Britain Adds Two Players Into The LTA Plan For The Future

Written by: Bob Larson Tennis on 21st May 2013

Britain Adds Two Players Into The LTA Plan For The Future

epa01656583 Australia's Brydan Klein returns the ball to Thailand's Danai Udomchoke during their Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group 1, second round match at National Tennis Development Centre in Bangkok, Thailand, 06 March 2009. EPA/NARONG SANGNAK |

Britain has augmented its’ international tennis ranks by two in the past week or so by bringing Australia’s Brydan Klein and New Zealand’s Cameron Norrie into the Lawn Tennis Association’s cash-rich set up but Leon Smith, head of British men’s tennis, insisted the pair have not been lured by financial incentives.

Klein, aged 23 and from Western Australia, is the new British No 3 behind Andy Murray and James Ward and he is the only male player from just across the English Channel to be contesting this week’s French Open qualifying rounds. Norrie, aged 17 and ranked tenth on the International Tennis Federation junior rankings, will appear in French Open and Wimbledon junior competitions as the top ranked Brit.

However Smith, who is also Britain’s Davis Cup captain, insists there is not a policy at the LTA to buy up promising youngsters even though eight years ago there was an undeniable attempt to recruit a then teenaged Novak Djokovic.

Smith maintained: ”It was absolutely the players’ choice. We want it to be clear it’s not a case of us flashing our check-book. There is no funding for either Norrie or Klein; but, as a highly ranked junior, Norrie does get value in kind from the LTA.”

Both youngsters have mothers who were born in Britain; Klein’s mother hails from Yorkshire, similar to the case of Greg Rusedski’s switch from Canada to Britain 18 years ago. Norrie’s mother is Welsh having been born in Cardiff.

“No rules have been broken,” reiterated Smith, in the knowledge a wild card entry into Wimbledon this year is worth more than £23,000 (nearly $US35,000) . “There is no question of Brydan becoming British and then getting a wild card for Wimbledon.”

Helen Norrie told a New Zealand news outlet: “‘Cameron has everything set up for him: training partners, a base in London, physios and nutritionists. It’s all taken care of. We have been doing funding his career for so long that we had to do something for him to succeed.”