So what else was going on in the world in 1985 when I won Wimbledon?

I remember Live Aid very well, a massive concert in Wembley Stadium organised by Bob Geldof. These days he’s a good friend of mine, but we didn’t know each other then – Live Aid was only a week after I’d won Wimbledon. I watched on television, and remember being very moved by it.

After Wimbledon, I signed a contract to become an ambassador for Coca-Cola. It was mainly to promote New Coke, as the company had changed the formula and was marketing the original drink as Coke Classic. Coke Classic massively outsold New Coke, and New Coke was abandoned after three months, but my contract was for five years so I spent most of it promoting the original drink.

I remember the Heysel Stadium disaster in which 39 football fans were killed at the European Cup final. That kind of event sends a little shiver through me, because it shows what can happen in a big sporting event. Tennis players are very close to the fans, some of whom can be a bit crazy, especially in Davis Cup matches, so you’re alert to things like that. We’re also alert to air disasters because we use planes so much, and there were a lot of plane crashes that year.

Although I don’t remember it, the first smoking ban in restaurants in America came into effect in Aspen, Colorado. I completely agree with being very sensitive about smoking and tobacco, but it shouldn’t be a prison term if you do smoke. We are restricting our freedom more and more every year, and I don’t think that’s right. These days I smoke cigars; I don’t want restaurants to be full of smoke, but I do feel there should be a place for people who want to smoke to do so, maybe at a designated bar.

It’s amazing to think that Microsoft released the first version of Windows, Windows 1.0, in 1985. The news of that passed me by, because I wasn’t into computers until much later, but from little beginnings came something that has changed the world. The first mobile phone call was also made that year.

The Tommy Hilfiger brand was established in 1985. I know Tommy and his wife very well these days, he’s a great tennis fan. In fact Tommy, like me, is an adviser to the ATP, albeit on a different advisory board than mine.

And I won Wimbledon playing in very short shorts (we all did in those days) and with the last-ever shot with a white tennis ball! Actually, that’s not strictly true, they played the mixed doubles final after the men’s singles, but it was the last day white balls were used at Wimbledon. The All England Club finally acceded to television’s request for a more visible yellow ball the following year.