Baker recovering after illness

Baker had been having a good year until the illness struck

Britain's number two tennis player Jamie Baker is recovering after contracting a life-threatening illness at a training camp in the US.

The 21-year-old spent three days in intensive care after contracting a blood disorder which raises the risk of severe internal and external bleeding.

He should make a full recovery but is unlikely to be fit for Wimbledon.

"He loves tennis enough to get himself back fit and healthy," his Davis Cup team-mate Andy Murray told The Herald.

The British number one's brother Jamie Murray added: "I think he feels quite fortunate really to still be alive.

"It seems weird to be saying those sort of things. I mean, he's an athlete. He's healthy. He takes care of himself and, bang, he could have died."

606: DEBATE Puts things into perspective and means he's likely to miss Wimbledon Max the husky

The illness will come as a major setback to the Loughborough-based Scot, who is currently ranked at 241 in the world after peaking at 211 last November.

Earlier this year he made a big breakthrough when he reached the first round of the Australian Open, and he played in Great Britain's Davis Cup match against Argentina.