Exit for X

Written by: Staff on 2nd September 2010

Exit for X

July 25, 2010: New York Mets' R.A. Dickey throws a pitch against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles,CA. |

Xavier Malisse – or, as we know him, 10sballs.com’s very own X – is out of the US Open after a disappointing 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 first round loss to Dudi Sela.

It was the second time this summer that our X had fallen foul of the Israeli. This time, though, it was a bitter pill to swallow.

At the relatively advanced age of 30, X knows that his time at the top level on the main tour is limited and yet, this year, he has gone from strength to strength. A long battle with serious injuries seems to be behind him and, given a free run at the top men at the big tournaments, he has pushed his ranking up from 94 at the start of the year to its current position of 50.

But from the start of the match on an unbearably hot day in New York, there was no fire and no spark in Malisse. He was troubled by a niggling leg injury and that, in turn, seemed to exacerbate every other problem he had on the court. He was not happy with the umpire; he was not happy with anything much. And the more he fretted, the more the wily old Sela made hay.

Sela, who, at 25, has been around the block once or twice, soon saw that X was not on song. Spotting a possible chance, he simply played smart and waited for his Belgian rival to make mistakes. Alas, our X made heaps of them and Sela’s job was made all the easier by them.

The positive side of this story is that X did not implode. He was annoyed with much of what went on on court – his own mistakes being the root cause of the problem – but he did not add to his woes by losing his rag.

In days gone by, many a racquet would have bitten the dust in a similar situation. But now, travelling and working with Maxime Braeckman, our X is calmer man. And that calmness, combined with his remarkable and silky skills will allow him to put the disappointments and frustration of the 2010 US Open behind him and move him on to the next big challenge. And when it does, 10sballs.com will be there to watch it happen.

Topics: Bitter Pill, Calmness, Current Position, Disappointments, Exit, Frustration, Heaps, Hot Day, Job, Leg Injury, Match, Maxime, Root Cause, Second Time, Silky Skills, Smart, Strength To Strength, Umpire, Woes, Xavier Malisse