Camaraderie builds. We travelled together to Rome, Paris, Wimbledon, the U.S., lots of places. In a way, I miss it right now. My opponents were also my best friends.

Players who win on a clay surface are those who can control the ball, playing steadily and accurately from the back-court, keeping the ball in play and moving it around with changes of speed and spin, and resisting the temptation to over-hit.

Looking back, in comparison, there wasn't that much that you could do with a wooden racket. In my day, the matches were certainly much less demanding physically.

When Hoad and Rosewall were at their best, and I was a youngster, they had no qualms about saying, 'Hey kid, let's go and play.' That helped me to get up the ladder.