Katie Swan will have Andy Murray in her corner when she steps out at Wimbledon on Monday.
The 19-year-old from Bristol takes on Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu with the backing of the two-time SW19 champion.
Swan, who will be the youngest Briton in singles action at Wimbledon, is one of the first players to have signed up with Murray’s 77 Sports Management company.
Excited to announce that I have signed with @andy_murray ‘s 77 Sports Management. I’m really looking forward to the next chapter of my career working with the 77 team and having Andy as a mentor. Bring on the 2018 season, I can’t wait to get started ? pic.twitter.com/1AyJY0ncG0
— Katie Swan (@Katieswan99) January 4, 2018
She revealed the Scot, who has admitted defeat in his bid to feature in the tournament after a hip injury, is always on hand to give advice – or to just chat about reality TV.
“When I’ve spoken to him, we haven’t actually spent much time talking about tennis, more kind of other stuff – like Love Island,” said Swan.
“But he’s really open to talking about that kind of stuff. He’s such a nice guy. He seems willing to help with anything. If I needed to text him, for sure he would.”
Wild card Swan, currently ranked 204 in the world, first met her idol some 10 years earlier, she revealed.
4⃣ Brits in action on Monday at @Wimbledon:
No.1 court – @Liambroady vs RaonicCourt 12 – @harriet_dart vs PliskovaCourt 14 – @Katieswan99 vs BeguTo be arranged – @cam_norrie vs Bedene#BackTheBrits ?? pic.twitter.com/2dhyXf13Vu
— British Tennis (@BritishTennis) July 1, 2018
“When I played in a tournament at the David Lloyd Centre at Raynes Park, he came to hit with all the kids,” she added.
“It was surreal for me at that time. I was presented with the trophy so I had my picture with him, and Judy (Murray) was the national captain when I played in under-10s.
“Back then it was crazy, but I spent some time with them, and now I know them really well, and I’m mentored by Andy, so, really it’s a dream come true for me. It’s really cool when I think about it.”
There are three other British players in action on Monday, with Harriet Dart taking on sixth seed Karolina Pliskova, Cameron Norrie meeting Aljaz Bedene and Liam Broady facing former finalist Milos Raonic.
Williams, who missed the tournament last year as she prepared to give birth to daughter Olympia, will take on Dutchwoman Arantxa Rus in the third match.
As the defending men’s champion, Roger Federer will open proceedings on Centre at 1pm against Serbia’s Dusan Lajovic.
