Copying this article from the Eastbourne thread to Paul's individual thread, courtesy of SC.

It certainly sounds as though that will be the case from this interview with Alyson Rudd in The Times on 5th June:

Rising star Paul Jubb takes inspiration from memory of parents

Yorkshire-born Paul Jubb tells Alyson Rudd of his hopes for the future after winning top American college title

During his close and curiously elegant match against James Ward at the Surbiton Trophy tournament this week, Paul Jubb lifted his shirt to wipe his face and revealed a sombre, circular tattoo on his ribcage. Jubb is, all of sudden, hot property, having won the prestigious NCAA national singles championship in Orlando last month. The story of the 19-year-old from Hull, now studying in the United States, is all the more compelling, given that he was orphaned from the age of five.

"The tattoo on my ribs is of my parents' names," he says. "Their names are Jacinta and Sean. I prefer not to speak about their passing, but they passed away when I was younger and that's the story of it, really. The tattoo is . . . they're always going to be there with me now. It's a meaningful thing I wanted on me. I got it done just before I came back for the Christmas break last year."

It is hard not to conclude that Jubb, who is studying retail management at the University of South Carolina, has been shaped by his family tragedy. He started playing tennis at the same time as he lost his parents and he describes the sport in telling terms.

"I don't know why I chose tennis," he says. "It was for fun at first - but I have always liked the individual aspect of it, even if I didn't pick up on that as a child. I have always liked doing things by myself and I like the fact that, if you lose, it is down to you and you make the decisions yourself to improve and if you win, it is all down to you. I don't like relying on anyone else. That is one of the things I like about tennis - it is character-building and shows who you are."

Jubb, who was born in York but moved to Hull aged three and was raised by his grandmother, is still in the running to receive a wild card for Wimbledon this year in spite of losing to Ward 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 at Surbiton on Monday. As it stands, though, he would not be eligible, as an amateur, to accept the £45,000 that he would receive if he reached the first round at the All England Club in July.

"I'm classed as amateur because I'm still in college," he says. "I'm going to finish my degree in college, finish my last year there, then after that I'll go for it. It's less tempting for me [to go professional] because I'm so young still. People in college are usually older than I am, but I went earlier."

Had an American won the NCAA title, the college championships, it would have given him a wild-card entry into the US Open in late August and the door would have opened for the chance to turn professional. "There is that temptation factor and stuff," Jubb says. !I'm not in that position now. I'm looking to go back to college, so whatever rules I have to follow, I will. I've got one year left."

His NCAA title is a big deal. John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors announced themselves on the world stage by winning it and the latter stages of the event are screened live on US TV. There was no partisanship from the locals, they just embraced the emergence of a new tennis talent.

"College sports are so huge in America and it's such a huge thing to win when you are over there, there are so many good players playing college tennis," he says. "My social media did blow up and it was pretty hectic. I was stunned by the amount of people that took interest. It's not the same at university here. It was ridiculous really, the scale of the support. We'll see how different life might be in my final year of college. People do know who I am now, where they didn't before. It will definitely be weird when I go back. We'll see how it is. You can't compare it to anything in the UK, college sport is so huge there, more popular than pro sport in some cases. They love to watch college basketball and football more than the professional teams. It is so big."

Jubb still has a Hull accent which veers, occasionally, towards a transatlantic drawl. "Yeah, it goes in and out. I try not go full American," he says as the spectators in Surbiton stop to wonder why there is a sudden media interest in this boy they do not recognise. His tennis hero is Novak Djokovic, the 15-times grand-slam champion, and he does move around the court in a similar style, growing in confidence the longer a point lasts.

James Trotman, an LTA coach, recommended Jubb for a US college scholarship even though there were early doubts about his physique. "I wasn't a top junior at that time, so I am very thankful that James helped me so much and made that an option and took a chance on me," Jubb says. "If you use it [the college system] in the right way, then there is no way that you can't get better. You've just got to have the right mentality, which I have.



* He sounds as though he has his head screwed on the right way (but is not big-headed) & his feet very firmly on the ground. smile