article: Media playback is not supported on this device The ultimate childhood tennis dream had been realised in one perfect draw - a Wimbledon wildcard leading to the British teenager facing the legendary Martina Navratilova on Centre Court. It was 1994 and set to be nine-time champion Navratilova's farewell appearance in singles at the All England Club. World number 360 Taylor, then 19, was steadily climbing the rankings, had just beaten a player in the top 50 at Eastbourne and would normally have had the unwavering support of the home crowd. But ruining a legend's day would not have gone down well. "When we came out they gave her a standing ovation for what seemed like forever, so I stood at the net like a doughnut waiting for her," Taylor, now Claire Shepherd after marrying Dean in 2013, told BBC Sport. "It didn't stop; it was incredible. I was just stood there and the umpire said: 'It's OK, this doesn't normally happen.' "The crowd were definitely pro-Martina, but they were still supportive of me. "It is just a bit of a regret that my career highlight was losing a match. I don't like that really, but it was Martina on Centre Court." Now a tennis coach, Shepherd, 42, is still very much in love with the sport and remains a regular visitor to SW19, having been hooked long before she became Oxfordshire county champion at the age of 10. She used go to the All England Club with her tennis-mad father Phil and join the queuing masses to get tickets, so being out on the showpiece court in front of millions watching on television felt "very strange". The Banbury-born left-hander had made her Wimbledon debut in the ladies' doubles in 1993. But this was something else. "We had queued many times to watch Martina so to play her was amazing," the former British number two added. "My first thought was: 'Wow, that's great.' Then, it was: 'No hold on, that's a terrible draw.'" The innocence of youth certainly helped to deal with facing one of the greatest players ever to pick up a racquet. Navratilova won a total of 18 singles Grand Slam titles during her astonishing career. She may have been 37, but she was the world number four and still a dominant force on the All England grass, which was effectively her home turf. "I was a little bit blasé," Shepherd explained. "At 19, you have a certain amount of naivety and just want to get on and do it. You just play the ball; it doesn't matter who is at the other end. "I didn't think: 'I'm going to win, it's all fine.' It is difficult to have that bravado when you respect someone that much. But I didn't think: 'I'm going to get absolutely hammered.' "I was well aware of how incredibly good Martina was. I would have to have had a lot of things fall in my favour but there was always that chance. "I knew I was playing well; I had won a lot of matches and
summary: Feeling like a "doughnut" while she waited for the biggest day of her career to get going wasn't really in Claire Taylor's planning.