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René Lacoste
Rene was born in Paris on July 2, 1904 in the family of the industrialist Jean Lacoste, the owner of a network of factories producing cars “Spanish-Suiza” (La Нispano-Suiza Automobiles). Being not quite a healthy child – he was pestering chronic bronchitis, Rene became interested in tennis.
One day, in 1910, they invited the French journalist Pierre Albarran, a major tennis authority, to the Club de sport, located on Saussure Street in Paris, and showed a thin, pale boy. He held the racket in the middle of the handle, ran around the court like a hare, and hit the balls with the accuracy of a metronome. The guy made an impression on the “examination committee.” Albarran recalls that everyone was of the same opinion: this young man had a good future, but no one had the idea that at 21, Lacoste would be the first racket of the world.
What an amazing path he has come! What will and perseverance this young man showed in exhausting training, to whom his father recommended leaving the sport at the age of fifteen, believing that his son is completely lacking in abilities! At twenty, Lacoste became a real athlete, able to train for three hours in the morning, and fight for another three hours in the afternoon (at that time it was unusual), reminding with his game a perfectly adjusted, non-interruption mechanism. Continue reading
Pete Sampras about Andre Agassi
He was the most difficult opponent for me in that great summer of 1995 and again showed himself to be such at the very end of his and my career – in the climax of the evening quarter-finals of the 2001 Open Championship. This match was the crown of our rivalry, and for me – our greatest, most stubborn battle.
My rivalry with Andre is described in great detail and comprehensively. At heart, I knew that it was he who prompted me to demonstrate my best qualities. Andre survived the ups and downs – this explains why we did not meet more often, especially in the finals of major tournaments. But of all my rivals, he was the standard of the highest standard. No one except him could play at that pace throughout the match, Continue reading
HOPMAN CUP AND WTA FINAL TOURNAMENT
The Hopman Cup can be called unique and even paradoxical, combining the features of some world tournaments and at the same time unlike any of them. But first things first…
Unusual start
The tournament is on the first line in the calendar of famous tennis players and fans. Why only famous? Because the organizers (until 2002 – director Paul McNami, since 2002 – the International Tennis Association, and since 2012 – the Australian Tennis Association) decide for themselves whom to invite to the competition, and there are only 8 vacant places. Continue reading