Lancastrian Barry Cowan is best known for extending Pete Sampras to five sets at the 2001 Wimbledon Championships. As World No. 248 he eventually lost to the top seed 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-3 in the second round on Court One. He received seven Wimbledon singles wild cards (1994-95, 1998-2002), reaching the second round in 2001-2002. His parents, Peter and Claire, encouraged his sporting ambitions and Cowan became an all-round sportsman, attending the LTA Rover School at Bisham Abbey and as a member of the North of England's Under-15 hockey team. He contracted glandular fever in November 1995 and did not play any tennis for two years. He qualified for the 2000 US Open, making a first round exit (l. to Knippschild). He was coached by David Sammel and Jez Green during the height of his career. Cowan�s best ATP performance came in doubles, with a runner-up performance (w/ Navarra) at 2001 Chennai (l. to B. Black-W. Black). He mainly played on the ATP Challenger Tour, winning one singles title at 2001-Gramado (d. A. Ram) and finishing runner-up at 1997-Bombay (l. to Suzuki) and 1999-Jaipur (l. to Paes). In doubles on the ATP Challenger Tour, he won one title at 2000-Hull (w/ Godwin) and finished runner-up at seven other tournaments � 1994-Rogaska (w/ A. Richardson), 1998-Eckental (w/ Veglio), 1999-Calcutta (w/ Whitehouse), 1999-New Dehli (w/ Whitehouse), 1999-Jerusalem (w/ Godwin), 2001-Hull (w/ Lee), 2001-Belo Horizonte (w/ Taino). He represented Great Britain at the 2000 Sydney Olympics in singles (l. to Nestor) and doubles (w/ Spencer). In September 2001, he made his Davis Cup debut for Great Britain against Ecuador at Guayaquil, having been a non-playing squad member on several occasions. He retired from professional tennis after making a second round exit at 2002 Wimbledon (l. to N. Lapentti), and has since worked as a television commentator for Sky Sports in their coverage of major tennis events. He supports Liverpool Football Club and regularly plays golf. Bio: James Buddell