An excerpt...
Blake’s ranking bobbed up and down, peaking at 22 in the world. He shaved his dreadlocks and gave up his sex symbol image along with millions in potential endorsements. (I’m guessing his hair was prematurely thinning.) Then in 2004 he had the year from Hell. He ran into a tennis net post and broke his neck. Then he got a shingles virus in his face that paralyzed it on one side. Then his dad died.There was some doubt that Blake would ever play tennis again. He watched the major tournaments from his couch and wondered about his future. In time, his body recovered, and he felt that he had been given a second chance. He grabbed it by the neck.
He then goes on to describe the epic battles that James Blake fought to get to the finals of the Indian Wells tournament, and then proceeds to describe the final between him and Roger Federer...
Against all odds, Blake blazed to a 4-1 first set advantage against the all-time greatest player on earth. It seemed as though nothing could stop him.
And then something happened. The momentum shifted. The rest of the match was all Federer. Blake seemed to fade away, settling for runner-up, but his effort that week was enough to put him in the top ten in the world.
But what caught my attention was Blake's statement at the end of the match...
At the trophy ceremony, Blake spoke to the crowd. He said that in 2004, when he was in the hospital with a broken neck, only one tennis player sent him a note to wish him well. It was Roger Federer.
Enough said...Roger Federer is now among my top favourite players in Tennis (the ones that I have grown up watching) now...Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, Marat Safin, and my all-time favourite Pete Sampras ! Up until now I had my doubts as to whether he belonged to that august group...that simple act on his part ensures that he deserves his place among the greats, not just for his tennis, but for his spirit !
2 comments:
Finally!
I rest my case...
That was from me - Nisha
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