Tschabuschnig's career at the 'show me the sunglasses' stage

Corrado Tschabuschnig. Crazy name. Not so crazy guy.

As his first name implies, Tschabuschnig is Italian, although his surname indicates his Austrian lineage. Five years ago, at the age of 25, he was eking out a living as a tennis player, travelling the world's satellite tournaments with little more than hope in his heart and a hotel voucher in his hand luggage. He beat some well-known names such as Russia's Marat Safin. But Before They Were Famous. Even in victory, Tschabuschnig could see which way the chalk was flying.

"Sure, I was beating some of these guys, but that was because I was 25 and they were 18 and still developing. Even then, you saw they hit the ball differently to you. Always in the centre of the racket. When you see that, you know something."

What Tschabuschnig knew at that point was that he would be better off developing his other talents, which included a personable manner and the ability to speak numerous languages, in a new role as a tennis players' manager.

So it was, five years on, that he found himself on a flight from Florence to London, bound for Wimbledon. (So it was, also, that he had the mixed fortune to sit alongside myself and a colleague as we returned from covering the European Cup athletics. "Conversation makes the time go quickly," he observed gallantly as we came in to land.)

Tschabuschnig was excited as he scanned the first-round draw in the gentlemen's singles. For those he represented - typically, young players still hoping to make an impact on the game - the Wimbledon experience usually ended at the Roehampton qualifying stage.

This year, however, six of his men had made it through, offering him the opportunity he had never earned as a player - that of attending Wimbledon and mingling with the sport's movers and shakers.

And the two who seemed to hold out the best prospect of advancement for this latter-day Jerry Maguire were the Frenchman Olivier Mutis, a former Junior Wimbledon winner, and the Australian, Paul Baccanello.

The latter's prospects were tantalisingly rich, thanks to a draw which meant that victory over the Swiss qualifier Ivo Heuberger would earn him a Centre Court meeting with a fellow resident of Adelaide who just happened to be the defending champion - Lleyton Hewitt.

Like most of Tschabuschnig's charges, Baccanello was still waiting for a contract with one of the big sportswear companies. But worldwide television exposure in a Centre Court match against the top seed, Tschabuschnig reckoned, would make Baccanello worth backing. Perhaps Sergio Tacchini would come in with a deal. Perhaps adidas - who, unlike Nike, allow players to wear logos of other companies on their shirts, might want a piece of the action. Which might open the way for some other interested parties...

There remained one logistical problem for Baccanello's manager to sort out that morning. In qualifying for the main draw at Roehampton, his man had unexpectedly worn through his only pair of size 13 shoes.

The previous night, after a series of increasingly anxious phone calls by Tschabuschnig, Baccanello had attended a barbeque at the Australian HQ where that former Wimbledon favourite, Fred Stolle, had arranged for him to be supplied with another pair of size 13s. It only remained for Tschabuschnig to confirm that the boy Baccanello had received the shoes in good time, and then everything was tickety-boo.

Of course, all this assumed that Hewitt would dispose of his first round opponent, a 6ft 10in qualifier from Croatia by the name of Ivo Karlovic, who was competing in his first Grand Slam tournament.

Baccanello performed his part, disposing of Heuberger in four sets in a match that was followed by family and friends back home via the internet. Victory for their boy triggered intense beer and barbeque activity late into the night. Hewitt, meanwhile, performed his part in creating the biggest shock result in the history of the Wimbledon Open era.

"For Paul it could be good, because it means for him the door is open," Tschabuschnig reflected later that day. "But for me it is not so good."

Wednesday brought further disappointment as Baccanello, ranked only one place below Karlovic in the rankings at 204, succumbed to his giant opponent in four sets.

By Friday, all of Tschabuschnig's men were out, although Mutis had gone down with a flourish having taken a two-set lead over Thailand's 12th seed, Paradorn Srichaphan.

The Frenchman has significantly raised his profile. But for Tschabuschnig - whose involvement with Mutis, unlike his other players, has never been an exclusive one - there are unsettling indicators for the immediate future. "He hasn't been really clear with me when we have talked this week," Tschabuschnig reflected. "It seems like he is going to IMG. I suspect he will call me in the next couple of days."

As for Baccanello - well, he's done OK, even though his big local derby never came to pass. "Many, many Australians watched his second match on TV," Tschabuschnig said. "He is known now as the guy who played against the guy who beat Hewitt."

Baccanello has earned a new deal with an Italian sunglasses firm, and Diadora have supplied him with complete new kit.

Show me the money? For Tschabuschnig, things are still at the "show me the sunglasses stage". But, overall, he's had a good week.

"I've met a lot of people from the tennis federations and shoe companies, the kind of people I wouldn't normally meet at Roehampton," he said. "It's important that people see me and know who I am, so when I call them up they will know me."

Corrado Tschabuschnig. Remember the name.