Five years ago in the first round of the Orange Bowl, Michael Zheng of New Jersey, earned a match point vs. Arthur Fils of France. Fils saved it and won the second and third sets en route to the final and title.
Since that match point, the careers of Fils and Zheng have evolved to much different trajectories. Fils is currently ranked 20 in the world on the ATP World Tour and Zheng is a star player at Columbia University. Zheng reached the NCAA singles final earlier this year and an ATP Challenger final a year ago in Puerto Rico, losing to Kei Nishikori.
Fils has won three ATP singles titles. Zheng played US Open qualies this year but lost in the second round to Kamil Majchrzac despite serving for the match at 54 in the third.
Yet the gulf between Fils and Zheng is considerable – Zheng is ranked outside 800 – Fils is on the edge of superstardom – that one point at Orange Bowl could have mapped different destinies.
Or is it more complex than such a simplification? Maybe Fils has that innate alpha aura which fueled that comeback win and Zheng may lack that quality of ruthlessness, desire, hunger, guts, viciousness, cool under duress. But things can change, flaws can be fixed, but of course you can’t buy confidence at the shop.
Some players get scared at the moment of truth. Some get cocky, they buckle down and step up with their best tennis. No examples are more clear than Djokovic winning three grand Slam matches from match points down vs Federer. You and I saw them all so much they are seared into our beings.
There are many other examples. Hewitt served for the Davis Cup final point vs Costa in Spain 54 in the fifth but fell into a love 40 hole, only to galvanize his mind and machismo and best tennis to win the next five points in a row and the match.
Seles down 26 in the first set tiebreaker of the French Open final, her first major final, only to reel off eight points in a row to snatch the set and inevitably the title.
This is the hyper sensitivity and fragility of elite tennis where fine lines and centimeters make the difference. It can happen on the great and minor stages, it just so happened Fils and Zheng produced their example on a small obscure court.
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Steve · November 4, 2024 at 7:39 am
Fils is also the better athlete but it’s those other things you list as well.
Scoop Malinowski · November 4, 2024 at 4:40 pm
Steve, how do you conclude Fils is the better athlete?
Steve · November 5, 2024 at 9:02 am
Because I always bet on black!
Scoop Malinowski · November 5, 2024 at 1:27 pm
Steve, stick to roulette )
Steve · November 5, 2024 at 7:08 pm
HAHAHAHA