Archive: christopher-chaffee
The Essence of A Natural: Never Forgotten
I wake up everyday a little sore from the previous long but hard earned day. I look into the mirror with a determined heart and focused eyes. The first thing I look at is a picture of my hero Lleyton Hewitt pumping his fist with a quote below which reads "Just give 100 percent. And that's not just in tennis or sports; that's in life. If you give 100 percent, you'll have no regrets. "
It was like watching a movie that opens your eyes, lifts your soul, and touches your heart. Throughout the movie you have tears of joy and you feel inspired. In the movies, we see our hero progress, strive, and endure his way through a path towards his final encounter.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena; whose face is marred by sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotion, spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement..."
The first time I saw Austrailian’s Lleyton Hewitt was during the 2000 US Open semi-finals where he played the great Pete Sampras. It was the ultimate underdog versus the great champion match up. Sampras had been proudly wearing the mantle of American tennis and was already seen as one of the greatest players of all time.