lond2345
23 Aug 2004, 01:41 AM
Described by one of the announcers of the USA network as the biggest tennis feat he has ever seen. Nicolas Massu played in the olympics over 20+ hours of tennis before coming to the final today. He won the doubles gold with Nicolas Gonzales earlier today, and a few hours later he goes on and plays for the singles gold! ALL ON THE SAME DAY!
What he did was superhuman. He started getting cramps in the second set. You could see he was tired, he was in pain. He had played double the hours of his opponent in the olympics. He lost the second and third set. Massu looked without energy, he looked defeated seated with the towl on his face. He took a short 3 minute bathroom break and came back. Massu then fought his way back into the match by breaking his opponent's serve. Chile had never won a gold medal at any Olympics until Massu and Fernando Gonzalez won the doubles title in a match that lasted more than 3 1/2 hours and ended in the wee hours Sunday morning. Massu showed a lot of heart, a lot of emotion throughout the match. 20+ hours coming into this match and he had to fight his way for the gold in 5 grueling sets today. The crowd was behind him chanting "Nico, Nico" and he deserved it. He made a superhuman effort to win this.
This superhuman feat deserves its own thread. Congratulations to Chile for taking God in singles (Massu), Gold in the doubles (Massu/Gonzalez) and bronze in singles (Gonzalez). Chile had never won a gold medal in any sport. Today they won 2.
What he did was superhuman. He started getting cramps in the second set. You could see he was tired, he was in pain. He had played double the hours of his opponent in the olympics. He lost the second and third set. Massu looked without energy, he looked defeated seated with the towl on his face. He took a short 3 minute bathroom break and came back. Massu then fought his way back into the match by breaking his opponent's serve. Chile had never won a gold medal at any Olympics until Massu and Fernando Gonzalez won the doubles title in a match that lasted more than 3 1/2 hours and ended in the wee hours Sunday morning. Massu showed a lot of heart, a lot of emotion throughout the match. 20+ hours coming into this match and he had to fight his way for the gold in 5 grueling sets today. The crowd was behind him chanting "Nico, Nico" and he deserved it. He made a superhuman effort to win this.
This superhuman feat deserves its own thread. Congratulations to Chile for taking God in singles (Massu), Gold in the doubles (Massu/Gonzalez) and bronze in singles (Gonzalez). Chile had never won a gold medal in any sport. Today they won 2.