Anger can poison a player’s game as much as fatigue. In 2003 at Wimbledon during a second-round match against Andy Roddick, Canadian-born Greg Rusedski had a stroke of bad luck — fan interference — and then went into a meltdown after the umpire denied him a chance to replay the point. Roddick had hit a forehand on the baseline and a shout of “out” rang across the court. Rusedski, the British No. 2, assumed this was a referee’s call, and though he returned the shot, he subsequently turned away. The shout had in fact come from the audience, and Roddick kept the ball in play, winning the rally. Roddick queried the incident, but the umpire gave him the point, denying Rusedski the chance for a let, or replay. The event rankled Rusedski, and after losing a serve to love in the next set, his rage overflowed. “I can’t do anything if the crowd f——g calls it, can I?” he yelled at the umpire as he sat down courtside. “F—–g ridiculous. Some wanker in the crowd changes the whole match and you allow it to happen. Well done, well done, well done. Absolutely s–t.” Rusedski lost the match and later apologized, explaining that “sometimes your emotions take control.”
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Greg Rusedski, 2003
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