Fascinating Q&A with wildcard Charlie Lee ahead of his Canary Wharf debut as this year’s wildcard …
by Alan Thatcher
1: Charlie, you must be looking forward to your first appearance on the glass court at the East Wintergarden – and especially against such an amazing player as Miguel Angel Rodriguez?
Absolutely. I’ve dreamed of playing here since my first time spectating as a 10 year old! The atmosphere is always first class and being so close to home it’ll be great to have a few friendly faces in the crowd.
To play a top player like Miguel at such an iconic venue really is an incredible opportunity, so thank you to Tim and everyone involved in the event. I can’t wait to get out there.
2: It’s probably the strongest draw we have ever had in 18 years at Canary Wharf. Who are the players you are most looking forward to seeing in action this week?
With a line up like that it’s not easy to single anyone out. I’ll definitely be watching as much as I can and trying to learn from the countless world class players in the draw.
I thought the Qatar final between Paul Coll and Diego Elias was fantastic so it’ll be great to see them in action live. Ali Farag is obviously incredible to watch and learn from too… amongst so many others.
3: Life, they say, is a learning process. Which players you have learned most from in your career, and what are the special things they do that have caught your eye?
Starting out I was very lucky to have my brother Joe and Tom Richards training at the same club as me (St George’s). Having that access to regularly hit with and talk to professionals as a junior was a real fast-tracker and definitely taught me a lot. We’ve also fortunately had loads of top players in our PSL team through the years.
Read the full Q&Q on CW Squash
