During my 13 years as a line judge at Wimbledon I enjoyed some great times, worked on four singles finals and even shared a joke with Boris Becker in front of 13,000 people on Centre Court. But there were hairy moments too - especially when I was the target of John McEnroe's worst f-word rant ever in SW19.
It was July 2, 1991, and McEnroe was being thrashed by Stefan Edberg. We had been off court 20 minutes when a Tannoy announcement told us to hurry back. McEnroe had verbally abused a lady judge and they needed to replace the line team. When we arrived Edberg was two sets to love up and 4-3 ahead on his serve. Then, at 15-15, he sliced one wide and, to be quite honest, I did not get a clear view. Still, I felt it was good - wrongly, as it turned out - so I gave a safe signal for an ace.
Of course, McEnroe did not like that one bit. "You're not calling that ball good?" he snarled. "I didn't see it wide," I responded, "therefore, I have to call it good."
Edberg then served two further aces to make it 5-3. At that stage I thought: "Thank God, we're not going to get any more aggro." But, as McEnroe started bouncing the ball before serving he very craftily just started: "You effing son of an effing bitch, I'm going to effing do you and, if you report me, I'll effing do you again."
That is when I tuned off. My feeling was, he is about to lose and, if I tell the umpire, all hell will break loose. So I said nothing. Within five minutes it was over and everyone was happy. Or so I thought.
Unknown to me, the ITV cameras at the back of the court had caught everything - and it was a huge story on the News at Ten. The next day I was hauled in front of the referee, Alan Mills, and the supervisor, Ken Farrar, and given the third degree. It was suggested I was so traumatised by his comments that I could not report it at the time - which was absolute nonsense - and McEnroe ended up being fined $10,000.
That incident did not bother me massively but it was symptomatic of a growing trend that was corroding my love of tennis. I hated how I was not allowed to answer back when a player was rude. Instead, everything had to be channelled through the umpire and they have much less power than their counterparts in other sports. The players have the whip hand and they are not afraid to use it.
It started with a pointed accusation: "It wasn't out. Are you sure you saw it out?" and then it was on to filthy glances, shakes of the head, the odd loose word. They especially hated it when you called a foot fault. They would say: "Which foot was I faulting with?" They knew very well but, if you got it wrong, they would have you right away.
With some players, like Andre Agassi, the language was just a heat of the moment thing - and if someone pulled them up on it they apologised right away. That was not the case with Jim Courier, however, who was not always the most popular individual at SW19.
Tim Henman can also be quite difficult. He is a great player and he has certainly flown the flag for Britain but he is not the pleasant individual people imagine him to be - especially when he is disputing a decision.
It was not all bad, of course. Edberg was a gentleman, and Pete Sampras was impeccable. And there were some fun moments on court too.
Like in 1989, when I found myself standing on the centre line as Ivan Lendl pounded a series of huge serves - all just out - towards Becker. The problem was that the umpire wanted us to shout loudly but, when another one came down, there was nothing left in my voice box. So I just let out this strangled cry, which made everyone giggle. Becker turned round, looked at me and a lineswoman and said: "Was that you or her?" I admitted it was me and, quick as a flash, he replied: "Nice voice," much to the crowd's amusement.
As the years went on, those moments became fewer and fewer. Having done it for so long, the smaller tournaments - which you have to do to get selected for Wimbledon - became less enjoyable. I wasn't getting the same buzz either, so I decided to retire. But looking back, I have no regrets.
Interview by Sean Ingle