He might have been able to show Raygun a dance move or two at the Paris Olympics, but instead Charlie Robertson focuses his fancy footwork on becoming “as good, if not better” than his fellow Scot and “model incredible” Andy Murray on the tennis court. .
Ranked 10th in the world junior rankings after reaching the semi-finals of this season’s US Open, the early signs are promising for Dundonian, 17, as he told BBC Scotland: “You have to dream big.”
Like many talented young athletes, Robertson would “play so many different sports” – trying his hand at rugby, football and golf.
Perhaps more surprising is his revelation: “Actually, I also did a bit of dancing when I was younger – street dancing.”
Ideal preparation, from split steps to jumps and slides, good footwork is one of the most important elements in the arsenal of the best tennis players.
“I love to dance and that’s my personality,” says Robertson. “If there is music in the gym or during tennis, I always like to dance.”
However, like Murray, Robertson leaves his thoughts on Strictly Come Dancing to the former world number one’s mother, Judy, and devotes his life to hitting a tennis ball.
“I think my first lessons were at Arbroath Tennis Club,” he recalls. “I have a brother and a sister, I’m the youngest and I just got taken to all their sports classes.
“I actually wasn’t old enough to take tennis lessons, but I was just brought in and started hitting the tennis wall when I was really little.”
Finally admitted to class, because he proved to be “pretty good” while he was still “too young”, he quickly caught the tennis bug.
“And seeing Andy at that time was doing really well too, winning Wimbledon and stuff like that, I found that really exciting and I’ve loved it ever since,” he says.
Robertson’s fame soared earlier this month when he reached the semi-finals of the US Open Juniors in New York.
He would lose in straight sets to top seed and beaten finalist Nicolai Budkov Kjaer of Norway, but that sparked inevitable comparisons to Murray, who had won the event two decades earlier.
“Andy helps me,” he reveals. “We started our relationship from the grass season. He is just an incredible role model for me and he has been a big help in my game.
“He was still playing at that time, so I was hitting him and I felt like I could ask him questions and he would give his honest advice, which was really helpful, and hearing it from Andy Murray meant a lot. “
This up-close experience – and watching Murray’s Grand Slam successes from afar – fueled Robertson’s belief that he can “become as good as him, if not better”.
The Scot, who grew up in Forfar, will aim to boost his own growing reputation at the ITF World Tennis Tour Junior Finals in China in mid-October, when he turns 18.
Then, from January, he will begin his professional career in the senior ranks in which his fellow Scot Jake Fearnley has just broken into the world top 100.
“I have to start again in the men’s circuit. My 10th world junior will mean nothing and I will have to start again, which is exciting,” said Robertson.
“The ultimate goal is to be among the top 100 players in the ATP. To enter the professional tour, that’s everyone’s goal and I think as soon as you reach that top 100, you want to do again more.
“Everyone wants to be world number one. Why not? You have to dream big, so that’s the goal.”
While the ambition is clear, Robertson admits that taking the first big steps in that direction won’t come cheap on the merry-go-round of the Futures and Challengers tour.
“Tennis is definitely not a cheap sport,” he says. “I guess it brings you back to reality, but it’s my decision to do it and I just have to believe in myself that I can make a living from tennis, which is what I dreamed of when I was little.
“When you play these Futures and Challengers, you give more than you bring in. It’s going to be very difficult, but getting support will be the key to getting to the top.
“I see it as an exciting journey now, but I know it won’t be easy. I’m going to have to work a lot to get to the top and I think everyone in men’s football is fighting for their mortgage. I’m I I’m looking forward to it.”
