After I was done stretching the truth with the media I gathered my sticks and headed out to court 2 with the junior (can’t recall his name) and played a hard set and then had Brad drill me a little bit after. I was on the court about 90 minutes, which is about the time of my match with Mansdorf. Then Brad and I went for our normal cool down run by the Yarra, followed by a stretching session and massage. In other words, exactly what we normally did with a match simulation. The only thing I didn’t have that day was the mental stress of taking out a tough opponent. It was just about a perfect day. The only thing I missed was the incredible rush after winning match point you always get when you win, but that was a fair (and rare) trade I was willing to take.
I did wonder in the back of mind how not playing a match for a few days might affect me in the beginning of my match with Edberg in the finals. In the end, not at all. I had a normal light day of practice on Saturday and by the time I went onto the court for the Sunday final I felt very settled and concentrated with the normal accompanying anxiety (this was my 3rd Major final). I played well and toughed Stefan out in 4 sets. I didn’t thank Richard in my acceptance speech but I probably should have since he could have not only beaten me but also taken my legs out with a long match even if I had won…that’s why you never look a gift horse in the mouth as a tennis player. Not only the risk of losing that match but also there’s the risk of losing the next match via fatigue.
I’m not sure what Novak’s typical routine is but I would guess he had a vigorous practice on Tuesday. And I would imagine he is so confident right now that nothing would bother him too much; certainly not an extra day of rest. With his current form he didn’t need a gift horse but one of life’s ironies is that the more you have, the more you are given…here’s another example. But with Roger awaiting in the semis and likely Rafa in the finals there will be no more gifts. He’ll have to earn it the hard way.
