Ward raring to go at Wimbledon after ‘hard slog’ back from knee surgery

James Ward sat in a surgeon’s office in Sweden in August 2017 and contemplated the end of his career.

One of the heroes of Britain’s Davis Cup victory, the pain in Ward’s right knee had become so acute that he felt he had no option but to go under the knife, even when the surgeon told him the outlook might be bleak.

“I couldn’t sit in a car for more than 10 minutes,” he said. “I had to put my leg straight down the side of a chair. Getting my hair cut at the barber’s, I used to have my foot up on the counter. It just looks terrible all the time. People would say: ‘What’s this guy doing?’ But I was in so much pain.

“I saw the surgeon the day before I had the op. He said: ‘It’s actually worse than I thought, so I’m not promising much here.’ But I still had to go for it.”

Thankfully, when Ward’s knee was opened up, a line on his tendon turned out not to be a tear and, after “a big clean-up job”, the Londoner was given the all-clear to try to resume his career.

Nearly two years on, Ward will make his return to Wimbledon after bursting into form during the grass-court season and being rewarded with a wild card.

The 32-year-old returned to the court in February 2018 ranked 845. He nearly made it back to Wimbledon on his own merit last summer but lost in the final round of qualifying.

“You’re travelling a lot and going to places where you can hustle and try and get into main draws of smaller tournaments and try and get your ranking points back,” he said.

“But there’s only ever a few guys who go and light up straight away when they come back. It’s a hard slog and it does take time. Different setbacks, travelling alone because you don’t have the funds to do it. So I’m happy to be back where I am now. The last few weeks have been a big help.”

Ward’s wild card guarantees him £45,000 in prize money, which will keep him going for the rest of the year. And he has no time for those sniping about British players being given a handout.

“Everyone talks about prize money and I think it’s good, but I also think it’s deserved,” he said. “You look at every other sport. No one talks about the right-back of Crystal Palace earning 60 grand a week. Actually no one knows who he is.

“I think that gets focused on too much at Wimbledon time. I’m not just going: ‘OK, 45 grand, what am I going to do with it?’ I had that question maybe eight years ago when I played this tournament: ‘Oh, what are you going to buy yourself?’ But it’s money you’re living off. You’re not just going to go out and buy a new car.”

Ward’s greatest grand slam moment came at Wimbledon four years ago, when he reached the third round, losing in five sets to Vasek Pospisil but breaking into the top 100 for the first time.

He said: “It grows confidence. You feel that bit more comfortable. You remember when you were playing against these guys. Things aren’t that different. There are a few points in it here and there.

“But when you’re ranked whatever and playing smaller tournaments it just seems so far away. Definitely now it’s a bit closer and hopefully I can keep pushing and use this as a good week for the rankings to go up for the rest of the year.”