WEBVTT - The Sit-Down with John Fitzgerald 0:00:02.320 --> 0:00:04.960 Hello, and welcome to the Sitdown. I'm Viz Christie from 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:06.480 Australian Tennis magazine and. 0:00:06.440 --> 0:00:08.719 I'm Matt Trolopa, writer for oz open dot com. 0:00:08.760 --> 0:00:10.640 And Matt, why are we sitting down this week with 0:00:10.840 --> 0:00:11.600 John Fitzgerald. 0:00:11.640 --> 0:00:13.680 We're sitting down with John Fitzgerald because first of all, 0:00:13.720 --> 0:00:16.800 he's a legend of Australian tennis. But it's excellent timing 0:00:16.800 --> 0:00:19.000 given it's a Davis Cup week and FITZI had an 0:00:19.040 --> 0:00:21.480 incredible Davis Cup career both as a player and then 0:00:21.520 --> 0:00:25.000 as a captain of the Australian team. And while he 0:00:25.120 --> 0:00:26.920 was here and very generous with his time, we got 0:00:26.960 --> 0:00:28.760 to cover a lot of other subjects. It was a 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:30.120 really wide ranging chat. 0:00:30.400 --> 0:00:32.280 It was also great to talk to FITZI about the 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:35.920 success this year in men's doubles in Australia and he 0:00:36.200 --> 0:00:38.440 is a man that's highly qualified to speak on that 0:00:38.479 --> 0:00:41.480 topic having won all four Grand Slam doubles titles and 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:43.360 a couple of mixed doubles titles as well. 0:00:46.520 --> 0:00:48.800 John Fitzgerald, thank you for joining us on the sit 0:00:48.880 --> 0:00:52.440 down today. Thank you, Matt. It's my pleasure and you're 0:00:52.479 --> 0:00:55.280 talking to us at a very exciting time in tennis doubles. 0:00:55.320 --> 0:00:56.600 Do you feel it's having a bit of a moment 0:00:56.640 --> 0:00:58.120 on tour right now for the Australians. 0:00:58.520 --> 0:01:01.400 Well, certainly there's a number of players that are world 0:01:01.440 --> 0:01:04.480 class that are playing it. I think Max Purcell arguably 0:01:04.560 --> 0:01:06.240 is the best first quarter in the world if he 0:01:06.280 --> 0:01:09.760 puts his mind to it on that first court. And 0:01:09.840 --> 0:01:12.000 part of what made I think the gold medal win 0:01:13.200 --> 0:01:17.360 success of Ebden and Peers so good in the end 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:19.520 or so great in the end, was the fact that 0:01:20.160 --> 0:01:21.800 one of them had to move to the first court. 0:01:21.800 --> 0:01:24.520 They're both second court players, so John Piers showed a 0:01:24.560 --> 0:01:26.520 lot of versatility to be able to move across from 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:30.000 the side that he plays on all the time, basically 0:01:30.600 --> 0:01:33.160 move across under pressure on a clay court and play 0:01:33.160 --> 0:01:35.679 in that first court. He deserves a lot of credit 0:01:35.680 --> 0:01:38.959 for that and a lot of kudos. So yeah, they 0:01:38.959 --> 0:01:41.960 can play this game of doubles. It's probably not as 0:01:42.040 --> 0:01:45.960 high profile as we know, it's not as the singles, 0:01:47.600 --> 0:01:49.680 but it plays an important part in our sport and 0:01:50.200 --> 0:01:51.720 was great to see some of the Aussies do well 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.160 traditionally we have in this country. 0:01:54.360 --> 0:01:56.720 That leads into our next question. Actually, there's been this 0:01:57.240 --> 0:02:00.400 camaraderie between that golden era of Australian and US back 0:02:00.400 --> 0:02:04.760 in the sixties and into the seventies Labor Rosewall YUKM 0:02:04.840 --> 0:02:07.320 and I guess that camaraderie in that culture has continued 0:02:07.520 --> 0:02:09.440 to this day. Do you reckon that's contributing to why 0:02:09.480 --> 0:02:11.000 we're so good on the doubles court. 0:02:10.919 --> 0:02:13.880 Well, it's probably a little longer discussion than that. That's 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:15.160 part of it. I think a big part of it. 0:02:15.800 --> 0:02:17.600 I think court surfaces play a bit of a part. 0:02:17.680 --> 0:02:19.400 You know, we learned a lot of our tennis in 0:02:19.440 --> 0:02:22.040 this country on faster courts. Initially most of them have 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:26.120 slowed down these days. They're higher bouncing and slower court surfaces, 0:02:26.520 --> 0:02:28.799 even the hard courts and the grass by the way, 0:02:28.840 --> 0:02:32.720 which sounds amazing, but it's true. So I think in 0:02:32.720 --> 0:02:36.160 the old days, when they played with faster courts, that 0:02:36.360 --> 0:02:38.720 style of play was more conducive to playing doubles. So 0:02:38.800 --> 0:02:41.240 the doubles game has changed. It's evolved a little bit, 0:02:41.560 --> 0:02:43.679 not as much probably as the singles, but it's still 0:02:43.720 --> 0:02:46.920 evolved and players have to adapt. But there's certainly a 0:02:47.120 --> 0:02:51.120 history of great doubles players in this country. And you 0:02:51.160 --> 0:02:53.359 know now we've got two more gold medalists that are 0:02:53.880 --> 0:02:55.880 they'll never forget that their name will go down in 0:02:55.919 --> 0:02:58.560 history as Olympic gold medal winners. 0:02:58.919 --> 0:03:02.280 John speaking of the great history in Australian doubles players, 0:03:02.320 --> 0:03:04.760 you were, of course a world number one doubles player 0:03:04.840 --> 0:03:08.120 and you want every Grand Slam men's doubles title. What 0:03:08.160 --> 0:03:11.000 did it mean to complete that career slam in doubles? 0:03:11.960 --> 0:03:14.440 Well, Wymlham was the last one that I was able 0:03:14.480 --> 0:03:16.600 to win, and that was pretty special because as a 0:03:16.600 --> 0:03:18.520 little boy, that was the tournament I always got up 0:03:18.560 --> 0:03:20.079 in the middle of the night for out in country 0:03:20.120 --> 0:03:22.960 South Australia in the bush and watched on I began 0:03:23.000 --> 0:03:25.440 watching on a black and white TV. Actually I don't 0:03:25.440 --> 0:03:30.880 tell any one that, but so that was the last one, 0:03:30.919 --> 0:03:34.880 but it was special and I think, you know, probably 0:03:35.280 --> 0:03:37.920 halfway through my tennis career, I realized that I was 0:03:37.960 --> 0:03:40.960 not likely to win a major singles title. So it 0:03:41.080 --> 0:03:43.680 was a nice second for me to be able to 0:03:43.760 --> 0:03:47.600 do that. And you know a lot of players have 0:03:47.640 --> 0:03:49.119 not been able to do it. There's there's a lot 0:03:49.160 --> 0:03:51.360 more players in the world of men's tennis that have 0:03:51.400 --> 0:03:55.240 won all four doubles titles in the Grand Slams than 0:03:55.840 --> 0:03:58.760 in terms of singles players. There's only eight of those, right, 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:02.880 it's a very moll number. And then half of those 0:04:03.160 --> 0:04:06.360 have won on all surfaces, and the previous half played 0:04:06.400 --> 0:04:10.320 when there were three grass courts used for Grand Slams 0:04:10.360 --> 0:04:12.920 in those days. The US Open and Australia of course, 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.440 were on grass courts back then. So it's a very 0:04:15.480 --> 0:04:17.760 small club there, a bigger club in the men's doubles, 0:04:17.800 --> 0:04:20.280 but still a nice special place to be, of. 0:04:20.200 --> 0:04:24.280 Course, and you won titles with several different partners, but 0:04:24.760 --> 0:04:29.240 your partnership with Andres Yarrett was particularly fruitful. What made 0:04:29.320 --> 0:04:31.120 that so successful. 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:36.159 Well, we really did, I think, compliment each other, not 0:04:36.320 --> 0:04:39.320 just in the way our styles of play were, but 0:04:41.040 --> 0:04:43.560 in the way our personalities were. I think. You know, 0:04:43.600 --> 0:04:46.720 Anders was a special tennis player. He was a higher 0:04:46.760 --> 0:04:52.200 ranked singles player than me. He started winning Grand Slams 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:58.039 with it Stephan Edburgh. He won with a couple of others, 0:04:58.080 --> 0:05:02.760 not just me. He won with hands c initially another Swede, 0:05:02.839 --> 0:05:04.960 and of course Robert Seguso he won one with as well. 0:05:05.040 --> 0:05:07.880 So and a special singles player made the semi finals 0:05:07.880 --> 0:05:12.000 of Wimbledon. Some days I just had to turn up 0:05:12.040 --> 0:05:13.680 at the court and point him in the right direction. 0:05:13.760 --> 0:05:16.680 He'd win for us. I was like a gold mine. 0:05:16.680 --> 0:05:20.960 It was magnificent, you know. But some days if he 0:05:21.920 --> 0:05:24.920 didn't get hot food. And I'm saying this seriously, you 0:05:24.960 --> 0:05:26.760 think I've got my tongue in my cheek, but I don't. 0:05:26.800 --> 0:05:29.359 He loved hot food before he played a match, and 0:05:29.400 --> 0:05:31.840 if he didn't get it, he you know, if he 0:05:31.880 --> 0:05:34.040 was listening to this, he'd be laughing because he'd get 0:05:34.040 --> 0:05:36.160 a bit grumpy. So I had to run around try 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:38.240 and find some hot food for him, and then of 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:42.599 course point him in the right direction. But when he 0:05:42.640 --> 0:05:45.359 did that, he was He was a mini genius for me. 0:05:46.560 --> 0:05:52.159 Is a great person, pretty intense on the court. But 0:05:52.200 --> 0:05:55.640 we had a special relationship that remains till today. We 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:58.400 stay in contact with each other, and he paid for 0:05:58.480 --> 0:06:00.400 half of my house, so I've got to be very hi. 0:06:00.640 --> 0:06:02.520 Maybe in fact, he paid for three quarters of it. 0:06:03.160 --> 0:06:05.560 So a special old friend. 0:06:06.160 --> 0:06:09.640 It's actually really interesting to sort of hear your perspective 0:06:09.760 --> 0:06:13.000 on him as a person as much as a player. 0:06:13.040 --> 0:06:15.000 I mean, we talk about how important it is to have, 0:06:15.160 --> 0:06:17.440 you know, playing styles that compliment each other. But that 0:06:17.480 --> 0:06:19.720 personality has to really gel as well. 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:22.280 It does it does? You know there's a lot of 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:24.120 I bet there's a lot of double s ways. I 0:06:24.160 --> 0:06:28.400 know there is a lot that don't necessarily communicate that 0:06:28.480 --> 0:06:30.800 well off the court, and they maybe don't socialize as 0:06:30.839 --> 0:06:33.719 well because they're so different. Maybe sometimes they don't even 0:06:33.760 --> 0:06:36.599 like each other, you know. But in our case, we 0:06:36.600 --> 0:06:39.080 would go to dinner together, even though he was a 0:06:39.120 --> 0:06:41.040 Swede and I was an Australian, and we always used 0:06:41.040 --> 0:06:43.480 to think as a young person that the Swedes and 0:06:43.480 --> 0:06:45.680 the Aussie's got on really well. You know. They brought 0:06:45.680 --> 0:06:47.800 all those crowds out in the early eighties to watch 0:06:48.120 --> 0:06:50.800 David's Cup here and they were a strong the strongest 0:06:50.800 --> 0:06:53.960 men's nation then. But we had a lot in common 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.880 and even though English wasn't his first language, he was 0:06:57.880 --> 0:07:00.599 awfully good at it, and we could communicate easily on 0:07:00.640 --> 0:07:02.960 the court. And I think it's important that you get 0:07:02.960 --> 0:07:06.400 along well and respect the guy you're playing with. 0:07:06.400 --> 0:07:10.480 Of course, and you also won two mixed doubles titles 0:07:10.560 --> 0:07:13.520 in Grand Slams with Liz Smiley. That must have also 0:07:13.560 --> 0:07:14.280 been very special. 0:07:14.440 --> 0:07:17.440 Well, Liz paid for the rest of my house, so. 0:07:17.840 --> 0:07:20.480 I love that mentality, but it's actually kind of true. 0:07:20.640 --> 0:07:22.400 I got money to pay for a house and a 0:07:22.440 --> 0:07:24.120 partner helped me get it. It's a really nice way 0:07:24.160 --> 0:07:24.760 to think about it. 0:07:24.800 --> 0:07:27.280 Well, Lizzie and I went back to junior tennis days. 0:07:27.360 --> 0:07:29.240 She married a good friend of mine, Peter Smiley, and 0:07:29.240 --> 0:07:33.559 they're special people to us, their godparents to as second child, 0:07:33.920 --> 0:07:38.800 where godparents to their eldest and you know, so we've 0:07:38.840 --> 0:07:42.520 remained friends there. We follow their son Elvis now he 0:07:42.600 --> 0:07:44.720 was a bit of an Elvis Presley man. Peter smiling 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:48.520 and his son qualified for the British Open golf this year, 0:07:48.560 --> 0:07:52.800 so we stay in touch. We're great old friends. And yeah, 0:07:52.840 --> 0:07:55.320 that was they were special days too. We happened to 0:07:55.760 --> 0:07:57.680 we happen to lose a few finals. We lost four 0:07:57.720 --> 0:08:00.280 Grand Slam mixed doubles finals, Liz and I, but we 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:01.480 managed to win two of them. 0:08:01.680 --> 0:08:04.040 Of course, I'm going to put you on the spot 0:08:04.080 --> 0:08:07.200 a little bit here. You speak so fondly of your 0:08:07.240 --> 0:08:09.280 doubles partners. What would they say about you? 0:08:10.320 --> 0:08:11.960 Well, I'm not sure it might depend on which one 0:08:12.000 --> 0:08:16.480 you ask. They're all good friends. But my special friend 0:08:16.480 --> 0:08:19.800 also is John Alexander, who was ten years older than me, 0:08:20.040 --> 0:08:22.080 was in the back half of his career when he 0:08:22.560 --> 0:08:24.080 said that he'd played with me and we won an 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:27.880 Australia opened together, and you know, it was incredible that 0:08:28.120 --> 0:08:30.480 part of my life with him. And he took Wally 0:08:30.520 --> 0:08:32.720 Massour and Brad Druid, our great friend who's not with 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.600 us anymore, under his wing and guided us through those 0:08:35.640 --> 0:08:38.120 early years. Not always with great stuff, you know, there 0:08:38.160 --> 0:08:40.200 was a bit of naughty stuff too, but you know, 0:08:40.440 --> 0:08:42.880 we told some good jokes in the locker room. But 0:08:43.480 --> 0:08:45.960 he is a man with a heart of gold. John 0:08:46.000 --> 0:08:48.920 Alexander and you know went on, of course to be 0:08:48.960 --> 0:08:53.679 a politician and an ethical one at that, and I'm 0:08:53.720 --> 0:08:55.520 proud of him and what he's done. And of course 0:08:55.520 --> 0:08:58.240 Thomas Smith, the check player. I won a couple of 0:08:58.360 --> 0:09:01.760 majors with the US and the French. So I'd like 0:09:01.840 --> 0:09:04.280 to think they talked about me as being a friend, 0:09:04.920 --> 0:09:08.600 a reliable friend. I hope. I think they probably will. 0:09:09.800 --> 0:09:11.480 If they don't, then I probably don't want to hear. 0:09:11.360 --> 0:09:15.520 About it, full faith that they would speak very fondly. 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:15.959 Thank you. 0:09:16.720 --> 0:09:18.880 We've talked a lot about obviously your double success, but 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:20.880 in singles as well. You were a top twenty five 0:09:20.920 --> 0:09:23.600 player and you won six titles. So what Miles Stone 0:09:23.640 --> 0:09:25.719 stands out for you most on the singles court. 0:09:26.760 --> 0:09:29.800 Well, you know, we've talked recently about being match points 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:32.600 down in matches and then coming through and winning. And 0:09:33.040 --> 0:09:37.040 one of my first titles was in Maui in Hawaii 0:09:37.120 --> 0:09:38.600 where I was down match point I had to I 0:09:38.600 --> 0:09:41.040 had to qualify. It was before I'd really established a 0:09:41.080 --> 0:09:46.040 big ranking and came through that match and then won 0:09:46.040 --> 0:09:49.040 the whole tournament. So the match point save was in qualities, 0:09:49.080 --> 0:09:49.840 was in qualified. 0:09:49.960 --> 0:09:50.200 Wow. 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.640 So things like that happen, you know, and you gain 0:09:53.720 --> 0:09:57.560 confidence and momentum in sport and two on excuse me, 0:09:57.600 --> 0:10:00.240 one on one competition as a two horse race, and 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:03.720 anything can happen. But I think I think the first 0:10:03.720 --> 0:10:08.160 one for me. I did well at the old Sydney International, 0:10:08.200 --> 0:10:10.160 which was called the New South Wales Open when it 0:10:10.200 --> 0:10:12.600 was on grass. I won that twice and lost in 0:10:12.640 --> 0:10:14.600 the final. In fact I had a match point. It 0:10:14.600 --> 0:10:16.760 came back to haunt me against my friend John Alexander 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:19.720 and that kind and he won that damn it John, yea, 0:10:21.640 --> 0:10:24.200 where's that dinner? But I think the first one for 0:10:24.240 --> 0:10:26.600 me in Kitsbill in Austria was a special moment. It was. 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.000 It was on a clay court, my worst surface, but 0:10:29.040 --> 0:10:31.960 it was altitude clay, which gave me a better chance. 0:10:32.480 --> 0:10:35.880 I got through to the semifinals, and we got to 0:10:35.920 --> 0:10:39.200 the semifinals and it rained for three days. Now, I 0:10:39.240 --> 0:10:41.320 normally don't tell people the story, but it's so long ago. 0:10:41.360 --> 0:10:43.680 I tell everyone I want a clay court single title. 0:10:44.160 --> 0:10:46.720 But it rained for three days. We went indoors. We 0:10:46.760 --> 0:10:49.720 played on a fast, low bouncing supreme court that was 0:10:49.760 --> 0:10:52.240 called in those days, and it suited my game perfectly. 0:10:52.280 --> 0:10:55.760 And I'll beat Germo Villas, who was probably you may 0:10:55.800 --> 0:10:57.319 have been number two in the world at that stage. 0:10:57.400 --> 0:11:01.000 So that for me was the I think the event 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:03.080 that sort of kickstarted my belief. 0:11:03.200 --> 0:11:05.560 Really wow, But you don't tell me when it wasn't 0:11:05.559 --> 0:11:07.640 a you got to the semis on the clay though, 0:11:07.679 --> 0:11:09.559 which is good it Yeah, I did. And that's a 0:11:09.600 --> 0:11:11.920 beautiful tournament, isn't it. Isn't that the one? It's well, 0:11:11.960 --> 0:11:14.040 there's always a good start, or they're both in the mountains. 0:11:14.320 --> 0:11:16.800 Well, I think it's where is it where Franzy Klamor 0:11:16.880 --> 0:11:22.280 the great downhill skier one gold? I think it's and 0:11:23.520 --> 0:11:26.120 he's Wally Mesur's hero, you know, they call him the Kaiser, 0:11:26.600 --> 0:11:29.199 not Wally but Franz Klamor. But that it is a 0:11:29.280 --> 0:11:30.079 beautiful place. 0:11:30.400 --> 0:11:30.559 You know. 0:11:30.640 --> 0:11:32.520 This went to New Zealand recent I went to Queenstown, 0:11:32.600 --> 0:11:35.200 first time I'd ever been that. You can go. Yeah, 0:11:35.520 --> 0:11:38.319 it is magnificent. It reminded me of Austria and Switzerland. 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.840 What a beautiful place. And yeah, Kitspill was one of those. 0:11:42.520 --> 0:11:46.439 Anything we did, we did touch on the Olympics and 0:11:46.520 --> 0:11:49.000 you played two of them and they were nineteen eighty 0:11:49.040 --> 0:11:51.400 eight Soul and ninety ninety two Barcelona. So Soul was 0:11:51.400 --> 0:11:53.720 significant because that's when tennis came back into the Olympics 0:11:53.760 --> 0:11:56.480 after not being a metal sport for about sixty or 0:11:56.520 --> 0:11:59.920 seventy years. So it was, yeah, what was the decision 0:12:00.080 --> 0:12:02.559 for you? Obviously you wanted to play an Olympics. Not 0:12:02.600 --> 0:12:04.599 every tennis player players and Olympics, but you did and 0:12:04.720 --> 0:12:05.199 played two. 0:12:05.520 --> 0:12:07.840 I did that. I did want to play, and several 0:12:07.880 --> 0:12:10.079 months earlier I'd torn a calf muscle in the Canadian 0:12:10.120 --> 0:12:13.719 Open and was doubtful for a while but got into 0:12:13.800 --> 0:12:17.400 the team. Look, they were funny memories in a way 0:12:17.559 --> 0:12:21.280 because it was the biggest sporting event globally as it 0:12:21.360 --> 0:12:25.000 still is, and tennis as a medal sport for the 0:12:25.080 --> 0:12:26.800 first time in the modern era. I mean, it had 0:12:26.880 --> 0:12:29.640 been a non medal sport in Los Angeles, I think, 0:12:29.640 --> 0:12:33.640 where Stephan Edberg won, and then it went to Seoul, 0:12:34.800 --> 0:12:37.120 and I wondered. I was looking over my shoulder a 0:12:37.120 --> 0:12:39.480 little bit. I wasn't sure how welcome the tennis players 0:12:39.520 --> 0:12:41.640 would be because it was a professional sport in those 0:12:41.720 --> 0:12:47.240 days still is obviously, But I wish that I could 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:50.680 have my time again, because I felt like I could 0:12:50.720 --> 0:12:53.240 have enjoyed that first moment more. I was a little 0:12:53.240 --> 0:12:57.319 bit sort of. I don't think I was intimidated, just 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.480 wondering how welcome we be, But of course we were, 0:13:01.040 --> 0:13:04.600 of course we were. And I think as the Olympics 0:13:04.640 --> 0:13:07.520 have gone past over the last twenty id years, twenty 0:13:07.720 --> 0:13:10.800 four or thirty two years since then, I think it 0:13:10.920 --> 0:13:16.640 is it has grown in stature our game in the Olympics. 0:13:16.720 --> 0:13:20.640 So now it's obvious how important it is to the 0:13:20.679 --> 0:13:24.000 game of tennis, but I was a bit slow in 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:26.640 recognizing that and understanding it, I think more than anything else. 0:13:26.679 --> 0:13:30.520 But nevertheless, an unbelievable experience, staying in the village. Neil 0:13:30.559 --> 0:13:34.880 Fraser was our manager. It was a wonderful experience. Darren 0:13:34.960 --> 0:13:37.360 k Hill and I lost in the quarter finals one 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:40.439 match before a bronze that would have been nice, but 0:13:41.640 --> 0:13:43.719 in retrospect, just to be an Olympian in special and 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:45.240 going to Barcelona. 0:13:44.800 --> 0:13:47.360 As well, did you feel better about Barcelona? 0:13:47.400 --> 0:13:49.800 I think yeah, I did. I felt better about Barcelona. 0:13:50.000 --> 0:13:53.559 And then of course I went to this straight the 0:13:54.000 --> 0:13:58.080 Sydney Olympics with my family just as a spectator, bought tickets, 0:13:58.160 --> 0:14:00.959 went up there and watched, took my children. Was a 0:14:01.040 --> 0:14:03.880 commentator at the ninety six Olympics for Channel seven in 0:14:03.920 --> 0:14:09.520 those days in Georgia in Atlanta, and then as a manager, 0:14:09.600 --> 0:14:13.920 I was at two Olympics in both Athens and in Beijing. 0:14:14.080 --> 0:14:19.560 So I had a plethora of experiences the great Olympic Games, 0:14:19.600 --> 0:14:21.200 and I'll never forget them. 0:14:21.880 --> 0:14:24.520 You must love it when Olympics roll around, now, I'm. 0:14:24.400 --> 0:14:28.160 Sure, yeah, yeah, it's you know, there's a lot of 0:14:28.240 --> 0:14:31.040 new sports that I'm not necessarily too o fay with, 0:14:31.240 --> 0:14:36.080 but nevertheless I got some real joy I think out 0:14:36.120 --> 0:14:39.920 of watching some of these young VMX riders and skateboarders 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:42.640 and the joy that brings to them and their families, 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.880 and the experience of playing, so to speak, for Australia 0:14:45.920 --> 0:14:49.520 and cycling for Australia. It's a memorable thing for a 0:14:49.560 --> 0:14:51.640 young person to do. Stays with you for life. 0:14:51.960 --> 0:14:56.200 Speaking of representing Australia, you also had a wonderful Davis 0:14:56.320 --> 0:14:58.880 Cup career. You must have some very special memories from that. 0:15:00.040 --> 0:15:00.200 I do. 0:15:00.360 --> 0:15:04.320 And I think you know all false modesty aside. You know, 0:15:04.440 --> 0:15:06.120 when you're halfway through your career and you realize you 0:15:06.200 --> 0:15:08.640 can't win your dream, which for me was to win 0:15:08.680 --> 0:15:10.880 the Wimbledon singles title. That's what I wanted to do, 0:15:11.760 --> 0:15:14.400 and I realized that, you know, my game probably wasn't 0:15:14.440 --> 0:15:16.680 going to stack up enough to do it. I had 0:15:16.680 --> 0:15:18.760 a very close friend in Pat Cash do it. And 0:15:20.120 --> 0:15:22.840 I want to quote my old friend Brad Druid, who's 0:15:22.840 --> 0:15:25.280 not with us anymore. He died of MMD in twenty thirteen, 0:15:25.400 --> 0:15:29.400 and he and Wally Masur and I were watching in Newport, 0:15:29.480 --> 0:15:31.720 Rhode Island after we'd left Wimbledon in nine to eighty seven, 0:15:31.760 --> 0:15:34.800 watching Pat Cash win on TV, and when he'd won, 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:37.960 Brad looked at both Wally and I and he said, 0:15:38.280 --> 0:15:41.040 he said, well, he said that that's the greatest moment 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:44.920 in my tennis career and that's how. That's how. Yeah, 0:15:45.280 --> 0:15:48.160 it made me get quite emotional what Brad said, and 0:15:48.200 --> 0:15:49.880 he was right. It probably was for Wally and I 0:15:50.680 --> 0:15:54.080 to a large degree, where you have someone that you 0:15:54.240 --> 0:15:57.800 know so well that can win the dream and it 0:15:57.960 --> 0:15:59.960 was special for us to see cash you do it. 0:16:00.240 --> 0:16:03.440 So when you realize you can't do it yourself, you 0:16:03.520 --> 0:16:07.320 probably I looked at Davis Cup has been my platform, 0:16:07.400 --> 0:16:09.680 I think, to be able to perform at my best 0:16:09.800 --> 0:16:12.960 in a team situation, which I missed. I missed Australian 0:16:13.040 --> 0:16:15.240 rules football because I made a sliding door moment at 0:16:15.240 --> 0:16:17.960 boarding school not to play that anymore, went on and 0:16:18.120 --> 0:16:21.120 just concentrate on tennis. And it probably was the making 0:16:21.200 --> 0:16:23.560 of my tennis career to say no to AFL at 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:27.240 that stage. And then I think to playing a Davis 0:16:27.280 --> 0:16:28.920 Cup team and win a couple of times, and then 0:16:28.960 --> 0:16:32.760 the captain was that for me is the most memorable 0:16:32.760 --> 0:16:36.240 thing in my career. I mean, the nerves that you 0:16:36.360 --> 0:16:40.160 experienced playing for your country is unparalleled for me, and 0:16:40.280 --> 0:16:43.040 the pressure that you learn to deal with and sometimes 0:16:43.120 --> 0:16:46.600 not deal so well. With is the best learning curve 0:16:46.640 --> 0:16:48.320 I think that the young tennis player can have. 0:16:49.200 --> 0:16:52.760 Yeah, I remember I was at that Davis Cup final 0:16:52.920 --> 0:16:55.320 in two thousand and three here at Melbourne Park. 0:16:55.880 --> 0:16:57.320 I thought you're going to say nineteen eighty three, you 0:16:57.440 --> 0:17:00.000 wait too young that to say. 0:17:02.280 --> 0:17:04.680 Well, I remember watching that I was a well in 0:17:04.760 --> 0:17:06.960 the country then watching on TV. But I do remember 0:17:07.000 --> 0:17:10.040 that two thousand and three title. That must be still 0:17:10.119 --> 0:17:11.840 so vivid in your memory as well. 0:17:12.119 --> 0:17:14.440 Well, we had a we had. You've got to mention 0:17:14.640 --> 0:17:17.359 the falls as well as the rises, don't you. But 0:17:17.920 --> 0:17:20.520 two years earlier than that, we were on paper probably 0:17:20.560 --> 0:17:23.440 expected to beat France and a final here and lost 0:17:23.520 --> 0:17:25.800 and no one knew at the time Pat Rafter was 0:17:25.800 --> 0:17:28.080 playing with a stress fracture in his arm above the elbow, 0:17:28.200 --> 0:17:31.840 so we couldn't tell anyone that. And all there are 0:17:31.960 --> 0:17:35.960 all sorts of nuances that go into making I think, 0:17:36.160 --> 0:17:40.640 decisions at those big moments. And we lost that tie 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:44.399 and it was pretty heartbreaking. Hey, it's only sport, you know, 0:17:44.560 --> 0:17:47.399 but it's important in your life at that stage, and 0:17:47.480 --> 0:17:50.600 it's important for a country and a culture, I think. 0:17:51.359 --> 0:17:54.840 And so we had to bounce back and two years 0:17:54.920 --> 0:17:56.800 later it was like a monkey off the back. Yeah 0:17:56.840 --> 0:17:59.960 one here again we won instead of losing the final 0:18:00.000 --> 0:18:01.640 here at Melbourne Park on a grass court. 0:18:02.440 --> 0:18:04.840 Well, it was returning to exactly the same scene, wasn't it. 0:18:04.880 --> 0:18:08.280 It was a dropped in grass scene of crime. And 0:18:09.040 --> 0:18:10.359 Philippousa's playing with an injury. 0:18:10.480 --> 0:18:12.280 Yes he did, he did. He played with a tear 0:18:12.320 --> 0:18:16.439 and his pectrol muscle and you know, was up two 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.320 sets to love, came back to two sets all, but 0:18:19.480 --> 0:18:22.040 went into the locker room and didn't think he could 0:18:22.040 --> 0:18:24.840 probably finish really, and I thought if he'd lost his 0:18:24.920 --> 0:18:27.080 first service game in the fifth set, he may have 0:18:27.440 --> 0:18:30.119 lost that set to the club. But he held his 0:18:30.800 --> 0:18:34.080 excuse me, he broke first game, Oh wow, okay, and 0:18:34.200 --> 0:18:36.720 then sorry, he held her first game of the fifth 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.040 and once he'd done that, he played a good second game. God, 0:18:40.080 --> 0:18:42.720 he's momentum going and possibly forgot about the petrol a bit. 0:18:42.760 --> 0:18:44.960 But it was a serious injury. So that that was 0:18:45.000 --> 0:18:50.280 a great memory and very very different, all just so 0:18:50.520 --> 0:18:53.000 different to winning a Davis Cup title as a player 0:18:53.400 --> 0:18:54.359 when you're the captain. 0:18:55.040 --> 0:18:56.639 How did you manage the stress? 0:18:57.240 --> 0:19:00.480 Well, good question, and the first time I'm not sure 0:19:00.480 --> 0:19:03.680 I did because I broke out into shingles. So that's 0:19:03.720 --> 0:19:06.280 how stressful it was for me. You know, if you 0:19:06.359 --> 0:19:09.600 have the chicken pox as a young kid, you can 0:19:09.840 --> 0:19:13.920 have that virus. And so after the two thousand and 0:19:13.960 --> 0:19:16.120 one final, which we lost, I went to play golf 0:19:16.200 --> 0:19:19.280 with some iusie tennis friends, some of them you know 0:19:19.480 --> 0:19:23.359 really well. Viv and Matt went up there and played 0:19:23.680 --> 0:19:26.800 in near the Gold Coast. I think we were playing 0:19:26.840 --> 0:19:28.560 and I broke out. I thought I had a spider 0:19:28.640 --> 0:19:30.720 bight on the top of my head and it started 0:19:30.720 --> 0:19:32.320 to come back down around my eye, and I thought 0:19:32.320 --> 0:19:34.240 I'd better get this checked out, and it was shingles. 0:19:34.920 --> 0:19:39.360 So stress related. But there was less stress in O three, 0:19:39.680 --> 0:19:41.120 possibly because we won, Viv. 0:19:41.320 --> 0:19:44.399 Yeah, and in O three there was also that incredible 0:19:44.560 --> 0:19:47.080