Marat is an even sadder story than Mark. He actually had the skill set and the chops to have won at least 5 or more slams. Fat Dave had skills, but he never had the ability to play through his nerves on the biggest stages.
I dunno. Del Potro's story is sad. Maybe it depends on if you look at it from the player's side or the fan's. Safin always had a conflicted relationship with tennis, (read: "his mother," says Dr. Freud.) He might say he got what he wanted out of tennis. (Money, time at the top of the game, big-boobed blondes, etc.) I never thought much of Philipoussis's game, (a bit the way I feel about Khachanov's,) but Nalbandian is a bigger "what if." If he'd applied himself, the confidence might have followed. Who knows?
I don’t understand the Del Potro aspect. He was a disciplined kid who worked hard and was sidelined by injury.
What I mean is there's a difference between "sad" and unfulfilled or squandered or "wasted."
This is what I said above. He may not see it the same way as the tennis world. But it's his life, and if it worked for him, then that's his choice. A lot has been made of Monfils, for example, who lives for the fun in it, and the showmanship. Kyrgios is said to admire that. Sometimes people find their own level of happiness, and who are we to begrudge them?
Indeed it does. The point has been made more than a few times. Federer, Nadal and Djokovic don't just have unusual talents, which they do. They have also combined it with a lot of hard work, discipline, a natural competitiveness, and a willingness to sacrifice for what they want. They're not just better than everyone else, they're more committed. (I'm having a tense issue, since Roger is retired, but you get my point.) We keep waiting for the younger ones to get the memo about dedication. This is why I like Alcaraz. A lot of skills, AND a lot of dedication.
I will use this the next time you opine on some of Djokovic’s choices. You can’t tell me I do not have the right to comment on someone’s choices as it pertains to their tennis career. I don’t begrudge Safin anything. In my opinion he squandered his talents and career.
Roger pushed Nadal and then both pushed Novak, that can't be denied. But we can talk about how much other players were "stifled." They could have tried harder, trained harder, played harder. Weren't we just talking about Safin and Nalbandian? I don't see who was "stifled," if they were out-played.Looks as if Roger extended the careers of "The Big 3," rewriting the record books for all time IMO! I think Nadal might have retired by now if not for Roger winning those last 3 majors! That made him stay and push Novak to new limits to overtake them both! This changed the course of history since more than a couple generations of players were stifled from achieving much of anything with them ruling the tour for 20+ yrs!
I didn't say you don't have a right to an opinion, I was only looking at it from the players's perspective, as an alternate way of looking at it. Some just don't have the same fire in the belly for it. They live comfortable lives and find their own level with their sport. I think we only have so much room to begrudge them. We can wish for more of them, but they can only produce what they can. That's my opinion.
A tennis career is measured by on court success. Off court choices can affect that career positively or negatively. Novak made a choice not to vaccinate. De Minaur got caught in a police sting of over 2000 people in Spain buying fake Covid papers. This was after he attacked Djokovic for trying to stay and play last year without being vaccinated. I’m sure with his net worth of 162 million dollars Novak could have bought papers too. But he didn’t. He lost 2/3 of a year based on his choice for his peace of mind and sense of happiness and well being. And de Minaur learned not to poke the bear.
au.sports.yahoo.com
Hey Bro..I'm not condoning that type of lifestyle but we have seen Poo, Safin , Verdasco, Feli Gerulatis and now Kyrgios live the playboy lifestyle..it's their choice and they have ONLY hurt themselves.. again what's all the cosigners
Pete was a bit jaded from those dumbass super Saturday US open semi. He took Safin to the woodshed the next year at USOThe way he throttled Pistol Pete in that 2000 USO final…
Gerulatis died from carbon monoxide poisoning in the house he was staying at .it wasn't from drugs or etc
Gulbis pappy is a billionaire, Ernie had the talent but was soft with no discipline. Chasing women is what he does while waiting for the inheritance to shipping business fortune. Might be hard to pass up if you have a weak spine and lush for the flesh.
Yet he had those years where he gave up smoking and drinking and the multiple prostitutes to be more competitive - and he was! He was making it deep into the draws and taking some unexpected scalps in the process… he beat Djokovic in straight sets at Brisbane, knocked Berdych out of Wimbledon, made it to the semifinals of the French. Won 6 titles, over 7.5 million dollars and was ranked 10 in the world.
Gulbis quit smoking?! Good on him. But still, talk about people that didn't really have the game or the head for the big wins.
Aren't you the guy that just said Gulbis cleaned up his lifestyle and gave him a pass? Vitas got sober, for some time before he died. He had turned his life around and become a commentator, when he died. It was a defective air conditioner that killed him. Is that the fault of his hedonistic lifestyle? It was a bad break for a guy on the come-back. Where's the compassion?
| Thread starter | Similar threads | Forum | Replies | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
The Ultimate FEDAL (Wars) Thread | Pro Tennis (Mens) | 1923 |
| Similar threads |
|---|
| The Ultimate FEDAL (Wars) Thread |
