Nadal, Federer lead tributes to magic man Santoro
Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer paid glowing tributes to French
veteran Fabrice Santoro as the flamboyant home favourite prepared to
embark on his 20th and last French Open adventure here on Tuesday.
Santoro, 36, has announced that he will retire at the end of the year
and will be making a record-equalling 20th Roland Garros appearance when
he takes on Belgian Christophe Rochus in the first round.
World number one Nadal led the acclaim for Tahiti-born Santoro,
nicknamed ‘The Magician’ by American great Pete Sampras, describing him
as “a legend on the tour”.
“He plays with his very own personal style, two hands. He was a very
charismatic player on the tour, and he’s a model for all of us,” said
the Spaniard. “Twenty years is a long career and that’s fantastic. We
all wish we can play for 20 years. So he had a beautiful career, and he
really deserves a tribute.”
Among the records held by Santoro is that of the longest match ever
played in the Open era, an epic 6hr 33min encounter with countryman
Arnaud Clement in the first round of the 2004 French Open that saw
Santoro eventually prevail 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 3-6, 16-14. He also
holds the record for the most Grand Slam appearances and will be playing
in his 67th major this week.Santoro enjoys a 7-2 record against Russian
former world number one Marat Safin, who once famously joked: “Being
told I would play Santoro was being told I was to die”.
His best singles result at a Grand Slam was a quarter-final
appearance at the 2006 Australian Open, while he twice tasted doubles
glory there in 2003 and 2004.
However, Federer feels his greatest legacy will be the joy he brought
to the court. “It’s become a great accomplishment for me to play against
him a great many times,” said the Swiss.
“He’s very talented, the way he touches the ball, hits the ball. He’s
one of the greatest tacticians in terms of his play. “I’ve always
enjoyed playing against him, and watching his matches as well. We
respect each other.”
Santoro won the 2005 French Open mixed doubles title with Slovakia’s
Daniela Hantuchova to give him a silverware souvenir of his 20-year love
affair with the tournament, but it is the admiration of his fans and his
peers that speaks most tellingly of his achievements.
PARIS, May 26, 2009, AFP
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