Monday, November 9, 2009

Saying Au Revoir to the "Magician"


Instead of trying to sum up what Fabrice Santoro has done for tennis, I think I should let the following videos do the talking, but the Frenchman's contributions to the sport over the last 20 years deserve commendation beyond what he gets. On Sunday, Santoro played in what he says to be his final singles match against James Blake. Blake defeated "The Magician", and had nothing but praise for him afterwards. “He’s had a great career. It’s unbelievable how much success he’s had in singles and doubles and how well liked he is by his competitors, which I think says a lot about a person, when they do retire, how respected they are by the rest of the tour," said Blake. Santoro played a record 69 Grand Slams, defeated 17 number 1's at some point in their career, played the longest match in Open Era tennis history, and should he change his mind and decide to compete in one last major, the '10 Aussie Open, Santoro will have played professional tennis over 4 different decades. He also won 6 singles titles and 24 doubles titles.

The stats tell a tale, but noone can understand the magic Fabrice brought to the table unless you watch his highlight reel:












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