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Who is this guy? Anonymous American Russell enjoys run into spotlight
PARIS (Reuters) -- Until the third round of the French Open the best known Russell at Roland Garros had been Serena Williams's terrier Jackie. But with Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Jan-Michael Gambil, Todd Martin and Andy Roddick all returning home and Andre Agassi yet to play his third match, it was Michael Russell's turn to grab a bit of the Paris limelight on Friday. With a tenacious 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 victory over Belgian Xavier Malisse, the unknown Russell led a dwindling American contingent into the fourth round of the Grand Slam tournament, where he will play top seed Gustavo Kuerten. As Agassi and Roddick hogged the spotlight, there had been little attention paid to Russell, more questions asked about Williams's Jack Russell terrier at interviews than the American qualifier. But suddenly the 23-year-old grinder from Florida, who had won only two ATP Tour matches before this week, finds himself enjoying life in the fast lane. "It's great I don't have to go through the drive-thru at McDonald's anymore," said Russell, who is guaranteed at least a $45,000 payday, more than doubling his season's prize money. "Maybe I can have some filet mignon," he added. "And two days ago I switched rooms. It's kind of funny, fourth round and I finally get air-conditioning." Luxuries have been few for Russell, who has traveled the globe in search of valuable ATP ranking points, playing events in India, Vietnam, Singapore and Japan. "I don't know if you've talked to too many players who spent a whole month in India," said Russell. "I spent nine weeks in Asia and I think I proceeded to get about five ATP points." Small but muscular, Russell compares himself to Frenchmen Arnaud Clement and Sebastien Grosjean, players who achieve results by outworking their opponents. Certainly no one in Paris worked harder for his place in the main draw than Russell, who had to fight off a match point in his opening round qualifier. Russell's determination was rewarded with his first ever Grand Slam victory, over French wild card Nicolas Mahut, when he became the first American qualifier to win a match at Roland Garros for six years. "I was lucky in the quallies, I was down match point in the first round and was able to grind it out," smiled Russell. "Then, all of a sudden, I'm in the fourth round. "I went from nearly losing in the first round of quallies to playing Guga [Kuerten] in the fourth round. It's pretty amazing but it's going to be fun. "To play Guga, the No. 1 player in the world, on clay, especially here in the fourth round in Paris. You couldn't ask for anything more."
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. |
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