Barry Cowan is a man obsessed.

Not, as you might think of the man who came within a whisker of beating Pete Sampras, with tennis.

No Cowan's obsession is football, and one club in particular - Liverpool FC.

His penchant for listening to the Anfield anthem, You'll Never Walk Alone, was revealed earlier in the week when he was photographed wearing earphones during a break between games.

While the world's media attempted to dissect his tennis in the aftermath of his epic performance, Cowan kept bringing the subject back to Liverpool.

This was one bizarre exchange.

Q: Did you honestly think before the match you could take Pete Sampras that close?

A: My mind goes back to February when Liverpool played Crystal Palace and they lost 2-1 away.

Their striker Clinton Morrison said some stupid things - they paid for it two weeks later when we played them again.

Surely only a true died-in-the-wool supporter could choose his big moment to get his revenge on an obscure Nationwide League footballer rather than revel in the glow of worldwide fame?

Afterwards, during an interview with the Liverpool Echo, the evening paper of his home city, Cowan revealed that the club's remarkable FA Cup final victory was another source of inspiration.

"I was two sets down but I have always fought and was prepared to fight to the death.

"A great example of that was the FA Cup final when we were being battered by Arsenal for 80 minutes, so much so it was a mismatch, but came back to win."

During play, Cowan stressed, his mind was clear. But during rests he thought about little else but Anfield.