Why tennis players find beating an injured or cramping opponent so difficult
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, yet another player could not put away a cramping opponent, a top star made positive moves on a crucial shot, and a college tennis program was axed as the name, image and likeness (NIL) era continues to impact the sport. If you’d like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here.
How can tennis stars stay composed when an injured opponent is on
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where The Athletic will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, yet another player could not put away a cramping opponent, a top star made positive moves on a crucial shot, and a college tennis program was axed as the name, image and likeness (NIL) era continues to impact the sport. If you’d like to follow our fantastic tennis coverage, click here .
How can tennis stars stay composed when an injured opponent is on the other side of the net ? Ugo Humbert is not the first player to lose to someone who can barely move around the court, and he will not be the last. On Saturday at the Madrid Open, Humbert’s opponent, Térence Atmane, was sprawled on his back in agony, covered in brick dust, and two points from losing the second set in a tiebreak.
That would have meant playing a third set, which looked entirely beyond Atmane. Humbert had sportingly provided a chair for his opponent before the tiebreak, perhaps in a moment of French camaraderie, and perhaps feeling that there was no chance he could lose the set. Well: He could.
Continue to the original source for the full article.