Mark Nixon · @markalannixon
3rd May 2016 from TwitLonger
Marcos Baghdatis, who smashed 4 racquets in 25 seconds at the 2012 AO, interviewed in l'Équipe by @franckramella on Dimitrov and racquet smashing in general.
You saw what happened to Dimitrov?
"Yes, sure. It was amusing. Grigor is usually calm. It's not the broken racquet that will get inside his head. It's more having match point against Troicki in the Sydney final (January) and having led Schwartzman 1-0, 5-2. ..."
Your expert judgement?
"I think it's fine. It humanises. People like it, I think, even if they whistle and boo. They look at it, they think it's funny. The guy, he didn't do anything bad, right ... It's good to get it out of your system from time to time."
We remember you did something even stronger ...
"I couldn't find solutions. I don't even remember the scenario, I think I was down two sets to love. I cracked, right. Instead of punching someone, you bust a racquet (laughs). And it did me good. I won the third set. I don't know how to explain it, it's just normal to me."
What did you think of it right after?
"The truth? I didn't give a damn at all! People laughed watching it and so did I. To show how much I wasn't ashamed, I showed it to my daughter too. She's too small to understand, she's only four. But she throws her racquet too!"
You still broke four ...
"You know why it doesn't happen that often? Because we're afraid of the ATP. We become machines. We can't say "shit", we can't say "whore", we can't say anything. I took a warning against Gilles (Simon) because I said "fuck". When you see what happens in football (soccer) ... the ATP should do something about that."
What?
"Tommy Robredo had a good Idea. Put in a sort of shed beside the bench, a sort of small compartment where you can unstress. There are cameras inside and everyone can watch us scream, unwind, hit anything we want."
You'd need to soften the warning rules?
"Not necessarily. If you allow everything, there are no more limits. It's up to the umpire to judge on the spot based on our behaviour for a year. If you smash your racquet once in a while without insulting anyone, you get a pass.If you do it regularly, it's not the same thing. Me, I prefer someone who explodes occasionally to someone like Benoit (Paire). I love him, but he complains about everything. He cries all the time. Fognini's the same. Off the court, they're good guys, but on the court, they're annoying. Maybe it's from stress. To each his own, but we don't need to be put through that."
Is tennis a crazy sport that pushes you to extremes?
"It's a sport like few others. You're alone all the time. And every five days you travel. There are a lot of sacrifices. If you can't be the person you want to be on the court, it's a shame."