WAYNE Arthurs yesterday confirmed the worst-kept secret in tennis as he hauled together the remnants of a once-imposing game for a farewell Wimbledon tilt.

Wearied by 18 seasons on the road, Arthurs, 36, will bow out -- possibly as early as today in qualifying -- ending a fine, if unorthodox, career.

"Yeah, there's no real secret among the players that this is my last Wimbledon and this is my last tournament," Arthurs said after whipping Paraguayan Ramon Delgado 7-5 6-3 in the first round of qualifying.

"I wanted to come back to the place where I've had my best results on tour and give it one more crack and if it doesn't happen, it doesn't happen."

Arthurs, ranked 194 after a career-high 44, has pondered retirement since declaring January's Australian Open was his last tournament at Melbourne Park.

Wimbledon always looked the left-hander's likely swansong.

Now, the only matter to be settled is when.

Arthurs' curtain-call could have come on a frigid afternoon at Roehampton, where Delgado led the first set 5-3.

However Arthurs dug deep, served brilliantly and won 10 of the next 13 games.

"It (losing) probably was a motivating factor, to try and pull it back," Arthurs said.

"Maybe if I was in the back stalls of some other tournament it might have been easy to roll over, but I want to try to end it on a fairly high note.

"I'm not serving anywhere near as well as I used to when I was at my best, but if you have a fairly solid technique under any conditions, it generally holds up pretty well."

When Arthurs rejoined after his angst-riddled exit at the Australian Open in January, he realised life on the road was no longer for him.

"It's pretty emotional but I sort of accepted it 2-3 months ago," he said.

"I played a couple of tournaments in the States and I knew that the desire and hunger was not where it should be.

"At the peak of my career, it was sort of do or die.

"Every match, you felt like you'd died. If you don't have that hunger you know that it's time to give it away.

"The prestige that goes with getting into Wimbledon, I have no motivation problems playing at Wimbledon."

Arthurs' rise corresponded with Australia's retreat from traditional power to pitied.

He seemed destined for the fringes until he qualified for Wimbledon in 1999 and served his way into the fourth round, stopped by Andre Agassi.

Agassi sought out Davis Cup captain John Newcombe and asked why Arthurs was not in line for international duties when Pat Rafter and Mark Philippoussis were injured.

Newcombe acted and was rewarded. Arthurs helped teenager Lleyton Hewitt thump Marat Safin and Yevgeny Kafelnikov's Russians in Brisbane.

The Davis Cup final win in 2003 will always be cherished, but Wimbledon is the cathedral where he worships.

The son of an Irish Davis Cupper had spent years living in London dreaming of Wimbledon triumphs.

"Wimbledon '99 definitely was the highlight," Arthurs said.

"It sort of made my name in Australia, set a record along the way with 111 serves (service games) held in a row.

"It was the the highlight of my Wimbledon, but I made fourth round three years later as well.

"The memories are there.

"The other day and I was practising my serve and I was thinking: 'This is where it ends, but it's good to be here.'

"Qualifying would be good and anything past that would be a bonus."

Arthurs will leave with more singles defeats than wins -- 158 to 131 -- and just one title.

However the old-style Australian serve-volleyer is justifiably proud that he overcame severe elbow problems to breakthrough in his mid-20s.

Arthurs will play Canadian Frederic Niemeyer in the second qualifying round and either Christophe Rochus or Dudi Sela for a main draw spot.

That's sad to hear. Arthurs has always been a dangerous player on grass. He may have been a journeyman but it take a lot of motivation on his part to keep that up for as many years as he has done and credit to him for that. :ok: I hope he can make the Wimby main draw so as he can go out in his favourite place. :ok:

Arthurs has been around since the Cold War years it seems roflmao

Still a good player, who made the most of his game and was always a danger, especially on grass with his booming serve :)

Cold War :lol:

Seems like it, he is nearly as old as I am, poor bloke! roflmao

i have nothing but respect for a man that wins his maiden title aged 33.

brilliant. and he had a really good davis cup career too. top man.

:clap: :clap:

Good for Wayne, will be a great way for him to finish his career. he has had great results at Wimbledon and it is quite fitting for him to finish it here rather than finish in the qualies. What a match it seems to have been too, I like Christophe Rochus but think Wayne deserves this more..

Wayne Arthurs' dream of ending his 18-year professional tennis career at Wimbledon has become reality - but only after the Australian staged a remarkable comeback to get through qualifying.

Arthurs came from 1-4 behind in the fifth and final set of his final-round match against Belgian journeyman Christophe Rochus to rattle off five consecutive games and win 6-3 3-6 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 6-4 at suburban Roehampton in London.

Arthurs, 36, confirmed earlier this week that Wimbledon would be his last tournament before pulling the curtains on a pro career which began way back in 1990.

It will be his ninth consecutive appearance in the main draw of the grasscourt grand slam.

The left-hander reached the fourth round of Wimbledon in 1999 and 2002, and says his 1999 encounter with Andre Agassi remains his Wimbledon highlight.

"There's no secret that this is my last Wimbledon and that this is my last tournament," he said earlier this week.

"This has been pretty emotional ... I want to come back to the place where I have had my best results on the tour."

The world No.194 received wonderful support from an Aussie-biased crowd as he came from two-sets-to-one down to claim victory over Rochus, the world No.187.

How old are you Dl? roflmao

Good stuff, what a battler Wayne really is. :clap: :clap: :clap:

I hope he has a good run at Wimby and that we get to see his fanal match on the TV. I doubt ti but it would be nice to see the last battle of a battler.

Unbelievable. He's done it again - this time coming from behind, two sets to love down, to take it in the fifth 6-7(7), 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-4 to prevail against up-and-coming Dutch teenager De Bakker. What an effort to outlast a player nearly half his age (36 to 19 years)!

So the Aussie veteran is guaranteed to go out with at least one last Wimbledon win under his belt. Well done.

:blink: Arthurs is still going??

awwww, it must be sooo sad having to give it up after so long - but he did himself proud I think, and its nice that hes going at Wimbledon where he has good memories.

And clearly got some fight left in him!

Did Arthurs win? Yippee!!!!

I'm sure ESPN just stated Arthurs beat Robredo??

Wow! Hope I didn't misread He is having a dream final tournament really as he was nearly out of qualifying!
:clap:

He has too!

Well done Wayne.. don't put the racquets away just yet. :D
Arthurs Aus bt Robredo Spa 11 6-3 7-6 6-3

:clap: :clap: :clap:

Ooh straight sets too. I thought i was being optimistic when I predicted 3-1 to Wayne. I wish they would show one of his damned matches though. I'd rather see a potential upset televised than a top seed and a no hoper. I really don't need any more Nadal or Roddick 3 setters.

Well done W Arthurs, brilliant victory :clap:

Seeing as the BBC failed to acknowledge Arthurs retirement... :rolleyes:

Well done on a good final performance at Wimbledon Wayne :clap:

AS WAYNE Arthurs tried in vain to postpone his retirement for another day, more dark black clouds rolled over court three where he was fighting a losing battle with fellow veteran Jonas Bjorkman. Too late to prolong the inevitable, but still somehow appropriate.

"It felt like the end of my career sort of coming over the top of my head," Arthurs said. And, unlikely as it once seemed, his retirement was a dark day.

Not just because Australia loses a reliable Davis Cup doubles player or one of the few men capable of winning a round or two at grand slam tournaments. More significantly, it loses a man whose late-blooming career has given him rare perspective in a world of ambitious parents, dollar-hungry agents and mollycoddled teenage superstars. Or, then again, perhaps Arthurs' wisdom has not been lost.

As he pondered his one-hour-old retirement after a disappointing 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 defeat, he mused about how he would repay his debt to the game by helping youngsters by setting up a "serving school". But, while the left-hander with the cannonball delivery would make a good headmaster of that institution, he could teach the next generation of Australian players much more.

"That is the sort of thing that I could probably teach the younger guys coming up," he said of his own mature outlook on tennis and life. "It is sort of life and death when you're on the court but you've got to also see the other side of the fence sometimes and that's what maybe some of the parents that are growing up with younger kids don't see."

The source of Arthurs' perspective was the many years he spent as backcourt doubles specialist and hitting partner who did not come to prominence as a singles player until he was plucked from virtual obscurity to play Davis Cup at 27. His early years are also the source of some regret.

"I probably didn't believe in my ability early on in my career and didn't seek the guidance that you need to really have that come to fruition," said Arthurs, before thanking a long list of people, including his friend and Australian Institute of Sport coach Brent Larkham, for "getting me out of the wilderness".

Typically, however, the 36-year-old does not dwell publicly on the negatives. This is, after all, a man who lists what many would consider a moment of crushing disappointment — being asked at short notice to play, and inevitably lose, the deciding rubber of the 2001 Davis Cup final after being pulled out of the doubles — as one of his great career highlights.
"I tend to look at it as a very positive day for my career and Davis Cup in general has always been such a huge priority of mine," said Arthurs, who was part of the winning team in 2003. "I've never won a grand slam and (Davis Cup) is as close as I've come to winning a huge event."

There have were some memorable individual triumphs. His run to the fourth round at Wimbledon in 1999. His lone tournament victory at Scottsdale in 2005 aged 34, making him the oldest debutant winner in ATP history. A career-high ranking of 44. More than $4 million in prizemoney. Not bad for a player who had a four-figure ranking on his 26th birthday.

But, apart from the occasional Davis Cup heroics and the blistering serve, Arthurs will be remembered mostly as just a good bloke. The man who deservedly got his wish to finish his career inside the grounds at Wimbledon rather than the backblocks where he had spent the first half of his professional life.

Even if it was not quite the finish he would have wanted. Arthurs' career ended with a typical shrug.

"Unless you're Roger Federer, you lose every week, you're losing 30, 40 matches a year minimum, probably for most people," Arthurs said. "So it's a big up-and-down lifestyle you have."

What a smaahing bloke Arthurs is. :clap: I never knew he'd had all those years slugging it out on the unknoown circuit and comign to fame so late. With his fighting qualities you can only wonder if he'd have done much better if he'd had a chance at an earlier age. Still well done to him, I think he's great and wish im all the best in his retirement. :D A lot fo the top players coudl learnt form his pateince and down to earth attitude. Glad eh saw his dream to retire at Winby come true. :clap: :clap: :clap:

Pissed that the BBC di dnto show us more of this though, disgraceful :angry: Btw I hear Wayne lives in Middx. I wonder where, he might be my neighbour! :lol: