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Biofile Interview with Andrew Lake
4 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
By Scoop Malinowski
Spotted At: Delray Beach Tennis Center, Florida
First Tennis Memory: “Was hitting up against a big wall. There used to be a building, like a big, athletic arena, it was brick so we’d hit against the wall across the grass from the parking lot. It was a brick wall so the ball would be bouncing all over the place. That’s the first time I remember playing (age 5 or 5 or 6).”
Tennis Inspirations: “Probably my inspiration in tennis…my dad was a big, big figure in our lives as far as being around tennis courts, as far as playing, hitting and stuff like that. He’s the one that kind of brought us to the courts and all that. Probably my dad and any of these guys that play professional tennis now. These guys are playing such a high level now. It gives us something else to look forward to even though our games are declining, maybe.”
Greatest Tennis Moment: “2003 – won the national 30 and over gold slam, which means you win all four in your age group. One’s the clay court in Florida after I won the first three (hard, grass, indoors). So a little pressure on that match in the final and I won it in three sets. (Against who?) Mike Schmidt of Orlando.”
Most Painful Tennis Moment: “Was being up in the third set – being up 5-1 in the third set of the 35’s hard courts, against Ken Kuperstein. 5-1, 40-15, serving. Double match point. Losing 7-5. That hurts to say…that’s how painful that was.”
Which Match(es) Did You Feel At Your Best: “Oh man, probably it was a couple matches, maybe about 6-7 years ago. Playing in 35’s, played in a tournament 30 and over in Fort Lauderdale. Got to the finals in singles – lost in the finals of the singles to a good player. Then I had to play the semis of the mixed doubles, the semis of the mens doubles, the finals of the mixed and the finals of the mens all in a row. I think, in the day – 13 sets. I won the other two but lost in the finals of the singles. That day I played well, played bad, played well but played all day long. So that was cool.”
Favorite Players To Watch: “I’m sure you get this but I love watching Federer. But I love watching Djokovic and Nadal, even Murray. All these guys have their different techniques. As a tennis player you can kind of appreciate how they all play. Even this guy who played against Roddick tonight (Dennis Istomin) is probably gonna be a good player at some point. He has kind of a calm way the way he plays. All these guys are good, it’s hard to say which one.”
Strangest Match: “In the 30’s, match point, the tournament I was just talking to you about, the guy – I lost the first set 6-3. I was in a second set tiebreaker. I was down 6-zip. I came back to 6-5. He’s serving, match point still. He serves – he had a big serve – Andrew Painter from Australia – he hit the serve, I hit the return. He came to the net and he kind of hit the ball at me. So I hit the backhand topspin, had like a little side spin on it. And I jammed him and he kinda came across his body with his backhand volley, sliced it too. I knew there was some spin on it. But it bounced and literally went ten feet. And that was it. I was just standing in the same spot. It was like, What?!”
Racquet You Use: “I’m using a Wilson 6.1 Pro Staff for years, I don’t even know how long.”
Shoes You Wear On Court: “Nike.”
Funny Tennis Memory: “Maybe somebody getting lucky and hitting an unbelievable shot. There’s a million of those. That’s the only thing I laugh at.”
Favorite Tennis Book: “Winning Ugly (By Brad Gilbert) was good. I’d have to say that.”
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “I think it’s obviously good exercise. Mentally, as you get older, knowing for me, a lot of people nowadays, you’re looking for something to keep your mind working. I think every time you play a tennis match, as you age, you’re constantly messing with your mind every time you go out there. So it’s either up or down or you feel like you play good. So I think your mind is always trying to balance itself out throughout the day if you play a lot. Most of the time tennis people are fairly sharp people. In general, I think maybe because of that.”
Lake played 13 sets in one day at nationals
Steve · March 5, 2012 at 12:56 am
Did you ever play him?
Scoop Malinowski · March 5, 2012 at 2:09 am
No Steve, and not sure I could hang with a player as good as Lake. I’m going to look up his record and see if we have any common opponents. He’s the real deal, one of the best in the world in his age group. He’s played exhibitions with ATP top 100 guys at the Plantation event I was told. That means he’s about a 6.5 level player, I’m 4.5-5.0. I think I’d be a 6.5 level player if I played all my life though, I didn’t get serious into tennis and playing tournaments until age 31 15 years ago.
Scoop Malinowski · March 5, 2012 at 8:33 pm
Steve, Lake beat a guy 64 62 who went three sets with a guy I have lost to 75 63. So maybe if I play my absolute best I can hang in there.
Steve · March 6, 2012 at 11:10 am
Cool.