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Opinion: Thiem Will Win Roland Garros

By Scoop Malinowski

Dominic Thiem convinced me today that he is ready to win Roland Garros and I believe he will in a matter of weeks.

He showed today he can not only exchange brutal topspin rallies with Rafael Nadal on red clay but he can outplay, outsmart and out-grind the king of clay.

We can wonder if Nadal peaked too early this year or if Thiem is measuring his peak more precisely. Or is it just destiny?

The Rome crowds seem to be in love with Thiem, or is it an underlying tiredness of seeing Nadal win so so so much over the last decade?

Thiem certainly is a worthy champion with his astounding play and first class conduct as a player. There is no question Thiem has been a model sportsman throughout his entire career thus far.

Nadal has had brief moments where is over-enthusiasm to win has offended tennis afficianados. For instance, the 2014 Australian Open final where Nadal apparently feigned an injury after losing the first set to Stan Wawrinka and took a long delay in the locker room which resulted in vociferous boos from the Aussie crowd when he returned to the court. Those boos clearly hurt and distracted Nadal.

Also earlier this year in Monte Carlo, Nadal was also booed for his non-reaction of a bad call made against David Goffin when Nadal clearly hit a shot long (which the ball mark proved) yet the chair umpire overruled the out call which saved Nadal from losing a key game in the first set after already being down a break to the Belgian. Goffin was never the same player after that call. Nadal won the match and the title but the incident showed weakness on Nadal’s part to not give Goffin the call.

Other players like Tim Smyczek surely would have given the point but Rafa did not. And the French crowds surely remember this and they could use it against Nadal during Roland Garros. Will or could repercussions of this controversy come back to haunt Rafa? Only time will tell. But anything is possible with Paris crowds who have shown a shortness of appreciation for Nadal’s style and play methods in the past.

Another questionable decision by Team Nadal was playing every one of the pre-Paris clay court events. Nadal, soon to be 31, has already won Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona and there really was no logical reason to burn more fuel in Rome. Nadal could have skipped Rome or at least pulled out after a round or two citing exhaustion or a slight soreness of the knee.

But Nadal kept up pursuit for the total Euro red clay sweep and has now lost in straight sets to arguably his first or second threat. And now there has to be a fraction (or more) of self-doubt in Rafa’s mind: Is Thiem actually the better player on clay than me?

Of course it’s all speculation and theorizing. But this is what tennis observers do when analyzing a major tournament. All factors have to be considered. In Nadal’s favor a loss could add extra incentive and motivation and it could also take some of the pressure and expectation away. Now a lot of pundits will be closely watching Thiem. And now Thiem has put extra pressure and expectation on himself.

But my educated guess is that Thiem is ready. He is in that unbeatable zone right now after beating the red hot Nadal and saving those three match points against Querrey yesterday.

I believe Dominic Thiem has fully convinced himself today that he can and will win the 2017 Roland Garros title.

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93 comments

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 10:29 am

    Scoop, those instances sound like heat of the battle stuff. Personally I’m never for making any player a saint, they are just too darn human. The obvious Nadal as competitive punk examples you ID sound a whole lot like the pouty McEnroe of his ref bullying days, or a wta player who once had some horrendous words for a linesperson after an epically bad call.

    Players can be wrong too. I don’t think it tarnishes their reputations too much, but if that means no sportsman of the year award so be it. It should always go to the most deserving players and in the ATP tour I’m pretty sure it hasn’t gone to the Rafa Nadal team in a while!

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 10:34 am

    Catherine, I called it for Svitolina! Novotna syndrome…

  • catherine bell · May 21, 2017 at 11:03 am

    Andrew –
    You called it right ! But not Novotna syndrome yet – we’ll wait for a blow out W’don final first.

    OCC from Cahill I read were as inane as usual. He can’t stop Simona brooding on past wrongs. She needs some CBT.

  • catherine bell · May 21, 2017 at 12:01 pm

    Djokovic out fast – we’re awaiting an announcement on his new coach apparently. Agassi ?

  • catherine bell · May 21, 2017 at 12:52 pm

    Yes – Agassi in Paris. Someone here mentioned Andre a while ago. Scoop?

  • Hartt · May 21, 2017 at 1:19 pm

    It was so great to see Sascha win this match and get his first Masters title. Imagine it is the first of many. It was also wonderful to see Rod Laver present the trophy to Sascha, from a great player of the past to a future great. Sascha was very gracious in his victory speech, giving lots of praise to Novak and saying he would be pleased if he had half the career Novak has.

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 2:20 pm

    Zverev Alex now heir apparent to #1 ranking – as soon as January 2018. No offense to Kyrgios, but the second a teenager wins a Masters title, ahead of any of his peers and anyone like Tsonga who has battled big four for over a decade and come up short, and beats a big four guy to do it?
    Huge. This is a monumental win.
    It’s up to him to show he’s no Daniela Hantuchova. But his peers now have something to think about and Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, Federer are now officially looking over their shoulder.
    The tour has now changed.

  • Hartt · May 21, 2017 at 2:44 pm

    I have been a huge Sascha fan ever since he made the SF in Hamburg as a 17-year-old in 2014. He seemed to come out of nowhere but already showed great potential. But, despite that, I don’t see Sascha as a big threat for No. 1 in the near future. He is still developing as a player and he will have peaks and valleys over the next few months. Young players are not usually super consistent, even one as talented as Sascha.

    But, give him a couple more years and he could be contesting for a top spot in the rankings. Maybe not No. 1 but near it.

  • Bryan · May 21, 2017 at 4:45 pm

    What a crazy finals weekend it’s been in Rome. Before yesterday’s semifinal I’d be inclined to agree with Thiem winning Paris. He figured out how to handle Rafa on clay whereas Dojokovic hasn’t.

    Now with Djokovic’s destruction of Thiem and Zverev’s straight set win in the finals, this year’s FO becomes wide open. This will make it a much more interesting tournament than if Rafa had smoked everyone again.

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 6:12 pm

    Zverev Alex changed the sport today. It’s happened a few times in the last decade. I’d say these are the big ones.
    – Kyrgios beating Nadal at Wimbledon as a teenager
    – Djokovic hitting the enormous forehand against Federer in the 2010 US Open semifinals, shaking Federer and then winning that match
    – Wawrinka shocking Djokovic in the 2014 Australian Open quarterfinal
    – Pennetta in 2015 and her countrywoman making the US Open final, with Vinci. This proved that the slams no longer belonged to Serena Williams, Sharapova, Azarenka, etc, and throwing open the door to Kerber, Muguruza and maybe others like Konta etc
    – Fritz making the Memphis 2016 final, which motivated the entire us men’s squad to get their act together and which remains the single most important catalyst in lighting a fire under them – Querrey’s Wimbledon quarterfinal happened because of fear of Fritz I think
    – Zverev Alex winning a Masters title this afternoon at Djokovic’s expense

    This is earth shattering. I have no idea whether it means Zverev Alex will win everything in sight – I doubt it – but it removes ALL the excuses of everyone from Tsonga to Fritz to any younger player out there that the big four own everything and their progress is good enough.

    Alex Zverev destroyed that comfort with mediocre or decent but not career breakthrough level achievement. He’s eliminated all the excuses

    The floodgates are open folks. The big four is going to tumble as the ambition of every talented but underachieving player has been reignited. It wont be enough for them to have great training or scheduling or anything like that because players are going to be scared of Zverev.

    This is probably the best thing to happen to the sport since Federer and Nadal squared off in the Miami 2005 final, which officially kicked off a rivalry that grew into the four person big four rivalry of the last ten years.

    It’s over folks. It might take five months, a year, a year and a half, but the clock is now ticking.

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 6:14 pm

    Like Rafter once said to Blake after barely beating him, maybe you didn’t have enough belief. Well that’s over, these guys now believe they can pull it off. And so they will.

  • sharoten · May 21, 2017 at 6:54 pm

    Scoop Malinowski · “The thing about the Goffin call was that Rafa pretended to be obvlivious about the overrule in his favor. Goffin protested vehemently”

    Rafa WAS oblivious. He had turned to go get his towel. But you neatly avoided my question – name one single player who has conceded a point that the umpire has ruled good at the far end of the court. You can’t, but you continue to malign Rafa for something he had no control over.

    “Rafa could have EASILY stepped up and overruled the umpire like Smyczek did vs Rafa in Australia.”

    That was a completely different situation and you’re really stretching to compare the two. Smyczek didn’t give Rafa a point – he gave him a first serve because of obvious crowd interference at the top of his serve.

    “Rafa had to KNOW that Goffin was right by the way he was protesting and the certainty he showed on identifying the out ball mark.”

    Rafa also KNEW that the umpire had gotten out of his chair and gone down to inspect the mark. Rafa has seen many a player go nuts over a line call. The ferocity of a temper tantrum is hardly a reason to expect the opponent to make a call he can’t see from the other end of the court.

    “The time he bullied the chair umpire in the French Open final vs Djokovic to stop the match in the light rain after he had lost EIGHT games in a row to Djokovic was another unpleasant moment which showed Rafa in an unfavorable way.”

    Only if you’re a Djokovic fan. You can’t create an alternative reality to make a fallacious point (well, you can and you do if you’re a Trump sycophant). It wasn’t a light rain, it was raining hard and had been all day and the courts weren’t absorbing the rain anymore. Rafa won the first two sets in the rain and yes, Djoke won eight games but Rafa had broken the streak and won a game before the match was called.

    “If you want to call me mentioning these episodes “rants” go ahead but they are truths and interpretations you just don’t like.”

    No, I just don’t like these alternative realities you create – nothing truthful about them.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:18 pm

    Schiavone should have at least had a WC into doubles. She really deserved to be in the single draw. She is one of the all time great Italian champions. Shame those clowns mistreated her this way. Billie Jean King or somebody political should have spoken up for Schiavone because bypassing her for the singles draw could be the injustice of the year in pro tennis. All those loudmouths attacked Nastase but those same political loudmouths were silent for Schiavone. Shame on anybody involved in the injustice against the great Francesca Schiavone.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:20 pm

    Andrew; it’s funny these Rafa fans have a blind eye to these episodes where he utilizes gamesmanship. The Rafa supporters are extremely loyal and devoted to Rafa and they are quick to defend his honor against any criticism which is a fine trait that Nadal has inspired in his many fans.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:22 pm

    Yes Catherine I mentioned it last week after I saw a tweet by Simon Briggs about it. Figure Briggs’ source is probably Gilbert who is apparently still pretty tight with Agassi.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    Zverev is the future number one. Of this there can be no doubt. Even Rafa said this over a year ago. Greatness knows greatness and we saw it today which was the finest hour so far by Young AZ. The best is yet to come. And you have to love how he’s rebounded from the excruciating losses to Rafa and Chung. Zverev proves again that racquet smashing works 🙂 (AZ bashed his Head after losing to Chung.)

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:27 pm

    Zverev will be no 1 Hartt no doubt. First saw Zverev playing Sarasota Open four years ago when he was either fifteen or sixteen. His brother was watching and he had this calm watching as if he had no doubt it was just a matter of time. And it is, as George Michael sang, just a matter of time.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:31 pm

    Bryan; This French Open sure has become a whole lot more interesting in the last four days with Rafa losing to Thiem, Djokovic connecting with Agassi, and now Zverev showing he’s now a leading favorite to win Roland Garros too. This year’s Roland Garros is absolutely fascinating even despite the absence of Federer.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:35 pm

    Nice comments there Andrew. Yes this win by Zverev could indeed be an ATP Tour balance of power shift in the direction of the NEXTGEN brigade. But also Zverev now has a HUGE X on his back. Let’s see how he handles that extra pressure.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:37 pm

    One of the great sportsmanship stories of tennis when the great Patrick Rafter inspired young, mediocre and lightly regarded James Blake to ATP greatness. You wonder how Blake’s career pans out if Patrick Rafter does not have Blake those highly inspiring words and pat on the back. All time classy move by Rafter to do that for Blake. Not many other top players would do that for a young up and comer but Rafter did.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 21, 2017 at 8:45 pm

    Sharoten: Do you believe that Rafa has NEVER once faked an injury to ice the opponent and break his momentum? As Johny McEnroe would yell: ANSWER THE QUESTION!

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 9:17 pm

    Scoop, yes, to me, now the nextgen knows it. Kyrgios knows it. Zverev Alex knows it. Nadal knows it. Djokovic knows it. The floodgates are open and there’s no going back.

    Sorry to make this so dramatic, but that’s just a huge win. It’s like Michael Chang winning the French Open – not as huge but HUGE considering the big four have been untouchable outside of a few major losses, like Del Potro at the 2009 us open or Cilic at the 2014 us open or Wawrinka officially shoving himself into the record books and hall of fame.

    Zverev Alex just threw down a challenge. The challenge of fellas, I’ve shown it can be done. I’m not going away. Let’s send the big four into retirement.

    It’s not going to go down that way, but this is going to shove the ambition through the roof. It’s earth shattering.

  • Andrew Miller · May 21, 2017 at 9:29 pm

    Scoop, I like Nadal a lot. But the sainthood is too much for me. Yes for the most part he’s a great gentleman and a fierce competitor. And arguing a line call in his favor or forcing a referee’s hand isn’t off limits in the sport and of course he does it. Not often but it happens.

    Everyone has their fans. But let’s not forget these gentlemen and ladies are the fiercest athletes out there! Being sweet doesn’t usually get the job done for the hall of fame. Personally I think it’s a lot better to see that guys like Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray are so fierce. I’ve seen some amazing gestures from Federer that benefit his opponent. I’ve also heard him be just a little condescending when defending his turf!

    All in all I know we as fans will miss all of them, even Whining Andy Murray, when they hang up their racquets. They’ve set extremely high standards. And they are also fierce and not immune to arguing for themselves! Heck why wouldn’t they. It’s the same as juniors. If you are one of the top players and you’re down in a match and it begins to rain and you think a break works in your favor, you might tell your opponent that there is a rain delay.if you’re on the other side you might feel it’s not too bad and prefer to wrap up the match and take your chances on the rain clearing up quickly.

    I don’t think that’s so unusual, even if it chips away the Nadal as Saint legend. The guy is a fierce competitor. Why is it so bad if sometimes he wants to control a match, that’s what he does as a player. Accept the man isn’t perfect and you’ll respect him even more. He doesn’t twist the rules but on occasion he bends them. So what.

  • Hartt · May 22, 2017 at 5:47 am

    Regarding Schiavone, there was a pic of her holding a ticket for the Rome tourney. That was so sad. And although it was nice that the tournament honoured Laver and Pennetta, that simply threw into relief the fact that there was no celebration for Frannie.

  • sharoten · May 22, 2017 at 6:56 am

    Scoop, I’ll answer your question when you answer mine about naming a single player who has given away a point on the far baseline after an umpire has personally inspected it and called it good.

    Actually, I’ll answer yours anyway. No, I don’t believe Rafa has ever faked an injury. These guys know every inch of their bodies like a mechanic knows a finely tuned race car and they can tell when something’s wrong. I DO think, however, that Rafa is a bit of a hypochondriac and has called the trainer for a sometimes minor niggle. After all the injuries he’s had and all the time he’s missed and all the pain he’s endured though it’s understandable.

    I honestly don’t think it’s gamesmanship on his part. He prides himself on his conduct on court and his integrity and in fact advertises for his academy that that is as important to teach as the tennis itself. His junior tennis tour in Spain has become wildly popular because sportsmanship is emphasized and the parents love it (the kids seem to as well). It’s what Uncle Toni and his parents instilled in him in childhood and every single tournament director will tell you he’s the player who’s most loved by the tournament staff because of his manners and sunny disposition.

  • catherine bell · May 22, 2017 at 7:42 am

    Hartt –
    I can’t understand the attitude to Francesca – unless it is simply chauvinism or she’s said or done something in the past which we don’t know about. It’s not as though Italian women’s tennis is exactly thriving these days and I can’t see an Italian woman winning RG anytime soon.
    And why honour Laver ? Great player but surely he’s had plenty of honours.

    As we say – bad show, all round.

  • Henk · May 22, 2017 at 8:43 am

    Sharoten, couldn’t agree more!

    I know from personal experience how he’s treated by tournament staff/managements and how he treats people. Have followed him (like many other players) from age 12 (Les Petits As – the most prestigious junior tournament in the world)and the kid Rafa is still very much the same (well-behanved)kid. The values of his academy are what he and his family stand and have stood for.

    Scoop, what bothers me (and that’s exactly what I wrote) is that you single out Rafa for gamesmanship, in stead of appreciating he hangs in there and finishes the match. Once again, I never hear you mention Novak’s ‘gamesmanship’ and/or (well-timed)retirements.

    It seems to bother you that Novak will never ever have Roger’s or Rafa’s popularity, because they instill something personal in both their fan base and the tennis world. That’s most likely the reason why Novak doesn’t receive the same scrunity by you.

    Thiem will, most likely, have that same Roger and Rafa effect on tennis fans and get that same type of following. He’s a naturally nice kid, always appreciative of his opponents, let’s his racket do the talking and then he’s very good-looking too. A welcome addition to the ATP top. Zverev may start instilling those same emotions, with his very mature attitude, amazing tennis, humility and good looks. Another welcome addition. Zverev’s frame (6’6) may be a disadvantage in the longer run as he may be(come) more injury prone.

    Anyway, let’s simply enjoy the great tennis all the mentioned players are capable of!

  • Hartt · May 22, 2017 at 9:10 am

    I agree that both Thiem and Sascha Zverev are appealing players. Thiem is totally charming in interviews, seems a little shy, and genuinely nice. Sascha has more of a swagger, but he was very complimentary to Novak in his champion’s speech and said how pleased he was to receive the trophy from “Mr. Laver.” So he showed respect to those great players.

    It is true that Sascha’s height could be a problem in terms of injuries. But by bringing in top trainer Jez Green so early in his career, and working very hard in his training, he is doing all he can to combat that.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2017 at 9:39 am

    Sharoten; Of course you will turn a blind eye to any of Rafa’s rare uses of injury fakery. But it happens relatively frequently by tp players in majors when they are losing to lesser players who are playing above their typical level. Tim Mayotte’s sister told me about Boris Becker doing it to her brother at Wimbledon when Tim was winning and Boris was having a bad day and Boris who I think was defending champion had some kind of injury or so he led everyone to believe and was losing and he stopped the match and verbally said he was quitting. But then after a delay he changed his mind and re-started the match and guess what? He came back and won. Oldest trick in the book but it works. And I’m pretty sure Rafa has mastered this art also though he only has to use or uses it it on very rare occasions. As for has any player ever given a point away after a chair ump overrules a baseline call? I cant remember exactly. I think I saw it happen several times. In the Zabaleta vs Sluiter US Open match on court 6 or the Arthurs vs Chela match on TV. my memory is a little cloudy today sorry 🙂

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2017 at 9:51 am

    Henk: I will say it again. I love Nadal’s whole career and his fighting spirit. Some of my all time favorite matches are Nadal matches – vs Stepanek in Davis Cup in Czech Rep at age 17. When he won Wimbledon for the first time vs Federer. Those two classics vs Coria on clay in 2005. I have two Nadal shirts. Nadal is a great sportsman but he’s not perfect. Djokovic I think is a slightly better sportsman now and he has made big improvements since his younger days when he was suffering so much from losing to Rafa and Fed and also the physical humiliation episode with Roddick in the US Open locker room also messed up his head for a couple of years. I really don’t care that Djokovic is not as popular as Fed or Nadal and this is irrelevant. But Djokovic is a very popular champion in the sport and for him to emerge and pass Fed and Rafa for a few years is one of the most amazing accomplishments in tennis history – to beat two all time greats so consistently and constantly was once deemed to be impossible yet Djokovic did it. I like them all for different reasons and Murray too and of course Djokovic. I like all the players for different reasons and do not have a special favorite like you and Sharoten. I think certain players can be criticized at times when they deserve it. You must have missed when I noted about Djokovic verbally abusing his entire team in Miami last year during a practice while Serena was playing the final. I noted how the ex player who was a huge Djokovic fan lost all respect and love for Djokovic after witnessing that for only a few seconds or so. She said it was horrible how he treated his team. If I was a Djokovic lover I would never have mentioned that on this site as one of the possible reasons or signs which signaled Djokovic’s sudden decline last year.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2017 at 9:53 am

    Thiem and Zverev are two high class players. I have interviewed both a few times and done Biofiles and have nothing but the highest regard for both who I am certain will each be Grand Slam champions and future legends of pro tennis.

  • Hartt · May 22, 2017 at 10:30 am

    Scoop, can you tell us more about your impressions of Thiem and Zverev since you have interviewed them? It is great to hear that you have a high regard for both.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 22, 2017 at 10:45 am

    I did Biofile with Thiem in Miami two years ago. Just a good kid thoughtful intelligent and like many players has a natural charisma that you like him instantly. I remember he said while we were talking before that the ATP university recommends that players do interviews with media as if you are “talking with your grandparent.” Also he said nice things about Gulbis. You can find the Thiem Biofile on this site if you search for it. Zverev did a Biofile with me in DC the year before last year. He was waiting outside the interview tent after another player was still doing his interview. He was sitting on chair outside with an ATP handler waiting and we did a Biofile and it was excellent. He enjoyed the questions and smiled a lot thinking about his answers. Another player who is a good kid and has his head on right. That Biofile too can be found in the search bar. Also two years ago at US Open I was doing a Biofile with Tommy Paul after he won a qualies match and Zverev walked by and gave Paul a silent cool fist bump.

  • Hartt · May 22, 2017 at 2:37 pm

    Scoop, thanks. It is comforting to hear that a player is as nice as he seems. I always hope that is the case, don’t want to be disappointed. will definitely look for those Biofiles.

  • Andrew Miller · May 24, 2017 at 4:57 am

    Scoop, my comment disappeared. That’s ok. I had pointed out Federer righting a call for Blake even after the umpire and Blake had moved on. One of the great gestures I’ve seen in sport. Miami in mid 2000s, want to say 2006, at the time Blake was emerging as the top USA player for a very brief period.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2017 at 9:41 am

    Andrew; Sorry not sure why that comment evaporated – it was a top comment too. Sharoten ignored it 🙂

  • catherine bell · May 24, 2017 at 12:09 pm

    Scoop –
    I posted a comment which also disappeared yesterday (it wasn’t important) and I got the message ‘Account Suspended’ – not anything to do with me I hope.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2017 at 1:21 pm

    Catherine; We are changing servers and adding a few new things to the site, that was the reason for the site being down yesterday, all should be finished after the weekend.

  • Hartt · May 24, 2017 at 1:51 pm

    I got the Account Suspended message as well and hoped it was linked to the changes you mentioned earlier. I would really miss this site.

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 24, 2017 at 2:19 pm

    Thanks Hartt for your kind words and support. We plan on being around for a good while and feel making a few minor changes is in the best interests of the site and keeping it fresh and evolving,

  • catherine bell · May 24, 2017 at 3:20 pm

    Thanks – thought, hoped it was that.
    Look forward to being around for a while 🙂

  • Krzysztof · May 25, 2017 at 5:34 am

    As for fair play behaviours, Pat Rafter act from 1997 was a really classy one. That’s excerpt from newspaper:

    He’s such an unrelentingly decent, regular guy that he’s one of the few players who will reverse a line call in his opponent’s favor. There was a notable incident in the Australian Hardcourt Championship in 1997, when he gave a match away to Andrei Cherkasov. They were locked in a protracted tie-break, one of those Rafter specials, at 13-13, when Rafter chummed a
    forehand volley deep. The linesman called it good. Rafter wheeled around and said “No.” He gave Cherkasov his sixth match point, which the Russian promptly converted to win. An incredulous Cherkasov met Rafter at the net and pumped his hand, saying “Thank you, thank you. I can’t believe it.” Not many players would give away an important point, one that really mattered.
    “Let’s put it this way,” Kilderry says. “I wouldn’t do it. And I think I’m a pretty nice guy.”

  • Scoop Malinowski · May 25, 2017 at 9:14 am

    Rafter was one of the best sportsmen and they could rename the sportsmanship award in the name of Patrick Rafter. Another one of his great display of unique sportsmanship was telling Blake after he beat young Blake 76 63 I think was that Blake had the game to be a successful pro but he just did not have the belief yet and to be a successful pro he has to have the belief. Blake cited these words from Rafter as being very helpful to his career and his confidence. I have never heard of another competing pro going out of his way and generously helping another young player out like that before in quite this manner.

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