Biofile Michael Russell Interview

One of the most respected grinders of the ATP Tour, “Iron” Mike shares insights and memories of a remarkable 13-year ATP career – which has endured numerous surgeries, grand slam glory & agony, countless mileage by foot and air …

By Scoop Malinowski

Status: ATP pro from 1998-2015.   Highest ranking was no. 60 in 2007. Winner of 11 Challenger and 8 Futures events. Has career wins against Hewitt, Berdych, Bruguera, Verkerk, Dent, Fish, Hanescu, Malisse, Mahut and Sanguinetti.  Career ATP match record 77-10. Earned over $2.4m in career prize money. Current coach of ATP no. 10 Taylor Fritz.

Ht: 5-8 Wt: 160

DOB: May 1, 1978 In: Detroit, Michigan

Tennis Inspirations: “Growing up I loved watching Andre Agassi play, he was my hero. The way he could take the ball early. Hit everything as hard as he could. Inspirations for me – are my wife, my parents, they both worked really hard, never had that much growing up and had to work hard for everything. Like I do when I play on the court. I have to work for everything.”

First Tennis Memory: “Gotta be hitting on the garage when I was five years old. Wood racquet.”

Nicknames: “Mussell, Wheels, Mighty Mouse, Iron Mike, Spanky.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “I’m actually finishing school – that’s one of my hobbies. I like reading. I enjoy working out. I continue to go to the gym frequently. And I love going to the beach.”

Last Book Read: “Robert Ludlum – Prometheus Theory.”

Favorite Movies: “Braveheart, Dumb & Dumber, Last of the Mohicans.”

Favorite TV Show: “Office.”

Musical Tastes: “U2.”

First Job: “Professional tennis player.”

Current Car: “Still done have one [smiles]. I just rent a car every week. This week I have a Honda.”

Favorite Meal: “Sushi.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Chocolate chip.”

Greates Sports Moment: “I’d say playing Lleyton Hewitt after being out with three knee surgeries and coming back and playing stadium court in a grand slam stage (lost in five sets in 2007 in Australia) – after previously (in) 2001 getting so close (losing in five sets to Kuerten in French Open fourth round after holding MP). Being able to come back there six years later – was pretty proud to be able to do it.”

Most Painful Moment: “Any time getting injured. Many times. Three knee surgeries, rotator cuff tears. Injuries are the most painful.”

Favorite Tournaments: “Indian Wells, U.S. Open, French Open.”

Your Best, Finest Performance: “One time I beat Tomas Berdych in Indian Wells in straight sets (2007). Played well sometimes in a couple of Challengers – it’s not ATP level – but sometimes I’ve beaten guys 1 and 1 in 45 minutes. And time winning a Challenger or matches in ATP – that’s sweet.”

Closest Tennis Friends: “Todd Widom, American guys.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “I like to think of myself as kind of a joker. Safin is kind of funny. He’s a little crazy. Tursunov is a jokester.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Lleyton Hewitt, Nadal.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “Playing a match one time, French Open juniors (1994), my opponent Kevin Kim, hit a serve and it hit a bird, it was flying across the court. Unfortunately it killed the bird. Another time I played a Challenger and the fish dropped out of the sky – in the middle of the court – and it was an eagle carrying the fish from the ocean. And dropped it in the middle of the point during the match (Savannah, GA).”

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Any time you break a racquet it looks kind of embarrassing to yourself and supporters. One time I played a match in Bermuda and my shorts were on backwards. I had to go back and change.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Federer – so smooth. Still enjoy watching Nadal play. Still enjoy watching Agassi tapes. Santoro – so unorthodox. So fun to watch Rafter – serve and volley.”

Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “I would say it would be American football.”

Childhood Dream: “To be honest, I loved tennis. Tennis player. I enjoyed playing soccer, baseball, tennis. I realized I was better at tennis. And it’s been my lifelong goal to be a professional tennis player.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty. Just being sincere. Genuine, not too superficial.”

Updated Biofile with Michael Russell…

Greatest Career Moment: “Playing all four stadium courts in all four grand slams is pretty special. Fourth round at the French Open was quite amazing, 2001. And reaching semifinals of three different surfaces – grass, indoor, and clay – and especially in my hometown tournament of Houston was special as well.”

Most Painful Moment: “Every time I lose [smiles]. It’s tough, I’m a real competitor, I hate to lose. I take it really hard. Some losses are more than others. If you have a match point or you’re up in the match, there’s quite a few of them but I try to put those behind me.”

Strangest Match: “There’s been some matches that have been pretty unusual, the finals of Charlottesville a few years ago I was down 5-0 in the final, third set, came back and won (vs Peter Polansky), that was pretty crazy. One of those weird moments where I just happened to come through and it went really well.”

First Famous Player You Met Or Encountered: “Jimmy Connors, twelve years old, San Antonio, I was playing a national tournament. And Jimmy Connors was there practicing with Sammy Giammalva. That’s the first time I even saw Jimmy Connors, it was pretty neat.”

Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “It’s such an incredible sport. You have a lot of reward and you have a lot of down but it’s all on you, it’s one on one. It’s so unique. It’s really the only sport everything is upon you.”

You can read more Biofiles at www.mrbiofile.com

Andre Agassi · ATP · Lleyton Hewitt · Michael Russell

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