underwear

by James A. Crabtree

Former grand slam champions Andy Roddick and Kim Clijsters are retired. Now add 2003 French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero (well, after Valencia in October) to the list that has seen Fernando González and Ivan Ljubicic call it quits in 2012.
An era of big names and equally big characters is most certainly over. And they will all be missed. The sport will suffer for a short time, but new names shall replace them. The athletes themselves will surely enjoy the initial stages of not being on tour, but then they shall face a new problem. What on earth do you do when you are retired? Play bridge? Downsize? Renovate? Buy some ugly slippers? Purchase Grecian 2000? Play slot machines? Start a hobby, like pottery? Drive slowly and in your way? Play social tennis in the mornings?
Well these recent retirees are not the usual plus sixty vintage so they could settle down and have some kids. Or in the case of Kim and Ivan have more kids.
First of all is the unwritten prerequisite to enjoy oneself, take time out, relax and see the world. Okay, so the players in question have done a whole heap of travelling but maybe they need a get away from it all, with fine food in a beautiful location – minus the racquet. Hang on a minute, Juan Carlos Ferrero has his own hotel! Surely if Kim and Andy were to travel Juan would shout them a 10% discount as former grand slam champions. Seriously check out the food on the websites video!!!
http://www.hotelferrero.com/

Another idea is to do something different, perhaps apply talents to a different avenue such as Andre Agassi did with his school. Besides playing with Billie Jean, the pet bulldog, Andy Roddick has done something similar to Andre helping children improve their lives via his foundation. To date he has helped raise over ten million dollars. Maybe Fernando and Ivan could volunteer a day here and there now they have some spare time.
www.andyroddick.com/andy-roddick-foundation/
Other players in the past have set up businesses. Fred Perry launched the Fred Perry clothing brand (www.fredperry.com). Bjorn Borg set up the something similar with more emphasis on underwear (www.bjornborg.com). Other than his Davis Cup duties Pat Rafter has also spent a lot of time in his briefs for Bonds (www.bonds.com.au/pat-rafter).
Or perhaps these great players could pass on their knowledge like Sergi Bruguera and Emilio Sanchez have at their respective academies. It isn’t too hard to imagine Juan or Andy sitting as coach of a future great, such as Ivan Lendl has done with Andy Murray. Or perhaps even add their expertise within the commentary box like John McEnroe. Of the current crop it’s hard to imagine politics as an option, as it was for Marat Safin.
Lastly, we shouldn’t expect these guys to buy a condo and move down to Florida. Besides there is far too much tennis down there for them. Hang on a minute that could kick start a comeback! Maybe that is a good idea?