Caratti's rollercoaster ride

Caratti remembers fondly his defeat over Lendl in 1991

By Andrew Warshaw at Queen's Club.

He's beaten John McEnroe, Ivan Lendl and Jimmy Connors in his time. But these days, the tennis circuit is taking its toll on Cristiano Caratti.

There was a time was when the Italian didn't have to worry about the future.

He had a world ranking of 26, had built a reputation as a committed and tough competitor and had no problems about qualifying for the major events.

That was back then.

Take a look at Caratti's record for 2001 and you will discover that he hasn't once been beyond the second round of any event he has played in.

Next up for Caratti - Henman

What's more, he no longer has any sponsorship contracts and is having to fend for himself, paying for his own flights and hotel rooms and buying his own rackets.

Which makes Tuesday's straight-sets win over the hard-hitting Goran Ivanisevic in the first round at Queen's all the more rewarding.

"It's very hard to keep going which makes today's win feel great," said the 31-year-old.

"It can be very frustrating, when you have played at a certain level, to keep your form going all the time and stay with the big boys."

Caratti came into Queen's as a qualifier, a far cry from the old days when he was no push-over for the giants of the game.

"Beating Lendl in Milan in 1991 was probably the highlight of my career. But I'm getting old now, I guess," he added.

All I can do is try my best and see what happens

  Cristiano Caratti

"I'd love to qualify for Wimbledon for the second time in three years but the rackets are more and more powerful and the kids are bigger. It's tough to keep up."

Next up for the likeable Italian at Wimbledon's main warm-up event is none other than British number one Tim Henman.

Caratti, whose ranking has plummeted to 190, knows that almost certainly means curtains once again.

"I know how much he loves this surface," said Caratti.

"He's one of many players who have improved so much. Henman in front of his home crowd - not very pleasant.

"But I also like playing on grass. It suits my way of thinking. All I can do is try my best and see what happens."