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<v Speaker 1>Hello, a little bit of a special episode. Today, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>Dave and there is no Marcus Willis. For decades, the

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<v Speaker 1>name Ray Felch has been synonymous with the Bronze era

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<v Speaker 1>of tennis. From dusty courts of his youth to the

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<v Speaker 1>grand stages of Wimbledom qualifying and the US Open pre qualifying.

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<v Speaker 1>Felch's journey is one of relentless dedication and lucrative sponsorship deals.

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<v Speaker 1>The Rolex association with the Strap line time to Felch

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<v Speaker 1>is still one of the most seismic branding deals known

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<v Speaker 1>in sport. In the new biography Felched, we explore the

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<v Speaker 1>life and the times of this icon. The book delves

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<v Speaker 1>into the man behind the legend through meticulous research and

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<v Speaker 1>personal anecdotes. Felched provides a comprehensive journey of Ray from

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<v Speaker 1>his early days honing his skills on the court to

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<v Speaker 1>the groundbreaking victory against Jimmy Connors. It explores the dedication

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<v Speaker 1>and resilient required to Felch his An excerpt of Felched.

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<v Speaker 2>In the late nineteen seventies, professional tennis was a world

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<v Speaker 2>of precision, discipline and quiet obsession. Among its lesser known

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<v Speaker 2>figures was a man named Ralph Felch, though to those

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<v Speaker 2>who followed the circuit he was simply known as Ray.

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<v Speaker 2>A former world number sixty, Felch was never destined for

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<v Speaker 2>the spotlight, not in the way of legends like Jimmy Connor's,

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<v Speaker 2>and yet in nineteen seventy nine, at the San Francisco Open,

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<v Speaker 2>everything changed. In a match few expected him to survive,

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<v Speaker 2>let alone win, Felch delivered a performance that still lingers

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<v Speaker 2>in the margins of tennis history. Calm, relentless, unnervingly precise.

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<v Speaker 2>He defeated Connors in straight sets. Then he walked away.

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<v Speaker 2>Retirement came suddenly, quietly, no interviews, no farewell. Friends would

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<v Speaker 2>later recall that Ray had become different, distracted, as though

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<v Speaker 2>something or someone was pulling his attention elsewhere. On the

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<v Speaker 2>evening of October twelfth, nineteen seventy nine, Felch was last

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<v Speaker 2>seen dining with two acquaintances, Pierre Boobies and Paul mc todger.

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<v Speaker 2>What was discussed that night remains unclear. What is known

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<v Speaker 2>is that Ray Felch was never seen again. No records,

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<v Speaker 2>no sidings, no explanation, just a name, a match, and

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<v Speaker 2>a disappearance that decades later still refuses to be understood.

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<v Speaker 1>You have just been felched. How did that feel. The

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<v Speaker 1>book is available at all Good bookshops. The foreword is

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<v Speaker 1>by Chris Packham.

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<v Speaker 2>Victor Baranco on trombone, Sergeant Major Craig Frederick on the

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<v Speaker 2>trumpets and the composition.

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<v Speaker 1>The Army Blues looked at that