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**inownsuipsy** · 11-18-2011, 04:58 PM

Real nice profile on Mardy that appears in today's NY Times:

Special Report: ATP World Tour Finals
First Time in World Finals Is the Charm for U.S. Underdog
By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY
Published: November 18, 2011

Mardy Fish had dropped all that weight and kept it off. He had shored up his forehand and his endurance, finally committed himself to consistency and no-regrets exploration of the full range of his tennis talent.

Yet in the early stages of this season, with his body refusing to cooperate with the master plan, Fish began to despair. At age 29, which is advanced for a 21st-century tennis professional, Fish knew the moment to make a major move was now, but despite all the training and ambition, he was mysteriously low on energy.

“It was tough, we couldn’t understand it,” said Fish’s coach, David Nainkin. “I remember in March, he said: ‘I’m never going to be in the top 10. My time is running out.”’

Nainkin can tell such Fish stories now with the ease of a coach who is on the other side of the abyss. Fish, after recovering from what was finally diagnosed as thyroiditis, actually did better than the top 10. He made it into the top eight, which has earned him his first trip to the elite A.T.P. World Tour Finals.

The odds remain heavily against Fish winning a Grand Slam singles title in this top-heavy men’s tennis era. His close friend Andy Roddick is sure to remain, in the big picture, the leader of their generation of American men.

But Fish will always have this: an unexpected place in the lineup with the game’s heavyweights after never finishing higher than 16th in the year-end rankings in his first 11 seasons on tour.

Rest of article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/sp...TTENNIS19.html

11-18-2011, 04:58 PM	#18
inownsuipsy Join Date Oct 2005 Posts 414 Senior Member	Real nice profile on Mardy that appears in today's NY Times: Special Report: ATP World Tour Finals First Time in World Finals Is the Charm for U.S. Underdog By CHRISTOPHER CLAREY Published: November 18, 2011 Mardy Fish had dropped all that weight and kept it off. He had shored up his forehand and his endurance, finally committed himself to consistency and no-regrets exploration of the full range of his tennis talent. Yet in the early stages of this season, with his body refusing to cooperate with the master plan, Fish began to despair. At age 29, which is advanced for a 21st-century tennis professional, Fish knew the moment to make a major move was now, but despite all the training and ambition, he was mysteriously low on energy. “It was tough, we couldn’t understand it,” said Fish’s coach, David Nainkin. “I remember in March, he said: ‘I’m never going to be in the top 10. My time is running out.”’ Nainkin can tell such Fish stories now with the ease of a coach who is on the other side of the abyss. Fish, after recovering from what was finally diagnosed as thyroiditis, actually did better than the top 10. He made it into the top eight, which has earned him his first trip to the elite A.T.P. World Tour Finals. The odds remain heavily against Fish winning a Grand Slam singles title in this top-heavy men’s tennis era. His close friend Andy Roddick is sure to remain, in the big picture, the leader of their generation of American men. But Fish will always have this: an unexpected place in the lineup with the game’s heavyweights after never finishing higher than 16th in the year-end rankings in his first 11 seasons on tour. Rest of article: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/19/sp...TTENNIS19.html
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