British Wimbledon player Henry Patten was “a complete mess” at university before he started taking tennis seriously, his roommate of five years has revealed.
Patten, 26, will make his SW19 debut alongside Julian Cash in their doubles match on Wednesday against thirteenth seeds Santiago Gonzalez, from Mexico, and Andres Molteni, from Argentina.
The Colchester-born player’s university flatmate, Olly Cull, 24, said he felt “incredibly proud” of how far his friend had come, while in the queue for the tournament on Wednesday.
Mr Cull, an accountant from Birmingham, said he met Patten at Heathrow Airport on their way to start university in the US where they went on to play tennis together.
We speak every day, he’s just so excited— Olly Cull, Henry Patten's university flatmate
When asked how it felt to be seeing his friend play at the prestigious venue, Mr Cull told the PA news agency: “Amazing.
“Very jealous seeing as he was my doubles partner and now I’m here waking up at six in the morning to watch him play tennis.
“I’m incredibly proud and I can’t wait to get on court and watch.
“He’s playing with Julian, who I don’t know personally, but they’re doing amazingly. They won 18 of their last 20 matches.
“We speak every day, he’s just so excited. It’s a completely new experience for him, this is his Wimbledon debut.
“I haven’t spoken to him this morning, but I’m sure there’s some nerves there, but I’m sure more excitement.
“They’re playing the thirteenth seeds so nothing to lose for them, they’re going in as two British wildcards.”
When asked what the left-handed player was like as a roommate, Mr Cull laughed and said: “A complete mess.
“He’s sorted himself out for sure. He was messy, late for everything, (bad) work ethic, nights out.
“But no, he’s doing very well, I’m very proud of him.”
He said that Patten’s parents, two brothers and sister would be supporting from the sidelines, along with more of their friends.
