Page 108 of Match Point

The room falls into silence.

‘That’s it then,’ I whisper.

Unable to bring himself to look at me, he gives a sharp nod.

After a wave of emotion, I suddenly feel numb. I’ve been here before. Rejected, unwanted, foolish for believing it might just work. I’m not going to beg him to reconsider. I’ve tried to make him see, and he doesn’t want to.

So, as I said. That’s it then.

My body seems to know what to do, though my brain and heart are in freefall. My feet take me out of the room and to the coat hooks, where I find my bag that has my sunglasses in. My fingers trembling, I fish them out and rest them on top of my head. I crouch down to take my trainers from the shoe stand and I falter when I see his trainers on the floor next to it. He must have kicked them off when he came in out of habit. Previously, he’s enjoyed teasing me about how long it takes for me to notice his shoes lying around and put them neatly on the stand.

Our little in-joke doesn’t seem funny anymore.

I don’t put them away. I leave them where they are. Sliding my feet into my shoes, I check my reflection in the mirror. My eyes are red from crying. My skin is pale from the shock. Reaching for my phone in my back pocket, I order an Uber. There’s one two minutes away. During the championships, they tend to hang around the Village.

Waiting for it to turn onto our road, I inhale deeply and shuffle to the doorway of the living room. Kieran hasn’t moved from where I left him. His head is hanging forwards now, and he’s folded his arms tightly across his chest, his shoulders slumped.

He hears me come back in and he looks up.

‘Before I go, I just wanted to clear up something,’ I say so softly that I realise I’m going to have to speak up for him to hear me across the room. ‘You said earlier that you’re getting in the way of my dream. That all the nonsense that’s been going on the last couple of days—’ I gesture to out there, beyond the front door ‘—has affected my work. You think, because of you, I stopped drawing.’

He stares at me, tight-lipped.

‘But you forgot that you were the reason I started drawing again in the first place,’ I say, mustering a regretful smile. ‘Good luck for tomorrow, Kieran.’

I don’t wait around for him to respond. I walk down the hallway to the door, sliding my sunglasses on and opening it. My exit takes the paparazzi by surprise, but they don’t take long to spring into action, swarming around me as I come through the gate. My head down, I ignore their questions and practically throw myself into the back seat of the waiting car, slamming the door shut behind me.

The driver sets off, taking me away from Lingfield Road.

29

COURTNEY vs O’SULLIVAN

Why the gentlemen’s singles Wimbledon title is all to play for

By Iris Gray

When I started this blog two weeks ago, I was asked by my editor to give my prediction on who I thought would make it to the final. I made a shortlist and I published it, and the majority of comments I received were in agreement.

Neither Australia’s Chris Courtney nor Ireland’s Kieran O’Sullivan were on that list.

But here we are, the day of the final when Courtney or O’Sullivan will walk away as Wimbledon Champion. It’s true what they say, then: at Wimbledon, anything can happen.

I won’t be bothering to predict who will be the new king of Centre Court, but I can say with absolute certainty that we are in for quite the match. Here we have two experienced players, both in their thirties, both delivering a remarkable comeback this tournament.

Let’s start with number-eighteen seed, Chris Courtney, the Aussie who had a meteoric rise in his twenties, winning three Grand Slams: the Australian Open, and the US Open twice. Once admitting in an interview that it was his ‘fear of defeat’ rather than the joy of winning that spurred him on, Courtney remains a top-tier player, although in the last two years has found himself coming up short more than once. Having had a good run at Queen’s in June, this tournament has seen his ambition return and he has had a spectacular two weeks, proving his mental resilience and remarkable power. Woe betide anyone who underestimates this fierce and dynamic player.

Is there a reason he’s back in the forefront? Well, perhaps he’s playing to match the recent unforeseen rise of his long-rumoured rival…

Kieran O’Sullivan. The unseeded Irishman who, against all odds, has reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships. I’m calling it now: this is the comeback of the year.

Two weeks ago there were whispers about his impending retirement, but he’s been, undeniably, the most exciting player of the tournament. Catapulted into international stardom as a fresh-faced teenager who beat the then-world number one to reach the final of the Australian Open, O’Sullivan rendered spectators speechless with his abundance of natural talent, smooth style and exquisite precision – he had, as one commentator at the time put it, ‘a serious spark on the court’. He subsequently faced a number of challenges in his professional and personal life, not least the tragic death of his older brother, Aidan, and his career has had its ups and downs. He’s struggled to find his balance amongst the top players, becoming more recognised for his flaring temper than his ATP wins.

But something has changed in O’Sullivan this tournament, and we have had the privilege of watching something extraordinary: his spark is back. We can’t know for sure what – or should we say, who – may have caused this change, but what we do know is that he is playing with more heart than we’ve seen from him in the last decade and it’s making him a force to be reckoned with.

Two great players who have earned this shot at the most coveted trophy in tennis.

May the best man win.

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