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Post by janie on May 3, 2009 19:00:28 GMT -5
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Post by leelee on May 3, 2009 19:34:24 GMT -5
The Gnome is so awesome.
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Post by Brinyi on May 6, 2009 10:18:48 GMT -5
The Gnome will appear on the French TV show "Vivement dimanche" on May 24 along with some guy named Monfils. The taping is tomorrow.
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Post by Brinyi on May 6, 2009 10:30:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the link, Janie! In that interview he says that Coria was the best actor and the worst sportsman. Edberg was the best sportsman. He mentions the non-handshake in the Berprych match in 2006. The handshake he got after the Federer AO match last year, when he broke the slam record, he mentions as his favourite handshake. His match against Federer at the 2005, night session, was the one he enjoyed the most. He says Nadal is the most bizarre, because he apparently goes out of his way to intimidate his opponents in the locker room before the match -- but is one of the nicest guys as soon as the match is over. He says the most relaxed player is himself. Norm Chryst is the most annoying umpire, Pascal Maria the best (or at least the most fun).
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Post by Brinyi on May 15, 2009 13:57:10 GMT -5
The Gnome is working on a book. Plans are for it to be published in September.
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Post by janie on May 27, 2009 7:02:40 GMT -5
Au revoir, notre cher petit nain! Nous t'aimons! :love:
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Post by freudo on Jun 19, 2009 8:40:58 GMT -5
into the semis this week, woohoo, go all the way fabrice!
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Post by Brinyi on Jun 24, 2009 9:03:34 GMT -5
«C'est ma tournée d'adieu. Mais je ne compte pas la faire en touriste. J'ai toujours dit que j'attendais avec impatience le gazon, car c'est là que je me sentais capable de faire un coup.»
Ferrero is next! JCF leads the H2H 4-2 but the Gnome beat him at AO this year.
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Post by Brinyi on Sept 3, 2009 14:44:06 GMT -5
"Je savais que je jouerai ici mon dernier Grand Chelem mais je ne savais pas ce que je ressentirai sur le terrain. Avant le match ça allait, sur le court aussi, et dans les dernières minutes je me suis senti un peu triste sur le terrain. Mais ça ira mieux demain (sourire)… "
(sniff)
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Post by janie on Sept 3, 2009 15:22:54 GMT -5
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Post by janie on Oct 16, 2009 18:52:15 GMT -5
haven't read most of this yet, but here it is ... Santoro fait le pointPar Pauline Dahlem, jeudi 15 octobre 2009 à 17:04 Dans une interview accordée à Marc-Olivier Fogiel sur Europe1, Fabrice Santoro a évoqué la fin de sa carrière qui se rapproche à grands pas, son avenir, mais également ses souvenirs. Extraits. Votre père déclare : "Un sportif meurt deux fois, la première fois, c'est quand il arrête sa carrière" Oui mon père me l'a souvent dit. Ça sera une nouvelle page, une nouvelle vie, de nouveaux objectifs. C'est vrai que j'y pense de plus en plus à cette nouvelle vie, la dead line approche. Pour la suite, j'aime beaucoup mon rôle de consultant, les médias, j'ai déjà quelques rendez-vous qui m'attendent. Je n'ai pas la peur du vide, parce que j'ai eu beaucoup de satisfactions sur le terrain dans ma vie de sportif mais également de frustrations à côté parce que lorsque l'on est pris dans cette sorte de rouleau compresseur, on a peu de temps pour sa vie privée. Le tennis est une vraie passion pour moi, c'est ce qui m'a rendu heureux pendant toutes ces années. Vos relations avec Guy Forget ?On a été très très proches à une période. Mais nos relations ne sont pas bonnes aujourd'hui, à mon grand regret, mais je suis certain que le temps joue en notre faveur et qu'on saura se rapprocher. Le plus grand joueur que vous ayez affronté ou rencontré ?Sans aucun doute Roger Federer, même si j'ai eu la chance d'affronter Connors, Agassi, Sampras et tous les grands champions de ces 20 dernières années. Des nouvelles de Richard Gasquet ?Sa vie a changé depuis le mois de mai, le regard que les gens posent sur lui a également changé. Avant c'était un génie qu'on regardait avec beaucoup d'admiration, et puis sur un petit raté il y a eu ce regard qui a changé donc c'est très difficile à vivre pour un garçon aussi timide que lui. [but not too timide in that dancing photo, though, was he, nor with Waitress CokeMouth] Et d'Amélie Mauresmo ? Va-t-elle arrêter sa carrière ?Elle a besoin de se poser de réfléchir à une suite à donner à sa carrière ou non. J'ai du mal a croire qu'elle arrête maintenant tellement je l'ai vue bosser ces derniers mois. Elle n'a pas été toujours très bien récompensée hormis un titre en début d'année mais elle est toujours très professionnelle, elle bosse énormément et je trouve que ça serait dommage. www.welovetennis.fr/atp/16239-santoro-fait-le-point
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Post by janie on Oct 16, 2009 18:54:13 GMT -5
The Gnome is working on a book. Plans are for it to be published in September. I forgot about this! Did the book come out?
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Post by Brinyi on Oct 27, 2009 16:04:27 GMT -5
Gnomie is apparently seriously considering retiring after the Australian Open. This would make him the first player to play grand slams in four decades. Gnome, don't bother.
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Post by Brinyi on Oct 28, 2009 14:39:53 GMT -5
/me has pre-ordered a copy of the Gnome's memoirs, to be released in Canada next month.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 10, 2009 9:56:34 GMT -5
Qui a eu l'idée de l'échange de maillot, et quel symbole faut-il y voir ? Fabrice Santoro : Comme je l'ai dit vendredi soir lors du tirage au sort, jouer Blake au premier tour était vraiment le tirage idéal. Jouer Berdych ne m'aurait vraiment pas fait plaisir. Il n'y aurait eu aucune émotion. Aucun état d'âme. En revanche, il y a une forme de complicité, beaucoup de respect entre Blake et moi. Après la balle de match, quand on s'est retrouvé au filet, il a eu des mots très gentils à mon égard. Je lui ai demandé s'il était prêt à échanger le maillot. Il a spontanément répondu «oui». Derrière, il m'est tombé dans les bras. J'ai trouvé ça extrêmement fort (...) Son maillot sera très bien placé chez moi, à côté de raquettes de grands champions et de mes trophées.
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Post by freudo on Nov 11, 2009 4:33:32 GMT -5
I love Fabrice! Briny may remember my IW 2003 story. It made it into my book. I'll quote it here:
We stopped at the first court to watch Fabrice Santoro, aka “The Magician,” and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, play a practice set. Kafelnikov was making his way back from injury. There had been talk at the forum of dozens of kilos gained, but he looked fit. Yevy’s style of play was precise, skimming the net with a hard, flat ball, his posture crisp, face princely and laconic, with his Mr Spock-like pointy ears a comic touch. Fabrice, born in Tahiti, has had a longer pro career than most. He joined the tour in 1989, had a career high singles rank of No. 17 in 2001, and won the doubles crown at the AO in 2003. His face was full of fun and laughter. He has a fit but stocky body, at five feet nine inches and one hundred sixty pounds. He hits two handed chops off both sides, as if wielding a frying pan. He’d been a top doubles player for years. He sliced a return with so much on it, it bounced back to his side. The Russian turned away quickly; his face showed nothing. He is 6-0 in their head-to-head singles matches. I’d seen Safin crack his racket in response to shots like that. Their matches are a surprising 2-7, in Santoro’s favor. The crowd, about thirty people, clapped. Fabrice bowed . He took off his hat and finger-combed his straight, black hair. He was much handsomer without the head gear. “Merveilleuse!” I said. Fabrice looked over. I waved. Everyone was laughing. Then, looking right at me, he pulled out a shorts pocket and did a little dance. I snapped a picture. He said, “Merci beaucoup. J’ai tonnes de plus ou cela venir de.” “Tell him you love him,” Z said. “I want to see what he does.” I lit up like a 500 watt bulb.
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 11, 2009 16:05:08 GMT -5
Aw. I do remember it. Fabrice is a great sportsman, an intelligent man, witty and a gentleman. Definitely not one of the emotionally stunted mental midgets Mr. Mewshaw talks about. Neither is Blake, for that matter. Who can forget his chat with Rafter at the net that lasted forever, way back when, when James was just starting out. I have braved ridicule, scorn, and the embarrassment that is the J Block to barrack him ever since. Nice that Fab's career ended against him, the way it did. It sort of bookends the rafter incident for me.
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Post by janie on Nov 14, 2009 10:17:22 GMT -5
Neither is Blake, for that matter. Who can forget his chat with Rafter at the net Me!
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Post by Brinyi on Nov 14, 2009 11:24:57 GMT -5
Neither is Blake, for that matter. Who can forget his chat with Rafter at the net Me! Ranked No. 120 in the world, Blake accepted a wild card into AMS Cincinnati. He beat a qualifier and Arnaud Clément to reach the round of 16 where he met Patrick Rafter. Blake came close to winning the first set (falling in a tiebreak), and after dropping the second set, Rafter, according to Blake's autobiography, complimented him at the net and boosted his confidence immeasurably by saying "Now do you believe you can beat someone like me, or even me?" -- W.K.Pedia I remember it was the longest post-match chat at the net I'd ever seen.
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Post by Brinyi on Dec 15, 2009 10:15:05 GMT -5
The Gnome has still not officially notified the ATP he has retired and his name is on the entry list for the AO. Since he played the club championships this month, there is speculation that he might give the AO one last go so he can claim the 4-decade thing. I thought I detected a hint to this effect in his autobiography, too.
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Post by Brinyi on Feb 3, 2010 14:58:22 GMT -5
/me has pre-ordered a copy of the Gnome's memoirs, to be released in Canada next month. I'm about half way through it, and it's an interesting read, as you might suspect. Not surprisingly, he is quite discreet compared to Agassi. For example, he says he separated from his long-time girlfriend in 2006 (I did not know this), but does not get into why, at least not so far. He never even mentions her name, simply referring to her as "ma compagne", which I thought was odd since it's certainly in the public record. He comes across as very serious and fastidious, and a little eccentric, and definitely someone you'd like to know. Not much dirt, although he does say he has no time for Berdych or Rios. and for some reason really dumps on Robredo for being a hypocrite (without saying what brought that outburst on). Outside of the French players, he seems on good terms with Roj, Schuettler, and Andy Murray.
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