“You’re not going to mess up, you’re going to win. You can do this. I believe in you”. This was the best I could think of saying.

I looked at Dana and she seemed to relax. She smiled at me “you do?”

“Yeah, I do. And no matter what happens, I’m so proud of you”. Everything I was saying was the truth, I felt incredibly proud to even know Dana.

Dana kissed me again. “You have no idea how much you’re helping me, just being here”.

It felt good to hear that I was helping. “Good, that’s what I’m here for. Now go on, you’re on. You’re going to be fantastic. I’ll be in the stands”.

“Okay”. With one last kiss, Dana released her hold of me and stood back to take a deep breath. Then, she walked out to face her opponent and I could hear the cheers and people chanting her name. After standing listening to them for a few minutes, I walked out to take my seat and join in the cheers for my girlfriend.

Dana

My nerves had been steadied as soon as I heard Alice say she believed in me and I walked out onto the court feeling confident. I was overwhelmed by the support for me in the stands; I could hear my name being called and a wave of applaud. I could not believe that here I was, walking onto the court at Wimbledon, with so much support, from fans and from Alice. I knew that with so much support, I could do this.

My first opponent of the tournament was a French player very similar to myself; it was also her first time at Wimbledon. She certainly looked the part, dressed in a tight white Nike sports dress, along with matching sweatbands and her shiny blonde hair pulled back in plaits. I had seen a couple of videos of her and she was good, but I was fairly confident that I could beat her.  

As I took my position on the court I look across into the crowd to find Alice grinning at me. Instantly, my determination grew even more. I had brought Alice here and I intended to stay here for as long as possible.