WEBVTT - Vol. 18: Mardy Fish 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:04.080 Charges. That's created by Portalais and Control Media. It's produced 0:00:04.080 --> 0:00:10.760 by dB Podcasts in association with I Heart Radio. This 0:00:10.880 --> 0:00:13.960 time a former Son's player who you might remember as 0:00:14.040 --> 0:00:16.320 t Rex More video in just a moment, But this 0:00:16.480 --> 0:00:18.840 is Rex Chapman's mug Shaun, and we are learning a 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:21.959 lot more about the charge of charging. What do you 0:00:22.079 --> 0:00:24.200 realize now that you look back on it and you 0:00:24.239 --> 0:00:27.000 know so much more about yourself and mental health. I 0:00:27.080 --> 0:00:30.800 stayed home for like four straight months. I didn't do anything. 0:00:30.920 --> 0:00:33.000 If I left my house, I went to the psychiatrist. 0:00:33.040 --> 0:00:35.000 That was the only time I left my house. And 0:00:35.080 --> 0:00:37.720 like right away, that's like weight just lifted off my 0:00:37.760 --> 0:00:40.520 shoulders and I was like, oh my god, I don't 0:00:40.600 --> 0:00:43.520 actually have to play. If I didn't have the support 0:00:43.600 --> 0:00:47.159 system I had, there's no talent where I'd be today. 0:00:49.760 --> 0:00:53.240 Welcome to Charges. I'm your host, Rex Chapman. Mental health 0:00:53.440 --> 0:00:55.600 is a hot topic in sports and then the world 0:00:55.600 --> 0:00:58.080 in general. These days. We see it with players like 0:00:58.320 --> 0:01:01.160 Naomi Osaka and Kevin love Of and to Marta Rosen 0:01:01.560 --> 0:01:04.560 and countless others who have talked about the pressure and 0:01:04.600 --> 0:01:08.399 the struggle to cope with social anxiety, depression and a 0:01:08.440 --> 0:01:11.959 host of other mental health ailments and issues. I bring 0:01:12.040 --> 0:01:15.760 that up because today my guest is Marty Fish. Marty 0:01:15.880 --> 0:01:17.920 was a top ten tennis player in the world and 0:01:17.959 --> 0:01:20.280 suffered one of the more public battles with his mental 0:01:20.280 --> 0:01:22.800 health in the prime of his career. We're gonna talk 0:01:22.920 --> 0:01:25.600 with Marty about that. He's done an amazing job and 0:01:25.640 --> 0:01:29.080 commendable job when it comes to sharing his journey. Marty 0:01:29.160 --> 0:01:32.000 really deserves a ton of credit for being someone in 0:01:32.040 --> 0:01:35.000 the sports world who recognized and dealt with his mental 0:01:35.000 --> 0:01:38.760 health issues almost a decade before it became something that 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:51.040 was accepted and understood. This his charges, Marty, thanks for 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:53.560 being here. Welcome to the show, buddy. Yeah, thanks for 0:01:53.600 --> 0:01:57.000 having us. Thanks for that intro. Appreciated. I know when 0:01:57.040 --> 0:01:59.720 I come on shows, I've always like, oh man, they 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:03.240 really loved me up, So we tried to appreciate out 0:02:03.280 --> 0:02:06.480 all the good stuff there. Uh, Marty, let's go back 0:02:06.480 --> 0:02:09.320 to the beginning. How does tennis enter your life as 0:02:09.360 --> 0:02:13.400 basically a baby in Minnesota? Yeah, um well, I come 0:02:13.440 --> 0:02:16.760 from a tennis family. Um My father teaches tennis, still 0:02:16.800 --> 0:02:19.600 teaches tennis. Went to the US Open even before I 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:23.320 was born as a fan. Um so um, you know, 0:02:23.400 --> 0:02:27.200 pretty cool history of kind of tennis sports. My sister 0:02:27.240 --> 0:02:30.880 played collegiately. Um, I guess I got my sort of 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.520 my I guess my sporting talent from my mom. My 0:02:33.639 --> 0:02:36.120 dad was a uh was one of those kind of 0:02:36.120 --> 0:02:38.800 hard workers, went to University of Minnesota, tried to play 0:02:39.280 --> 0:02:41.120 you know a little bit, and just didn't have the 0:02:41.120 --> 0:02:44.520 the athleticism or or the talent that it took, but 0:02:44.680 --> 0:02:47.960 certainly had the work ethic and stuff. So UM, instill 0:02:48.080 --> 0:02:51.320 that in me pretty early, um, which was nice and UM, 0:02:51.560 --> 0:02:54.520 you know, just couldn't have had a better, uh more 0:02:54.760 --> 0:02:58.040 you know, sort of more comfortable upbringing. Um, really lucky. 0:02:58.200 --> 0:03:00.440 You know that tennis is a gnarly or we can 0:03:00.440 --> 0:03:02.560 get into that as much as you want. But but 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.239 in terms of tennis parents, UM, I put tennis parents 0:03:06.400 --> 0:03:10.399 right up there with with any parent of any sport, um, 0:03:10.440 --> 0:03:12.840 as crazy as any of them are. And I've been 0:03:12.919 --> 0:03:16.360 super lucky, super lucky with that. That's amazing, It's amazing. 0:03:16.360 --> 0:03:18.680 I don't know if people realize this, but tennis seems 0:03:18.680 --> 0:03:21.400 to be one of those sports like gymnastics or golf, 0:03:21.480 --> 0:03:24.440 where you know, a child basically people can tell you know, 0:03:24.520 --> 0:03:27.799 oh this kid's special and if we nurture this talent, 0:03:27.840 --> 0:03:30.320 who knows where it could go. Looking back on that 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.160 time in your life, what do you remember. I remember 0:03:33.160 --> 0:03:36.720 getting started early. Um, you know, I played my my 0:03:36.880 --> 0:03:39.280 first tournament when I was six years old, lost six 0:03:39.280 --> 0:03:41.720 oh six oh, which is as as bad as you 0:03:41.720 --> 0:03:44.320 could possibly do. I play, I tried to play when 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.240 I was young. I mean, I love I did love 0:03:46.280 --> 0:03:48.520 it and was passionate about it. When I started playing 0:03:48.560 --> 0:03:51.280 the other sports, I stopped playing, but loved it and 0:03:51.320 --> 0:03:54.200 loved growing up, you know, growing up watching Borg and 0:03:54.320 --> 0:03:58.360 McEnroe and and all those guys. So I know I'm 0:03:58.400 --> 0:04:02.920 a big tennis fan. UM. No, yeah, it's um, you know, 0:04:02.960 --> 0:04:07.120 you got you you start early. Life expectancy on um. 0:04:07.280 --> 0:04:09.120 You know, in tennis is not as long as you 0:04:09.120 --> 0:04:12.839 would think being a non contact sport, you know, as 0:04:12.880 --> 0:04:14.880 you know are are you know, it's a lot of 0:04:14.960 --> 0:04:17.760 running obviously, so like joints and hips and knees and 0:04:17.760 --> 0:04:21.400 stuff like that. Feet, um, you know, take the brunt 0:04:21.440 --> 0:04:25.359 of it, um, and we're running around on concrete for 0:04:25.360 --> 0:04:29.320 the most part. So um, you know, it's uh sometimes 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:32.320 an hour, sometimes five hours, you know, and that's that's 0:04:32.320 --> 0:04:34.240 one of the hard things about tennis, right is that, 0:04:34.400 --> 0:04:36.240 like you get out there and you can train for 0:04:36.279 --> 0:04:38.440 whatever you want to train for, but it could you know, 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:40.599 you could play a I played plenty of Grand Slam 0:04:40.600 --> 0:04:42.520 matches where I won or lost in an hour and 0:04:42.520 --> 0:04:44.360 a half and and and a bunch of them where 0:04:44.360 --> 0:04:46.919 I've played over four hours, and you can't. You know, 0:04:46.960 --> 0:04:50.000 it's really hard to prepare for that. Um, you sort 0:04:50.000 --> 0:04:51.840 of have to prepare for the four and hope it 0:04:51.920 --> 0:04:55.000 coach shorter than that. But um, but that's you know, 0:04:55.080 --> 0:04:58.320 that's kind of how it started, and you know, it's 0:04:58.360 --> 0:05:01.120 sort of fast forwarding through out your career and to 0:05:01.240 --> 0:05:03.800 the end you're you know, I retired when I was 0:05:03.880 --> 0:05:05.760 thirty two years old, and you know for a bunch 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:08.720 of different reasons, which we'll get into, i'm sure, but um, 0:05:08.760 --> 0:05:11.360 you know, why why did you retire so early? It's like, well, 0:05:11.440 --> 0:05:14.440 you know, I've been playing I've been playing tournaments since 0:05:14.440 --> 0:05:16.360 I was six years old. People don't understand that I I 0:05:16.600 --> 0:05:20.240 played professionally for sixteen years, but uh played tournament since 0:05:20.279 --> 0:05:22.240 I was six. So it's a it's a it's a 0:05:22.279 --> 0:05:24.720 long time to do anything that wear and tear. I 0:05:25.080 --> 0:05:27.719 feel you. Um, and I was retired at thirty two 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:29.880 as well. But again he started playing when you're in 0:05:30.040 --> 0:05:33.080 grade school, you know, and and serious about it. When 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.440 was it clear to you that tennis was going to 0:05:35.560 --> 0:05:37.520 be a really big thing in your life? And you 0:05:37.560 --> 0:05:41.000 remember how you felt about that at all? Um? You know, look, 0:05:41.040 --> 0:05:44.640 I I love sports, always have always loved sports. Uh. 0:05:44.960 --> 0:05:48.000 You know, born in Minnesota, moved to Florida when we 0:05:48.000 --> 0:05:50.800 were around four or five years old. Um, still keeping 0:05:50.839 --> 0:05:55.159 the roots of Minnesota sports, um in my blood and 0:05:55.160 --> 0:05:59.120 and rooting for them Timberwolves, Vikings, Twins, Gophers. Even though 0:05:59.160 --> 0:06:00.880 I didn't go to college, my dad went to University 0:06:00.880 --> 0:06:02.880 of Minnesota, so I root for the Gophers. So like 0:06:03.360 --> 0:06:07.520 die hard, die hard Minnesota sports fan. Um. Again, I 0:06:07.560 --> 0:06:10.159 love sports. I loved playing all kinds of sports, so 0:06:10.200 --> 0:06:13.240 I played. I played high school basketball. I played you know, 0:06:13.880 --> 0:06:16.359 baseball up until I was like thirteen or fourteen until 0:06:16.400 --> 0:06:19.680 I kind of had to stop. Um, and played competitive 0:06:19.720 --> 0:06:22.080 golf until I was fourteen as well. Um. When I 0:06:22.120 --> 0:06:25.640 was fifteen, I moved over to a place called Saddlebrook Academy, 0:06:25.680 --> 0:06:30.120 which is over in a little north of Tampa, Florida. UM, 0:06:30.279 --> 0:06:36.159 to spend my sophomore year of high school there and see, um, 0:06:36.520 --> 0:06:39.080 I was ranked about fifty in the state of Florida 0:06:39.160 --> 0:06:42.080 at the time, which was fine, probably would have gotten 0:06:42.080 --> 0:06:46.279 me an education, you know, free education somewhere, um, but 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:50.679 certainly not professionally by no means. Um. And I went 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:53.919 to Saddlebrook, started spending and I grew up in a 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:57.080 small town in Florida via Beach, Florida, and um it 0:06:57.240 --> 0:06:59.560 went over and started playing against people that were better 0:06:59.600 --> 0:07:02.799 than me every day. Um and and got to where 0:07:03.040 --> 0:07:06.840 I uh, I went from you know, fifty in the 0:07:06.880 --> 0:07:09.880 state that next year to number one in the state 0:07:09.960 --> 0:07:13.800 and probably top couple in the country. UM. My living 0:07:13.840 --> 0:07:19.320 at home though, right, How was that it was a 0:07:19.360 --> 0:07:22.440 little high school different? Yeah, I mean, you know, at 0:07:22.480 --> 0:07:25.280 first I wasn't driving. Um, you know, I was fifteen 0:07:25.360 --> 0:07:28.000 years old, and and I'm very close with my parents, 0:07:28.120 --> 0:07:30.760 my dad and my mom and and so yeah, I 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:33.600 mean it wasn't looking back, I mean, you know that 0:07:33.680 --> 0:07:36.239 parts not easy. We weren't that far away, straight across 0:07:36.280 --> 0:07:38.480 the state, maybe two and a half hour drivers, So 0:07:38.600 --> 0:07:40.880 my parents came over all the time. UM. I'd go 0:07:40.960 --> 0:07:43.320 back and see my friends because again, like this is 0:07:43.320 --> 0:07:46.480 a sacrifice that people sort of forget is that, like 0:07:46.680 --> 0:07:49.800 I didn't have that normal upbringing where you know, I'd 0:07:49.800 --> 0:07:52.400 go visit my friends at Florida State or something like that, 0:07:52.560 --> 0:07:55.120 and like, you know, I missed that college experience. I 0:07:55.120 --> 0:07:57.200 didn't have it. I didn't have the normal high school 0:07:57.280 --> 0:08:00.520 experience that that other kids had. So you know, I 0:08:00.560 --> 0:08:02.800 went to a sort of a specialized school where I 0:08:02.840 --> 0:08:06.440 went to school for three hours which probably felt like 0:08:06.440 --> 0:08:09.560 twenty minutes and uh a day, and I'd play before 0:08:09.600 --> 0:08:12.240 and after school all day every day, you know, and 0:08:12.240 --> 0:08:15.520 and and got a lot better. Uh, let's talk about 0:08:16.000 --> 0:08:18.560 Andy Roddick in your relationship with him and his family. 0:08:18.720 --> 0:08:22.520 Tell me about how that all came to be. Yeah. So, um, 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:25.080 after that sophomore year in high school, I went back 0:08:25.080 --> 0:08:27.840 to Verreau Beach, um and sort of spent like the 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:31.880 first quarter, um or maybe half a semester at high 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.240 school and VIAU Beach. And I knew I was a 0:08:34.280 --> 0:08:37.240 different tennis player. And I knew that, you know, probably 0:08:37.320 --> 0:08:41.240 my career trajectory would likely either take me to whatever 0:08:41.320 --> 0:08:43.640 college I wanted to play at for maybe a year 0:08:43.720 --> 0:08:47.240 or so, or just take me straight professionally. Um. I 0:08:47.280 --> 0:08:49.360 always wanted to be a professional athlete, Like I didn't 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:52.760 necessarily care what sport honestly, like I, you know, tennis 0:08:52.800 --> 0:08:55.720 just happened to be the one that was best at. UM. 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.080 I loved tennis, don't get me wrong, but but that 0:08:58.120 --> 0:09:00.600 one was the one I was best at. So there 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:04.280 was a gap there where uh Andy and I and 0:09:04.400 --> 0:09:07.920 UM a few other guys maybe five total guys. UM. 0:09:08.440 --> 0:09:11.480 They were very highly ranked in the country, went down 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:13.760 to train with a guy named Stanford bost He was 0:09:13.840 --> 0:09:17.439 like a hard nosed uh If you didn't bring enough 0:09:17.520 --> 0:09:20.360 rackets to practice, if he didn't bring extra grip, if 0:09:20.360 --> 0:09:23.200 you didn't bring an extra pair of shoes or something 0:09:23.240 --> 0:09:25.720 like that, he'd dropped you off UM at one of 0:09:25.720 --> 0:09:28.360 the exits on nine until you to run home. You know, 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.360 it's sort of ten miles or eight miles or whatever. 0:09:30.400 --> 0:09:32.400 It was so like very you know, like really good 0:09:32.440 --> 0:09:35.320 for us, really good for like a punk kid sixteen 0:09:35.400 --> 0:09:38.320 years seventeen years old, thinks he's better than he is 0:09:38.559 --> 0:09:41.960 or knows he's really good, kind of kind of kid. UM. 0:09:42.720 --> 0:09:44.520 And we were all good kids, but we knew we 0:09:44.520 --> 0:09:47.079 were good. We were cocky too, and and so he 0:09:47.160 --> 0:09:49.760 was really really good for us, UM in terms of 0:09:49.800 --> 0:09:53.800 putting us in our place, making us work really really hard. UM. 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:55.560 And and he was the guy that we shared a 0:09:55.600 --> 0:09:59.319 coach with, so I didn't have anywhere to to really live. UM. 0:10:00.080 --> 0:10:02.480 Some of the guys lived with Stanford and his wife, 0:10:02.800 --> 0:10:04.960 and I didn't necessarily want to do that. Andy and 0:10:04.960 --> 0:10:08.440 I were real close, so you know, they invited me 0:10:08.520 --> 0:10:12.640 to to basically live as as Andy's new brother at 0:10:12.679 --> 0:10:15.440 his house. And um, and he had an older brother 0:10:15.559 --> 0:10:19.240 named John, who was a very very highly ranked junior 0:10:19.280 --> 0:10:22.640 player and good collegiate player at the University of Georgia. UM. 0:10:22.920 --> 0:10:25.360 So they had some tennis blood in them as well. 0:10:25.520 --> 0:10:30.599 And UM and Andy was special for sure, and you knew, UM, 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:34.000 you knew that he was really unique, um in terms 0:10:34.040 --> 0:10:37.960 of on the tennis court. And uh, well, because he 0:10:37.960 --> 0:10:40.360 he had this competitiveness, you know. And you always say like, oh, 0:10:40.600 --> 0:10:43.640 he's so competitive, you know, like every athletes competitive. I 0:10:43.679 --> 0:10:45.640 feel like again, and this is like the same thing 0:10:45.720 --> 0:10:48.240 with like there's two sets of athletes. In my opinion, 0:10:48.320 --> 0:10:52.320 there's also two sets of like competitiveness in athletes. I 0:10:52.360 --> 0:10:57.040 think one hates to lose, which wasn't necessarily me like 0:10:57.200 --> 0:11:00.280 that was John McEnroe, Like he just hated to lose, 0:11:00.400 --> 0:11:03.160 Like he could not stand losing. Right, That wasn't me. 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.240 I love to win. That was me. Like, so it's 0:11:06.240 --> 0:11:07.880 either you hate to lose or you love to win. 0:11:08.000 --> 0:11:10.960 And he hated to lose and he loved to win. 0:11:11.240 --> 0:11:12.880 And it was like that, Like there was that like 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.640 competitiveness that you just don't see very often. Um. And 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:18.560 if I look back at like my career and the 0:11:18.559 --> 0:11:22.400 guys that I played throughout my um sort of tenure, 0:11:22.640 --> 0:11:25.120 and I was obviously lucky to play the Feds and 0:11:25.120 --> 0:11:28.560 the Dolls and Djokovic's and those guys. Um, he was 0:11:28.600 --> 0:11:31.360 like a latent Hewitt and a the Doll sort of 0:11:31.360 --> 0:11:34.520 wrapped into one where, Um, he would refuse to give 0:11:34.520 --> 0:11:37.320 in it all. He was feisty, He was nasty, tell 0:11:37.360 --> 0:11:39.280 you anything you didn't want to hear on the court. 0:11:39.559 --> 0:11:41.840 He'd get into it with you. He'd try and hit 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:43.720 you with a serve. I mean he was he had 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.800 this monster serve and he was just nasty, you know, 0:11:46.920 --> 0:11:48.640 like in turn on the court, you know, and like, 0:11:48.679 --> 0:11:53.199 did you guys get along like brothers? So we weren't 0:11:53.440 --> 0:11:57.880 best friends, we were brother We fought at everything. We fought. 0:11:58.120 --> 0:12:01.520 We competed. Uh, we drove of separate cars to school 0:12:01.760 --> 0:12:04.160 that when we were going from the same place to 0:12:04.240 --> 0:12:06.200 the same place, because I thought I had a better 0:12:06.440 --> 0:12:08.960 I had had a faster route than he did, you know. 0:12:09.160 --> 0:12:11.520 Like that's what we competed at. We competed at girls 0:12:11.960 --> 0:12:15.320 who could get you know, who's gonna date who? On 0:12:15.360 --> 0:12:18.120 the basketball court, we play one on one obviously on 0:12:18.160 --> 0:12:20.040 the tennis court, you know, and that'd go back and 0:12:20.080 --> 0:12:23.120 forth for the most part, you know, back then. Um, 0:12:23.320 --> 0:12:27.640 and so yeah, I mean we were we were going 0:12:27.679 --> 0:12:32.520 through life sort of you know, high school changes and 0:12:32.720 --> 0:12:36.200 you know, just sort of life's changes. Um. It sounds 0:12:36.240 --> 0:12:40.040 like a great same time, you know, at the same time, 0:12:40.080 --> 0:12:43.000 you know, and like and yeah, I mean we the 0:12:43.000 --> 0:12:45.240 best I could put it is just we weren't friends. 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.040 We were we were brothers like you know, and and 0:12:48.080 --> 0:12:51.839 just fought at everything, literally everything. What what were your 0:12:51.840 --> 0:12:54.800 early years like on the tour? And if you don't mind, 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:58.720 can you explain how going pro in tennis and working 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:03.800 your way up? How does that? Um, So it's it's 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:07.480 all I mean, tennis is really uh tough in terms 0:13:07.480 --> 0:13:11.160 of there's only one thing that you're that you're judged by, 0:13:11.240 --> 0:13:13.720 and it's the number by your name, you know, and 0:13:13.800 --> 0:13:17.000 like that ranking is all that we really have to 0:13:17.040 --> 0:13:21.120 go by and engulf. It's a they have a two 0:13:21.200 --> 0:13:24.360 year ranking system, so it's like you're not as stressed 0:13:24.400 --> 0:13:29.079 to like, you know, to continue to show real yeah, 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:33.760 just like have results after results after result, and also 0:13:33.920 --> 0:13:37.520 not looking forward or ahead or or looking at the 0:13:37.600 --> 0:13:39.920 last twelve months or twelve months ago and going, oh, 0:13:40.000 --> 0:13:43.400 we'll shoot, I made the final last year, so um, 0:13:43.440 --> 0:13:45.280 you know, I got this to defend and these amount 0:13:45.320 --> 0:13:48.600 of points to defend and stuff. Wouldn't that Why wouldn't 0:13:48.600 --> 0:13:51.680 tennis do that? We tried, They tried. Two thousand and eleven, 0:13:51.840 --> 0:13:54.080 Nadal came around to all the guys in the top 0:13:54.160 --> 0:13:56.880 ten and said, you know, even him, who's who was 0:13:57.000 --> 0:13:58.600 you know, one or two in the world at the time, 0:13:58.679 --> 0:14:01.560 or really the entire career. So he went around and 0:14:01.600 --> 0:14:05.800 tried to get everybody that was in the top ten 0:14:05.880 --> 0:14:08.400 to sign a petition that said, can we change the 0:14:08.480 --> 0:14:10.880 ranking system to a two year ranking system? Because even 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:15.480 someone like him, who was gaining thousands of points um 0:14:15.520 --> 0:14:19.200 more than everyone else, still was stressed about the process 0:14:19.280 --> 0:14:23.360 of of every twelve months. Um uh, you know, having 0:14:23.400 --> 0:14:27.040 to defend, defend, defend ranking points so like, and since 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:30.760 the ranking is all we sort of have to go by, um, 0:14:30.800 --> 0:14:38.280 it can be draining mentally being a professional athlete in 0:14:38.360 --> 0:14:42.119 any sport. That's difficult. Due to the spotlight and scrutiny 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:46.600 you and your teammates face, Marty and other tennis players 0:14:46.600 --> 0:14:49.520 have to go at it alone. He offered us a 0:14:49.600 --> 0:14:53.920 unique perspective on being a ranked solo player, especially when 0:14:53.960 --> 0:14:56.320 your peers and dear friends are ranked ahead of you. 0:14:57.280 --> 0:15:00.400 Marty had a solid career, but admittedly think it could 0:15:00.400 --> 0:15:04.120 have been better, a tale consistent with many athletes who 0:15:04.160 --> 0:15:07.600 look back at their careers a road riddled with regret 0:15:07.800 --> 0:15:10.240 is one I can relate to. But hearing it from 0:15:10.240 --> 0:15:13.000 Marty's perspective on how the pounding he took on the 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:16.760 concrete really paints the picture for what was coming next. 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:28.080 So you're on the tour, You're in the mix a bunch, 0:15:28.120 --> 0:15:30.040 but I guess fair to say you weren't a top 0:15:30.040 --> 0:15:33.480 player in the upper echelon. What was that like? Did 0:15:33.520 --> 0:15:36.760 you just enjoy competing and traveling or enjoying the game 0:15:36.840 --> 0:15:40.680 or was it killing you to win? It was hard 0:15:40.720 --> 0:15:43.440 watching someone like Andy b number one in the world, 0:15:43.640 --> 0:15:46.240 and you know, because I always rooted for them, but 0:15:46.400 --> 0:15:47.920 that didn't mean that I didn't want to be ranked 0:15:47.920 --> 0:15:50.320 ahead of them, you know, or or beat them all 0:15:50.320 --> 0:15:52.360 the time. It was one of those things where I 0:15:52.440 --> 0:15:57.880 just didn't understand the full dedication that it took UM 0:15:57.920 --> 0:16:00.640 to get everything out of it. I was very um 0:16:00.760 --> 0:16:04.240 up and down. My results were very mixed. I could 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:08.120 beat anyone, um I had. I beat Federer in in 0:16:08.200 --> 0:16:11.520 less than an hour. UM in Indian Wells one year 0:16:11.560 --> 0:16:14.680 in the semifinals, a huge match, probably the best match 0:16:14.680 --> 0:16:17.320 I've ever played. Uh. And then I would I wouldn't 0:16:17.320 --> 0:16:19.560 you know, And I'd make the final of a massive tournament, 0:16:19.720 --> 0:16:23.920 get my ranking back, you know, from eighty to to thirty. 0:16:24.000 --> 0:16:25.760 And then I wouldn't you know, Then I'd lose a 0:16:25.760 --> 0:16:27.560 bunch of first rounds in a row. You know. I 0:16:27.640 --> 0:16:29.720 just was not consistent at all. I didn't do a 0:16:29.720 --> 0:16:32.280 good job of taking care of my body. Um. That's 0:16:32.320 --> 0:16:34.880 certainly one of the first things that I would have changed. 0:16:34.920 --> 0:16:36.920 You know. Those athletes sort of they're just like, oh, 0:16:36.960 --> 0:16:40.080 I have no regrets. You know, if you're lying to yourself, 0:16:40.200 --> 0:16:42.280 you know, like if you don't have any regrets, like 0:16:43.400 --> 0:16:45.400 so one of my regrets certainly would have been to 0:16:45.440 --> 0:16:47.960 take care of my body better earlier. Um, it just 0:16:48.120 --> 0:16:50.640 wasn't something that we did back then, you know, two 0:16:50.640 --> 0:16:53.360 thousand one, two thousand, two thousand three. It wasn't a 0:16:53.440 --> 0:16:57.560 huge emphasis on your body take care of your body. 0:16:57.600 --> 0:17:00.280 There also wasn't like back then, if I when I 0:17:00.320 --> 0:17:03.120 remember like high school and like late high school or 0:17:03.120 --> 0:17:06.119 early like, it was it was cool to like sort 0:17:06.119 --> 0:17:09.040 of slack off back then. And you know, that's changed 0:17:09.080 --> 0:17:11.280 a lot over the years. It's like, you know, with 0:17:11.320 --> 0:17:14.440 all these I'm looking, I've got like my office slash 0:17:14.520 --> 0:17:18.000 jim here, my my COVID office slash gym here in 0:17:18.160 --> 0:17:20.080 l A. And I've got a peloton over here, and 0:17:20.119 --> 0:17:22.600 a tonal over there and a peloton and I do 0:17:22.720 --> 0:17:25.920 mixed martial arts, so I've got a boxing bag over 0:17:25.960 --> 0:17:29.040 here and kickboxing back and like it's cool now to 0:17:29.200 --> 0:17:31.720 like be fit and to work out and to like, 0:17:31.800 --> 0:17:33.960 you know, do that, but back then it wasn't. It 0:17:34.000 --> 0:17:36.200 was like it was kind of cool to show people 0:17:36.280 --> 0:17:39.040 I didn't care quite as much. You know, that is 0:17:39.119 --> 0:17:42.240 not the only thing that Americans are excited about as 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:45.159 the new American number one, Marty Fish is taking on 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:49.400 world number two and undefeated No. Back Djokovic. Fish surpassed 0:17:49.440 --> 0:17:52.280 Andy Roddick for the number one spot after Roddick, as 0:17:52.359 --> 0:17:55.679 the defending champion, fell out of his first match and 0:17:55.800 --> 0:18:00.240 fourteen seated. Fish defeated the likes of Julian bennetto, Richard Gascay, one, 0:18:00.280 --> 0:18:03.879 Martin del Poto, and David for Aren's succession, Fish can 0:18:04.000 --> 0:18:07.360 potentially enter the top ten in the ranking. Let's jump 0:18:07.400 --> 0:18:12.920 ahead to or maybe, Uh that offseason you decided if 0:18:12.920 --> 0:18:15.160 it was really possible, if you could push your body 0:18:15.200 --> 0:18:17.960 and train like never before, and your trainer says in 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:21.359 the dock that you lost like thirty pounds, which you 0:18:21.480 --> 0:18:24.040 already were an elite athlete. What was that like to 0:18:24.119 --> 0:18:27.720 hit that other level and what was that motivation? Uh? Yeah, 0:18:27.720 --> 0:18:31.760 it's a great question and one that I had, Like 0:18:32.440 --> 0:18:35.879 desperately isn't the word, but I definitely wanted to try 0:18:35.960 --> 0:18:38.240 and get into shape. I knew I could be in 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:41.239 better shape. I wasn't like overweight where you're like, oh, 0:18:41.240 --> 0:18:43.120 look at that guy walking down the street, he's overweight. 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:46.040 I was overweight in terms of that's a professional athlete overweight, 0:18:46.240 --> 0:18:50.400 you know, and so you know that sort of Uh, 0:18:50.560 --> 0:18:53.359 let's see that fall. I had a knee issue that 0:18:53.359 --> 0:18:55.879 that needed surgery, um, and it was because I was 0:18:55.920 --> 0:18:58.120 just it was too heavy, I was pounding too much 0:18:58.119 --> 0:19:01.000 on my knee and the cartilage had some cartilage damage. 0:19:01.040 --> 0:19:02.720 You need it cleaned out. And it wasn't like a 0:19:02.760 --> 0:19:05.439 super invasive surgery. It wasn't like a crazy one. It 0:19:05.480 --> 0:19:09.720 was like at the time, I was two two oh three, uh, 0:19:10.000 --> 0:19:12.160 two oh three, but I'm I was I'm six three, 0:19:12.400 --> 0:19:14.960 six four with shoes on six three. But but I'm 0:19:14.960 --> 0:19:18.720 not like I wasn't six three, two oh three jacked 0:19:19.000 --> 0:19:20.919 like no, no, no, Like I was like shaped like 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:24.240 a pair kind of and like oh yeah, yeah, I 0:19:24.240 --> 0:19:26.159 still had baby fat on me when I was twenty 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.040 seven years old, Like I don't know if that's baby 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:33.440 fat anymore, dude, or is just fat? So uh So 0:19:33.880 --> 0:19:37.280 I finally felt like I had the time, um, you know, 0:19:37.320 --> 0:19:39.800 because like our off seasons like six weeks long. So 0:19:39.840 --> 0:19:42.159 if you're healthy, it's brutal to be able to try 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:45.160 and do that. You can't do much in six weeks. Um, 0:19:45.200 --> 0:19:47.760 And I knew I had our my surgery September twenty eight, 0:19:47.840 --> 0:19:49.880 two thousand nine. The reason I remember that because something 0:19:49.880 --> 0:19:51.960 I was my first one year anniversary of my wife 0:19:52.000 --> 0:19:55.400 and wedding. So, um, what a one year anniversary to 0:19:55.520 --> 0:19:59.480 go under the knife and and do some rehab after U. 0:20:00.000 --> 0:20:02.440 And so my my trainer and I and my wife too, 0:20:02.480 --> 0:20:04.960 we we all sort of set out didn't have kids 0:20:04.960 --> 0:20:08.679 at the time, and we hired a chef. Um very 0:20:08.720 --> 0:20:10.760 you know, kind of low you know, low budget sort 0:20:10.800 --> 0:20:13.160 of thing though, like you know, twenty five bucks an 0:20:13.160 --> 0:20:15.000 hour kind of thing. You know, it wasn't create a 0:20:15.040 --> 0:20:19.040 couple hours a day. Uh. She found, got the food, cooked, 0:20:19.080 --> 0:20:21.160 the food, told us how many calories were in there. 0:20:21.240 --> 0:20:24.399 My my trainer would sort of calorie count estimate what 0:20:24.520 --> 0:20:27.160 I burned, um, what was going in. So we watched 0:20:27.200 --> 0:20:29.800 every single thing that went in my body for about 0:20:29.880 --> 0:20:37.120 three months a note to see the transformation. Just just diet. 0:20:37.160 --> 0:20:40.080 So the first six weeks it just felt it flew off. 0:20:40.400 --> 0:20:42.960 And that's not normally the case, you know, like it 0:20:43.000 --> 0:20:46.159 takes time. And I you know, we're under five to 0:20:46.280 --> 0:20:50.199 seven hundred calories every day on purpose, um, you know, 0:20:50.200 --> 0:20:53.320 and I was eating like hundred calories a day, which 0:20:53.359 --> 0:20:54.879 is not a lot of I mean, if you like, 0:20:55.080 --> 0:20:57.520