Matt Doyle - The cool Californian who inspired Irish tennis

Sean Sorensen pays tribute to his late friend and former team-mate Matt Doyle, who inspired Ireland to the top tier of the Davis Cup in the early 1980s.

Matt Doyle was cool. Tall, muscular and handsome, he was a talented Californian who lit up Irish tennis and changed it, immeasurably, for the better.

To me, he was a friend, a team-mate, and a tennis partner, but most of all, he was an inspiration.

When he arrived on the Irish tennis scene in the early 80s, he inspired us. He challenged our view of ourselves and our sport in this country, and he inspired us to believe we had the right to be confident, and to compete on the world stage.

I met Matt first in the late 70s when we were both playing college tennis in the States, he in Yale, me in Texas. We were friendly, and chatted a bit about Ireland when our paths crossed. But it was only after a Harvard and Yale tennis team trip to Wimbledon and Fitzwilliam that he really began to consider playing for us. I loved the idea of course and was thrilled when he procured a passport and qualified for the national team.

His impact was immediate – and not just on our results. He also impacted our attitude and even our way of thinking about how best to practice.

Matt had a great serve. It was his biggest strength, and it was the part of his game which he practiced most. I found that fascinating – we had always concentrated in practice sessions on our weaknesses. But rather than just do that, Matt would also spend hours making his signature strength even stronger. So many times when a session was over, he would stay out on court for another hour, serving – over and over again.

Those hours stood to him. Even in a tense match he would be confident he could rely on his big serve, and on his