He beat Roger Federer and faced Novak Djokovic – but Ireland’s greatest player wanted more

It may feel like you have made it to the top of the tennis ladder when you step on the hallowed turf at Wimbledon, but tennis has a cruel way of chopping you down.
Irishman Conor Niland played in the main draw at Wimbledon and took on Novak Djokovic at the US Open in 2011, yet they were merely cherries on the top of a tennis cake that wasn’t always the most appetising.
Life outside the bubble of the game’s elite is tough in this sport and even if you are the 129th best player in the world, as Niland was in late 2010, that doesn’t mean you have made it in tennis.
The 129th best player in football would almost certainly be playing in one of the world’s greatest leagues and reaping the rewards that come with it, yet Niland’s story highlights why tennis does not have room for anyone outside it’s A-list.
Player ranked outside the top 100 in the world are essentially outsiders to the big story, with the battle to finance a career at that level of the game a constant battle that is almost impossible to win.
Niland beat Roger Federer in the junior ranks and went on to become Ireland’s greatest tennis player of all-time, but when he looks back on his career, the moments of joy are often weighed down by the years of toil and near misses.
Niland’s brilliant new book The Racket has sparked added to the debate in tennis surrounding how players who are ranked outside the top 100 of the sport can make a living and strive to break into the big time.
Here, in an exclusive interview with Tennis365, Niland gives us an insight into life on the ATP Challenger Tour and a tough battle to kick down the doors to the big time when they appear to be edging open in front of you.
Meet the Irishman who beat a young Roger Federer – and missed out on a Wimbledon re-match
Novak Djokovic was always ‘the gooseberry’ in Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal battle
“It’s strange because you are extremely good at the sport by any metric, but it still feels like you are on the outside of it all,” Ireland Davis Cup captain Niland told Tennis365.
“You are at the big events, you are around the big players, but you are not one of them, which is hard.
“There is a hierarchy in tennis. You look at the practice court issue as the big players always get the advantage and the rest of us don’t.
“You need Andre Agassi on the entry list for a tournament to sell the tickets. That’s the reality of how tennis works and we get a glimpse of the hierarchy issue when it comes to booking practice courts.
“For example, I didn’t get to practice on Arthur Ashe until I played on it against Djokovic. I’d never been on that court before until I walked on to play.
“So you are already at a disadvantage because your opponent is higher ranked and he is playing in a much more comfortable environment for him.
“That’s one of the reasons why these guys breeze through the opening rounds at Grand Slams because they are much more used to the environment than a lot of their opponents.
“To be one of the top 200 people in the world at anything is pretty good, but unfortunately, only 128 guys get to play the Grand Slams in tennis.
“Even though there is very little difference between someone ranked 150 in the tennis world and 80, your prize money falls off a cliff if you are at the bottom end of that range. Wimbledon. And if you are not on that list, you are probably not making any money in tennis. That’s the reality.”
Djokovic is among those pushing for increases in prize money for players at the lower level of the sport and while it has increased in recent years, Niland believes tennis authorities still need to do more to support players who may not be backed by a wealthy national federation.
“Prize money had gone up a little since I retired and Grand Slam qualifying prize money has certainly improved, but the guys that don’t make it into the main draws for the big events are still struggling to get the fan experience or the profile to make a successful living out of it,” he continued.
“Golf has regional tours that mean you can make a name for yourself and earn enough money even if you are not competing against guys on the PGA Tour, but we don’t really have that in tennis. You are either in the top 100 or you are struggling to break even.
“There is very little difference between someone ranked 150 in the tennis world and 80, but your prize money falls off a cliff if you are at the bottom end of that range.”
Niland was a couple of games away from playing Federer on Centre Court back in 2011, but he lost his first round match against France’s Adrian Mannarino after building up a big lead in the fourth set and when he reflects on his career, that is the moment that stings.
“The Manarino match still hurts. I was up 4-1, double break. I should have won,” he added.
“I wanted to stay aggressive and went for a bit too much. I didn’t want to give him momentum, but I was over-aggressive and gave him momentum that way.
“Let’s be honest, playing Federer on Centre Court at Wimbledon would have been a nice takeaway from my career and it’s hard to get away from that. I played Djokovic on a stadium court at the US Open, but unfortunately, I was sick that day and couldn’t really perform.
“I have moved on, you have to, and writing this book has probably helped with that.
“How I describe my career is I don’t think I could have done a lot more and also, I don’t think I fulfilled my potential. In a different environment, I could have done a lot better, but coming from where we come from, it could also have gone a whole lot worse.
“So I think I have to take it in the round and if you told me when I was 14 or 15 that I would play Grand Slams, I’d be No.129 in the world and I’m going to write a book about the whole experience, I probably would have taken it. So I’m pretty comfortable in what I’m done, even if you always think you could have done more. ”
The Racket by Conor Niland is out now.