotel. Some owners of private villas on the resort – who include footballers Kenny Dalglish and Gordon Strachan – also rent out their properties
The coaches are very vocal and get you running to every corner of the court. You need to be fairly fit but, day by day, each aspect of our game improves.
Sliced second serves are worked on, as are volleys, and, of course, backhands.
With the correct grip, anticipation, body position and follow-through, everyone got better so, no, it is never too late to improve – although I won’t be troubling Nadal any time soon.
At the end of the week there’s a semi-serious tournament and the overall improvement is quite remarkable.
The tennis centre is now overseen by the very recently retired former world top ten player and Davis Cup winner Nico Almagro. He hails from nearby Murcia and first visited La Manga as a 12-year-old when he was teamed up with one Andy Murray.
If you fancy pitching yourself against the very best for a once-in-a-lifetime treat, one-on-ones with Nico, who was sparring with the likes of Nadal and Federer as recently as April, are possible – for about £160 a session.
The coaches are very vocal and get you running to every corner of the court. Gary says you need to be fairly fit (file picture)
Individual coaching sessions with the other coaches cost £55 for 45 minutes.
You can stay either at La Manga Club’s five-star Prince Felipe hotel or at one of the 111 apartments and 60 serviced guestrooms at the Las Lomas Village. Some owners of private villas on the resort – who include footballers Kenny Dalglish and Gordon Strachan – also rent out their properties.
The 1,400-acre resort is nearly three times the size of Monaco and packs a lot in.
There are more than 30 restaurants and bars spread around, offering every kind of food, as well as a supermarket, a doctor’s surgery, pharmacies and a variety of shops. The pick of the restaurants, for setting alone, is La Cala, a ten-minute drive from the hotel on one of the resort’s free shuttle buses through the hilly Calblanque Natural Park.
Situated on the resort’s own private beach in a high-sided cove on the Mediterranean, many an afternoon could be whiled away here feasting on paella.
If you attend the tennis academy, after the full-on lessons, it’s time to relax, with lunch and an afternoon by the pool, or a trip to the nearby cities of Murcia and Cartagena, or the more modern La Manga strip on the coast with its numerous bars and beaches.
Or you could round off your day playing golf. La Manga Club has been voted Europe’s best golf resort three times.
Its three courses are the tricky, hilly West Course, the majestic South Course – a favourite of the late Seve Ballesteros – and the more tranquil North Course, with its 18th hole finishing back at the hotel, where an inviting swimming pool awaits. There is also a golf academy with putting greens and a driving range.
Alicante Airport is a 75-minute drive, but the newly opened Murcia airport, just 25 minutes away, has made the journey a lot easier – you can be in the resort within 45 minutes of landing. A perfectly calm and relaxed start to an adrenaline-filled escape.