At Wimbledon, the ladies are simply the candles on the cake.

There was kind of a code that you had as an Australian that you never left the court losing unless you had blood all over you. That's the sort of toughness you need to compete on the world stage and I feel that our kids today just don't have it.

I was a pretty feisty young kid.

That match was late evening and I had the experience of the electricity of the Centre Court because it was packed, a full house for the whole match. It had been a great year for me, first time there and I had the full taste of Wimbledon.

By the time I got to the hospital, I certainly realised that I had a problem because I couldn't write or print at that time, which lasted luckily only about four months. I'd gone numb here and on my tongue and the right foot a little bit.

You know, I eat, I ate pretty well anyway so, I'm basically living the same, I just curtailed the stupidity.

I'd also made the first tennis team. I was number two player in the school at 11 years of age and that didn't sit very well with people.