Mardy Fish loses the match, acts like a petulant child

from Yahoo! Sports:



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What's so disappointing about this loss was that Fish was coming off his best season ever in 2011 and was looking to build off that in 2012. He managed to rise all the way to 7th in the ATP rankings last fall, and even made it to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon. This year, his goals were to make it further in a Grand Slam and defeat one of the top four players (Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer) on the way there. Starting off 2012 in the first Grand Slam with an early-round exit is a poor omen for the rest of the season.

Not only did he lose, but he lost poorly. In watching the match, I was disappointed to see him frequently acting petulant on the court (in a very Andy Murray-like manner). He also spent the post-match press conference complaining about his opponent's frequent medical timeouts. As a result of his boorish behavior, the crowd turned on Fish part way through the match and began to openly root for his opponent.

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American tennis is in a major drought right now. The two top Americans on the Tour (Fish and Andy Roddick) are both on the down slope of their careers. Not only that, but neither would be confused with Roger Federer for their gentlemanly behavior on and off the court.

Is it too much to ask for an American tennis player to at least act like a champion, even if he can't contend at a Grand Slam? ..............(more)

The complete piece is at: http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/news?slug=ycn-10849055