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#Fedal is More than just Tennis to Me
The peRFect display of friendship and camaraderie
I was in fourth grade when I was introduced to the game of tennis. There was another classmate of mine who played at the same academy but we were just distant friends. It wasn’t until we sat next to each other in ninth grade that our friendship developed.
We both liked Stefan Edberg and then Pete Sampras. We would represent our high school in tennis events and did a bit of traveling together on the junior circuit. We attended different colleges and even had to play against each other in one match.
Life had carved out different yet similar paths for us. We both did our graduate studies in the United States, married people of our choosing, and our marriages fell apart at different times in our lives. Through all of these life events and distances, we remained in touch as good friends.
In a parallel universe
In one of the Round of 16 matches in 2001, as it would later be called the “changing of the guards”, a young Swiss player beat Pete Sampras in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in five sets. My friend and I were both devasted. Our childhood idol was beaten.
I could never get over it and didn’t take that loss too well. My friend, on the other hand, grew to…
