Last Monday, when the UK's second-highest ranking tennis player Greg Rusedski was plummeting out of Wimbledon, one of his title sponsors, Freeserve, the internet provider, was in a freefall of its own.

Rusedski, who recently admitted he has embarked on a search for his lost serve, suffered an embarrassing loss when he fell at the first to American Vincent Spaeda, who up until his victory over Rusedski, had not won a match in 22 straight attempts - an ATP tour record.