IN a River Murray town, Sophie Nettle is dreaming of emulating Wimbledon boys champion Luke Saville.

Saville's heroics at last week's championship have led to comparisons with former world No 1 Lleyton Hewitt, a fellow South Australian who won his Wimbledon title in 2002.

And in the little community of Cobdogla, the locals are over the moon. This is a town where tennis means everything. Of a population of about 300, 80-odd are members of the tennis club.

While there are only four shops left open in the main street, there are six well-kept tennis courts.

Cobby tennis club has won nine of the past 12 Riverland A-grade titles.

A close look at the place's history shows it is no wonder Luke Saville is fast making a name for himself on the international stage. The walls of the Cobby tennis club are littered with the pictures of past champions and life members. Luke's mother, Judy, quickly points out just how many are relatives of his. There's Luke's grandfather, John McFarlane, who is credited with restoring the town's courts after World War II.

His uncle Steve McFarlane played a key role in getting the junior program going 40 years ago. There are great-aunts, aunts, uncles and cousins who have all made contributions to Cobby's tennis reputation.

Luke's older sister, Katie, won the Riverland title in 2003.

His cousin Shannon Nettle is a former top-250 player who is now working at the Australian Institute of Sport.

Shannon's brother Shane is the president and junior coach in Cobby these days. He predicts Luke will be a top-20 player if he can harness his full potential.

"The club will reap a lot of rewards out of this," he says.

"But besides Luke, we've also had four or five other nationally ranked juniors. When you consider that there are 70 kids at the primary school and there are up to 50 playing tennis, it's pretty special."

Judy still has her son's first racquet, a cobweb-covered pink number with his name scrawled on the handle.

He first wielded it as a three-year-old and was roped into competition as soon as he could get a ball over the net.

While he learnt the basics in Cobby, it soon became apparent that Luke would need to move to Adelaide if he was to further his tennis. So Judy made the decision to shift with him when he was 10.

"It was hard, with my husband (Mick) staying behind and working and having to look after himself basically," she says.

"It was a sacrifice but we enjoyed it. We never had to push Luke. He was just committed and wanted to do it." 

Tennis isn't the only sport Cobdogla has tasted success in.

The Cobby Eagles won three successive footy premierships between 2006 and 2008.

They proudly boast they don't pay their players a cent.

The Eagles aren't doing too well this year - they're second to last and with no chance of playing in the finals. But that's all right - they're in a rebuilding phase.

And the locals have Luke Saville to cheer on now.

"It's bloody terrific, isn't is?" the bloke in the Cobby OK Mart quips. "But we've got a lot of sport here for a small town.

"A lot of businesses have closed lately, but we've still got three footy teams, two cricket teams, softball, netball, tennis."

Like many smaller Riverland towns, Cobby is struggling a bit these days.

Two shops have closed in the main street just this year. But this is a town that has tennis - and now in Luke Saville it has a new hero.

Tennis has already become the sport of choice for five-year-old Sophie. She was so excited about Luke's win she spent the next week Googling pictures of her second cousin.

Like many of the kids at Cobdogla, Sophie hopes to one day emulate Luke. Considering the tennis culture of the little town, she may well succeed.

Story by David Jean