Dancing on Ice - Greg Rusedski
11 January 2008 - Introducing celebrity skater Greg Rusedski
Age: 34
Occupation: Retired Tennis player, Sports commentator
Skating Partner: Kristina Lenko
Celebrity Supporters: Duncan James
One of Britain's most well known and loved tennis players, Greg Rusedski began his training for Dancing On Ice with the diligence and competitiveness that comes naturally to a sporting professional but admits that this seems to be changing over time.
"In the first few weeks my competitive instincts really came in but then you realise that it's a voyage for each person to do the best they possibly can. My mindset's actually totally changed - I'm just going to go out there and enjoy it. The philosophy in the beginning of a competitive person is 'I want to win, I want to win' but then your mind set changes because you're in an arena where you're practising and seeing 5 and 6 year old kids doing more than I can possibly do on the ice so it really puts things into perspective."
Greg played ice hockey as a child but says that because he didn't display a natural talent for the sport he picked up tennis instead.
"It's quite funny because I used to play ice hockey as a kid but I wasn't very good, that's why I picked up tennis. Anyway, when I first met my wife we decided to go skating. I thought I was going to show off to my wife but I hadn't realised that they had given us figure skates, and I'm used to hockey skates. I said to her 'look I can skate really well' and the first thing I did was fall straight over on my face. So that was the last time I skated."
His skating has improved since then but one thing Greg feels that he's missing is the gracefulness that is necessary in Dancing On Ice.
"I'm not a very good dancer so I think it's the elegance that I'm missing and also I've got to work on getting my posture right.
"I'm definitely looking forward to getting out there and performing and trying to get the best score I possibly can. When you're a sportsman and you're used to having people watch you and you get the buzz from the crowd, you want to do well, but it's a big challenge. We've all only been doing this for a few months but its really good fun. Learning a new skill is great and I think a good talent to have for the future."
While Greg's stand out memory of Torvill and Dean is their Bolero performance at the Olympics, the rink itself holds a particular importance to him.
"It was quite funny that the last tournament I ever played was a challenger before the Davis Cup tie in Sarajevo and they held it in the ice rink that Torvill and Dean won their Olympic Gold in. So it's quite funny that I'm doing this programme now, it's a little bit of irony and if you'd have asked me a year ago, I never would have expected to be doing this.
"My highlight so far has been skating with Jayne Torvill whilst practicing my routine. How many people can say they've skated with Jayne Torvill? Although the first time we skated at Lee Valley ice rink Jayne came skating into me like torpedo and I nearly got knocked over."
Greg's family have been hugely supportive and he's excited about his 2 year old daughter Scarlett coming to watch the show.
"The best thing so far has been when I was training at Slough ice rink and we had the whole rink to ourselves so my little girl and my wife came onto the ice and had a skate. That was lovely. That was a good moment.
"My little girl's going to be my biggest fan. I've got her saying the word ice now so she loved it when she came to the practise and saw me and Kristina skating."
Greg hints that he's got some celebrity supporters planning to come down to watch as well but for the moment, his eye is not on the prize.
"I've got a few friends coming up, I've got a few surprises. A lot of friends have said to me they'll come out and support me so you'll just have to wait and see.
"I'm not that panicked about winning at the moment. I mean, don't get me wrong, if it happens, it'd be fabulous. The longer you stay in the show I think that's when you consider it but right now I just want to do the best I possibly can."
