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Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Dion Phaneuf has tennis in his blood
2 Comments · Posted by Scoop Malinowski in Articles, Scoop
As the North American summer hard court tennis season ends in September, it also marks a new beginning…NHL training camps have officially opened and the hockey season is just a few weeks away. One professional athlete who plays his fair share of hockey and tennis is the Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf, who has a long-held appreciation for the court game.
The 6-ft, 3-in, 210 pounder says playing tennis has become part of his life. “I started playing tennis with my dad when I was younger. He always played and my uncles always played,” says the 25-year-old native of Edmonton, Alberta. “And my grandfather played a lot of tennis. Ever since I was a kid, they’d take me out and hit balls and that’s how I got into tennis.”
Swinging forehands and backhands on the court might actually be a contributing factor to Phaneuf’s hockey success. “I like it when I’m training in the summer, it’s a good workout, something different than being in the gym,” he says. “It’s great for your foot speed. It’s a lot of fun to get workout in while doing something different, playing a different sport. Tennis is definitely something I like playing and I have a lot of fun with it.”
“The foot speed you develop playing the game – it’s a major part of tennis – is moving your feet. And that’s a major part that ties into the game that we play – is your foot speed. You can never be quick enough in the game that we play. And it helps by playing tennis in the summer.”
Of his tennis skills, strengths and weaknesses, the Maple Leafs captain Phaneuf offers, “I’d like to think my serve would be a strength, and the forehand. But I’d always like to get a better backhand, that’s for sure.”
Of his favorite players to watch, he says, “I like watching Federer. When I was younger, I loved watching Agassi. He was a lot of fun, very entertaining, played with a lot of passion.”
When asked if any professional tennis players stand out to his eye as maybe having the qualities to be a good NHL player, Phaneuf ponders the question then answers, “I think that’s why I liked Agassi. He had a lot of emotion when he played. I think the way he played with a very aggressive style, and that would probably be the closest to our sport.”
Phaneuf had his first live tennis experience at the 2008 U.S. Open. “It was quite an experience. I saw some great matches and it’s very impressive to see live, the speed of the game when you see it live compared to on TV, it’s that much quicker. And it’s very, very impressive.”
Phaneuf was tough enough to last through a toasty afternoon session which included a five setter with Federer. “It’s very hot in the stadium. I don’t think people understand. And there’s not much wind. And the sun’s beating down on you all day. I watched quite a few long matches, five set matches, Federer (vs. Andreev) and Djokovic (vs. Robredo). Their endurance is very impressive.”
Phaneuf plays with a Prince racquet and wears Nike footwear.
Dion says Agassi had the NHL mentality
Richard Pagliaro · September 21, 2010 at 2:59 am
Good one Scoop. I’m always interested in athletes from other sports – Lennox Lewis, Joe Morgan, Bode Miller, etc. – who play tennis and follow it.
I was told Gretzky is a good tennis player – I can definitely imagine him being very good – but never saw him play. My friend is a teaching pro and he saw Brady Anderson play once and said he’s easily a 5.0 player.
Toronto Maple Leafs Tickets · November 12, 2010 at 9:49 am
In the late times, the Maple Leafs team has seen some confusion, but this does not mean that order won’t come back again. Heal is in coming after illness!