Events / Barry Millns / 11 September 2007 /

Tennis expert Barry Millns tells us why the 02 Arena is the place to be on Saturday afternoon

Forget strawberries and cream. Forget white clothing, deuce and net calls, Betfair Turbo Tennis has arrived and it's fast, edgy and urban. So says the website launching this Saturday's event at London's O2 Arena - another initiative which it is hoped will attract new fans to the sport and encourage them to play it.

Six of the best - Andy Murray, James Blake, Tim Henman, Goran Ivanisevic, Pat Cash and Jamie Murray - will compete in a knock-out competition for the $100,000 first prize. The two top-ranked ATP players (Blake and Andy Murray) will receive a bye into the second round, meaning there will be a total of five matches over the course of the afternoon which is being televised by Channel 4.

The matches will be radically different to those traditionally served up at Wimbledon, primarily because they will last no longer than 30 minutes and 'sudden death' points will replace deuces. Rest breaks and warm-ups will also be minimized and the famous dome roof will prevent any rain delays!

For Henman, due to retire the following weekend after representing Britain in the Davis Cup tie versus Croatia at Wimbledon, Betfair Turbo Tennis should capture something of the exciting atmosphere of that illustrious competition, while emphasising to a new audience how enjoyable tennis is to play.

"I think it's fantastic that we are doing something to broaden the appeal of tennis as a sport and, more importantly, as a form of entertainment," said the former British No.1. "We want to get the message out there that tennis is fun, accessible and all-inclusive, and Betfair Turbo Tennis can help us do just that. I am all for something that will raise the profile of tennis in Britain and get more people both playing and talking about tennis."

The concept also has the endorsement of the Lawn Tennis Association whose current initiative, in their long search for more players of world-class potential, is centred on the 'competitive experience' of tennis. They want clubs to organise more tournaments and be more pro-active in providing proper competition for young players - something that has been sadly lacking for more than a generation and, as the world rankings testify, has left British tennis lagging far behind.

Once Henman retires Britain will have only two men ranked in the world's top 200, whereas of the other grand slam nations France has 21, USA 20 and Australia 7. On the women's side of things the picture is similarly bleak (GB 3, France 16, USA 15, Australia 6) and that is not to mention the hordes of former eastern bloc players now pervading the main tournaments.

The LTA's recent heavy investment in world-class coaches is to be applauded, yet while the 'base of the pyramid' of players in this country remains so small, compared to others, those coaches can only build so high given the raw materials available to them. It needs initiatives like this to help rid British tennis of its lingering middle-class image and make it appeal to anyone from any background.

When Twenty20 cricket was launched in England only four years ago, amid some scepticism, the former Australian player Tim May said of the new concept, "If you like the taste, you buy the bottle and if you like the bottle you buy the case." So many fans worldwide have 'bought' into the idea since then that the shortened format is now an established part of international cricket with the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup currently taking place in South Africa.

Betfair Turbo Tennis may not have such lofty ambition. But in a country which has so little top-flight tennis to watch on home soil outside of Wimbledon and which desperately needs to turn more kids onto tennis, Saturday's showpiece is a welcome step.

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