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Post by alsl on May 19, 2006 13:55:11 GMT 3
its a phenomenon sweeping across the whole atp tour..well mayb it wont affect andre but everyone else!!
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Post by pau on May 19, 2006 23:12:39 GMT 3
All the tennis boys are bucking the trend for short hair and growing it long  . they should prohibit it!!! |
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Post by annie on May 21, 2006 9:19:40 GMT 3
sheesh...the long scruffy hair....even hollywood has got it...brad pitt, orlando bloom, johnny depp....it's a phase hot guys gotta get through....LOL
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Post by Annie on May 24, 2006 10:14:20 GMT 3
We forgot to mention here and congratulate Tommy Robredo on winning the Hamburg Masters Tournament ;D ;D ;D ;D
VAMOS TOMMY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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Post by bia2209 on May 24, 2006 11:23:54 GMT 3
yes well done to robredo..i loved his speech afterward where he kept talking about coming back next year so he could see his picture alongside all the other champions...it was funny...sweet and funny...
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Post by alsl on Jun 3, 2006 18:42:14 GMT 3
 err...nice horse tommy lol |
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Post by cresie on Jul 12, 2006 0:35:27 GMT 3
I wonder if JCF comes back to the top some time, I'll miss him there!
He advanced to round 2 in Bastad, even if he neede 3 (!) sets to beat Ervin Eleskovic (Wildcard-winner) of Sweden!
thumbs up fpr juanqui! vamos!
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Post by Alya10 on Apr 25, 2007 17:01:47 GMT 3
I think this is a good story to be shared...
Former ATP Top 10 player Felix Mantilla returning to the circuit after batling against skin cancer.
I particularly like his thoughts about life and what really matters to him now.
kisses
From ATP website
Mantilla Has His Day in the Sun
Felix Mantilla has played the Open Seat 11 times, winning the title in 1999. For a former Top 10 player with more than 300 career victories, it would seem unlikely that a first-round win over little-known Uzbekistan qualifier Farrukh Dustov at the Real Club de Tenis Barcelona 1899 on Monday would be a moment to cherish and reflect upon.
But having been told in late 2005 that he could have died from skin cancer, Mantilla no longer takes anything for granted. The Barcelona native returned to the ATP circuit this week for the first time in 18 months following a battle with skin cancer and a related drop in confidence and motivation.
A winner of 10 ATP titles, former World No. 10 Mantilla learned in late 2005 that he had a cancerous mole on his back. It came as a shock to Mantilla, who unlike his peers, rarely practiced with his shirt off. “Maybe I took off the shirt once a year. I’m someone who hates the sun or to be at the beach,” he says. “But what I learned from the skin doctor is that you can get sun exposure on your face and you may end up with skin cancer somewhere else on your body. And I have a fair skin complexion, so that doesn’t help.”
Mantilla was preparing for his 11th season on the tour in late 2005, unaware that a cancerous mole on his back was threatening his life. But a wrist injury and a related decision to abort a planned two-month training camp in the fierce Cuban sun may have saved his life.
“My wrist was injured and I was deciding whether to prepare for the next season in Cuba, where it is hot. We were planning a two-month trip. If I had gone there, I would not have gone to the doctor. The day before we were to leave, my physical trainer still hadn’t decided if we were going. We were having dinner and then he told me, we’re going to stay. That decision really saved my life. It is really strong to say that, but it’s true.”
With time on his hands Mantilla visited his doctor to check on his wrist. “During that visit he saw that I had some problems with my face and said that the sun is really dangerous for my pale skin.” The doctor ordered Mantilla to return in one week for a biopsy.
“I can be very forgetful,” Mantilla says. “It would have been quite normal for me to forget to go back and then go and see him again in six months. But this time I went back to the doctor because my wrist was still injured.”
The news was not good. “He took it out and a week later he told me that I had skin cancer. I was shocked. He told me that in a young person like I am, I could have been dead in six months to one year.”
Mantilla, who now has his moles checked every three months, wears a cap with neck protection – ala Ivan Lendl at the Australian Open – and he is also working with a clothing company to design long-sleeve shirts and extra long shorts that extend below the knee. He hopes the clothing will allow him to compete safely in the sun, but understands clothing alone will not eliminate the risks.
After Mantilla’s malignant mole was removed in early 2006, a follow-up biopsy of the affected area confirmed that he was cancer-free. Despite the good news, he elected to sit out the entire 2006 season and studied in Spain for the general university entrance exam, which he passed
“It was more psychological. I was afraid to be playing. I didn’t like it. Maybe it’s the reaction that happens when you have the shock, the doctor tells you that you can die and you say, ‘Wait, I am going to try to enjoy my life like I want.’ In that moment, tennis was not the first priority.”
For now, however, tennis racquets are taking precedence one again over the school books. Mantilla played his first tournament since the 2005 US Open at the Monza, Italy, Challenger in early April. He reached the second round.
“If I am protected (from the sun) really well, it should not be too dangerous. The problem is that when you are playing, you are losing all the sun cream. The decision is mine. I feel I must do it. I must play. Maybe in six months, one year, I don’t know when, I will decide I am going to finish and I will do it. Always the sun is going to be very dangerous for me. It happens once so it can happen again. I don’t want to be at home, without seeing the sun. I want to be in front of the things that I am afraid of. I think it’s something that makes me stronger.”
Additionally, Mantilla intends to use his experience to warn his sun-loving fellow players, children and their parents about the dangers of the sun. “I don’t think the players realize how dangerous the sun is, but maybe they will after hearing my story. And in the future I would like to do something to warn parents about the dangers to their children. We all like to have good color on our face, but you can die.”
With a current ATP Ranking of No. 1009, Mantilla does not expect to ever return to the Top 20, where he was a permanent fixture for almost four years in the late 1990s. For now, simply competing on the ATP circuit is enough.
“It’s not going to be like before; that’s something that I know. I want to play some tournaments in Europe, but to go far away like I did before, planes, around the world, now I am not prepared for that. I want to play around here, in Europe, short flights. I am enjoying other things and am trying to be more settled, and doing what I really want. I am not thinking about the rankings; I don’t care if I am playing better or bad. It’s something that I am enjoying for me.
“I didn’t want to end my career in that moment [his cancer scare]. I was a fighter during all my years and I wanted to decide to finish when I want, not in that moment. That’s why I came back. It’s important for me, also to be back out in the sun, how I react.
"Now, in this moment I am enjoying more the small things. The [first-round] win is bigger for me maybe than winning tournaments before. Maybe people don’t understand that but if I understand that myself, it’s enough.”
Footnote: On Wednesday Mantilla lost his second-round match to close friend Carlo Moya. Moya won 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
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Post by Annie on Apr 25, 2007 17:42:56 GMT 3
awwwwww thanks Alex, that is a truly touching story  |
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Post by Happiness on May 6, 2007 0:35:09 GMT 3
And last but not least dear Tommy who was so nice indeed to us! Always polite with everyone, never denying a photo or an autograph to his fans, and boy he really had a lot of work on tuesday and friday! LOL If I already liked you before Tommy now you're on my Top Players list for sure, for giving such great tennis this week and for being so nice to everyone on and off court!!! ;D Here's our photo:  Next time we meet I hope I can have your autograph! VAMOS TOMMY!!!  |
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Post by Alya10 on May 6, 2007 15:42:50 GMT 3
Ahhhh! The "we look like an old married couple" pic!!
LOL
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Post by Alya10 on May 6, 2007 18:18:18 GMT 3
Pics of Tommy Robredo from Estoril practising...   at the match against A. Martin   |
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Post by Happiness on May 6, 2007 22:34:17 GMT 3
Ahhhh! The "we look like an old married couple" pic!! LOL Hummm ... Do we really look like we can't fed up with each other?! Or is it more like we know each other for so long that we are really confortable together?! LOL |
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Post by safinette on Jun 14, 2007 23:13:42 GMT 3
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Post by Annie on Jun 15, 2007 8:06:51 GMT 3
*cough* *cough* Go Tommy!!! LOL
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