J
joshburger
Guest
i see he's in the aussie open draw... didn't he retire at the end of 2009, or did he put his retirement on hold?
DNShade
Hall of Fame
He came out of retirement to be the only player to play in grand slams in four different decades. Too much to resist.
-French veteran Fabrice Santoro will play in his 70th Grand Slam tournament at next week’s Australian Open, extending his career into a fourth decade.
Santoro, who was 16 when he took part in his first major at the 1989 French Open, retired last year after he was farewelled at an event in Paris.
But the 37-year-old Santoro said the lure was too strong for one more appearance in the Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals in 2006 and won the doubles events in 2003 and 2004.
“It was going to be my last match in Paris, but I couldn’t resist to be in Melbourne,” Santoro told Australian Associated Press on Thursday.
“The invitation came to me and I said `Oh, I just want to go there, buy my ticket, practice a few weeks and play the Australian Open one more time.’
“… when I started in `89 I remember my father said `OK, it’s good you’re professional, you play the big events and try to play for three, four, five years.’ This is my 22nd year, so never I thought I would be able to play that long at that level.”
Santoro was proud of his longevity given the way tennis had changed during his career.
“The players are so strong now compared with a long time ago, the rackets have changed, the speed of the game has changed a lot and when I look at the matches I played 22 years ago and now, it’s two different sports,” he said.
“But I was able to improve my game and change my game to be professional and it was a lot of work and I’m proud about it.”
When Santoro started out in 1989, Ivan Lendl finished the year at No. 1 and Pete Sampras was yet to win one of his eventual 14 Grand Slam titles.
Roger Federer, who broke the Sampras record with his 15th singles major at Wimbledon last year, was 7 years old and—at least according to his ATP biographical details—hadn’t yet started playing tennis.
Santoro said he’s serious about his appearance at Melbourne Park.
“I want to be competitive, I (have been) working hard for a few weeks to be ready for one more Grand Slam,” he said.
“I know that a Grand Slam match can go to five hours and I’m 37, so it’s tough, especially in Melbourne where the temperature can be over 40 degrees.
“I want to play one more match for sure, I would like to win and then I would be out on the big stage, out there playing with a smile.”
-French veteran Fabrice Santoro will play in his 70th Grand Slam tournament at next week’s Australian Open, extending his career into a fourth decade.
Santoro, who was 16 when he took part in his first major at the 1989 French Open, retired last year after he was farewelled at an event in Paris.
But the 37-year-old Santoro said the lure was too strong for one more appearance in the Australian Open, where he reached the quarterfinals in 2006 and won the doubles events in 2003 and 2004.
“It was going to be my last match in Paris, but I couldn’t resist to be in Melbourne,” Santoro told Australian Associated Press on Thursday.
“The invitation came to me and I said `Oh, I just want to go there, buy my ticket, practice a few weeks and play the Australian Open one more time.’
“… when I started in `89 I remember my father said `OK, it’s good you’re professional, you play the big events and try to play for three, four, five years.’ This is my 22nd year, so never I thought I would be able to play that long at that level.”
Santoro was proud of his longevity given the way tennis had changed during his career.
“The players are so strong now compared with a long time ago, the rackets have changed, the speed of the game has changed a lot and when I look at the matches I played 22 years ago and now, it’s two different sports,” he said.
“But I was able to improve my game and change my game to be professional and it was a lot of work and I’m proud about it.”
When Santoro started out in 1989, Ivan Lendl finished the year at No. 1 and Pete Sampras was yet to win one of his eventual 14 Grand Slam titles.
Roger Federer, who broke the Sampras record with his 15th singles major at Wimbledon last year, was 7 years old and—at least according to his ATP biographical details—hadn’t yet started playing tennis.
Santoro said he’s serious about his appearance at Melbourne Park.
“I want to be competitive, I (have been) working hard for a few weeks to be ready for one more Grand Slam,” he said.
“I know that a Grand Slam match can go to five hours and I’m 37, so it’s tough, especially in Melbourne where the temperature can be over 40 degrees.
“I want to play one more match for sure, I would like to win and then I would be out on the big stage, out there playing with a smile.”
J
joshburger
Guest
^ o i love watching him play too, i wasnt complaining hahaha
