Young Rafael Jodar beat Daniil Medvedev on Saturday in Shanghai. On Sunday he plays the final against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, a Spaniard like himself. In January he was ranked 165th. On Monday he will be at least 11th. He also won in Marrakech and reached a final in Washington this year. It was all right.
After the match he said they had trained together a few times, that training and playing a match are different things, and that he will have to give his best.
I’m not criticising. I’m comparing. Back home in Couvin, southern Belgium, my aunt played whist with the same neighbour for ever, always on the same team. Once a year, at the parish tournament, the draw put them on opposite sides. They did not speak all evening. The next day they were back at their coffee as if nothing had happened, and nobody asked who had won.
The boy explained it very well. It is not the same game, and he knows it. He is polite about his opponent, says he is playing very well at the moment. He promises nothing. My aunt promised nothing either, she shuffled.
Nobody at home would have put a microphone under the neighbour’s nose.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
