Nice guy Ferrer ready to run - 網球 Tennis

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Nice guy Ferrer ready to run

Friday, 28 January, 2011
By Alix Ramsay

For a man who once described himself as the worst player in the world's top
100, who was once locked in a broom cupboard by his coach as punishment for
not trying hard enough and who once jacked in tennis altogether and went to
work a building site, David Ferrer is not doing badly.
做為一個曾說自己是Top100中最糟選手，還曾因為練球不努力被教練鎖在掃帚廚，以及
放棄網球跑去建築工地當搬運工的男人，David Ferrer其實幹得還不錯。

For the second time in his career, the likeable Spaniard is in the semifinals
of a Grand Slam and for the second time in his career, he looks a little
surprised. Then again, Ferrer always seems surprised when he wins. His game
is based on hard work - he is willing to run until the opposition drops - but
for some reason, he never seems to believe that he has talent to go along
with the work ethic. And there are times when that drives his coach, Javier
Piles, nuts.
這是這位可愛的西班牙人生涯中的第二次打進大滿貫四強，他看起來有些驚訝。
又一次的，Ferrer贏球時總是看起來很驚訝。他的球風奠基於勤奮 - 他願意一直跑動
直到對手停止回球 - 但基於某些原因，他看起來從來都不相信自己有天份可以繼續
從事這項運動。有好幾次這讓他的教練Javier Piles忍不住吐嘈。

"We would go play a tournament and David would win a match 6-1, 6-1," Piles
recalled from Ferrer's junior days. "He would come out saying his opponent
was really good but he never valued how good he was. I would tell him that
his opponent was really good but that he had won 6-1, 6-1."
「在一項賽事中David以6-1 6-1擊敗對手，」Piles回憶起Ferrer青少年時期，「然後他
會說對手真是厲害，但從來不曾評價過自己有多出色，我會跟他說雖然對手很厲害，但
你6-1 6-1打贏他耶。」

It was that lack of confidence that drove Ferrer to work harder and harder on
the practice courts. Well, it did after Piles had locked him in the broom
cupboard. Like many teenagers, Ferrer needed a bit of shove to realise that
only hard work brings results so when he would turn up for training with his
mind elsewhere, Piles decided to teach him a lesson.
正因為缺乏自信，Ferrer在練習場更加勤奮練習。嗯，不過這是在Piles把他關在掃帚櫥
之後的事。如同很多青少年，Ferrer需要跌一跤才知道唯有努力才能成功，因此每當他
練球心不在焉時，Piles決定好好幫他上一課。

"When he didn't want to work I would lock him up in a dark room of two by two
metres and I would put a lock on it so he couldn't get out," Piles said. "It
was the room where we would store the tennis balls. I would tell him that his
working schedule was from 9 to 12 and that if he didn't want to work he would
remain there, punished. I would give him a piece of bread and a bottle of
water through the bars of a small window. After a few minutes we would hear
David asking other trainers from the club for some help to get out but we
wouldn't pay any attention."
「當他不想練球時我會把他關在一個2-3平方公尺的黑暗小房間裡，然後鎖起來不讓他出
來，那是儲藏網球的地方，我會跟他說他得從9點練到12點，如果他不想就得被關在那
當做處罰，我會從小窗子遞給他一塊麵包和一瓶水。幾分鐘後就會聽到David央求俱樂部
的其他教練放他出來，我們都沒理會他。」

This was tough love indeed, so much so that at the age of 17, Ferrer had had
enough - this tennis lark was not for him - so he threw in his racquet and
went off to find a real life. Unfortunately, a real life costs money so young
David had to get himself a job but all he could find was a labourer's gig on
a building site. One week of hefting bricks from morning to night soon cured
him of his aversion to tennis training and after a matter of days, he was on
the phone to Piles: would it be all right if he turned up for practise bright
and early the next morning? Since then, Piles and Ferrer have been
inseparable and the world No.7 regards his coach like one of the family.
這是多麼嚴苛的愛，對17歲的Ferrer來說太過沉重，網球不是他想要的。所以他丟下球
拍，出去尋找真正的人生。不幸的是，過日子是要錢的，年輕的David只好去找工作，
但他唯一能找到的工作是去建築工地當搬運工。在從早到晚扛磚頭扛了一星期後，
他對網球不再反感，幾天後，他打電話給Piles: 我明天早上可以回去練球嗎?
從此之後，Piles和Ferrer從未分離，這位世界排名第七的選手將教練視如家人。

Ferrer, though, is not beyond giving Piles a piece of his mind during matches
but the rant directed at the players' box is not the usual "you gave me the
wrong tactics, you plank" that most coaches have to suffer; instead Ferrer is
wont to yell at his coach "what are you watching this for? I'm rubbish." It
is not quite the attitude of a bona fide tennis bully, the terror with blood
in his eye.
雖然Ferrer也是會在比賽中向Piles表達不滿，但Piles不像其他教練得承受選手那種
「你教這什麼爛戰略」的叫嚷，Ferrer通常是向他教練喊「你看什麼看? 我就是這麼
爛啦」這實在不像一個善良的網球高手的態度，幾乎可以從他眼裡看到恐懼。

Even when he beat Rafael Nadal to reach the semifinal, Ferrer could not help
but mention that his friend Rafa was injured, that the world No.1 was not at
his best. As Piles rolled his eyes in disbelief, his charge chatted to Jim
Courier in the post-match interview and spoke as much about Nadal's injury
problems as about his own success. That's Ferrer for you. He is one of
nature's nice guys - courteous and polite; he is a real gentle man.
就連他擊敗Rafael Nadal進到四強，他還是忍不住提到他的好朋友Rafa受傷了，世界第一
並沒拿出最好水準。當Piles不敢相信的將視線移向他處時，Ferrer在受Jim Courier賽
後訪問時，提到Nadal傷勢的篇幅幾乎跟提他自己的成功一樣多。這就是Ferrer，純天然
的好人 - 謙恭又有禮貌，真正的紳士。

Still, sometimes, nice guys can win. When he reached his first Grand Slam
semifinal, it was at the US Open in 2007. That set him on his way to his
first visit to the Tennis Masters Cup (now replaced by the Barclays ATP World
Tour Finals in London). Blinking in the spotlight and slightly embarrassed to
be in such exalted company, he promptly worked his way through the field to
reach the final unbeaten and it took Roger Federer to stop him once he got
there.
好人也是會出頭天的。他在2007美網第一次打進大滿貫四強，這也幫助他取得年終資格。
在閃光燈中眨著眼，待在這樣興奮的人群中他有些難為情，但他仍然按部就班的全勝挺進
決賽，最後是Roger Federer阻止了他的連勝。

And Ferrer's response? It was typical.
那Ferrer的反應是? 非常典型的他。

"Now I don't know if I am the worst player of the top 10 or top hundred," he
said then. "Now I want to think the next match and try to go with my best
tennis. Nothing else. I don't want to think if I the worst, if I the better
or not."
「現在我不知道我是不是top10或top100中最差的選手，我只考慮我的下一場，試著
拿出我最好表現，就這樣。我不想去思考我是不是最差或最好那一個。」他說。

Now Andy Murray stands in his path to the final. Given that they are two of
the fittest men on tour, it is likely to be a long and physical match (take
plenty of sandwiches and a lolly or two) but whose fitness regime will hold
up under the pressure of a semifinal?
現在Andy Murray擋在他前往決賽的道路上，做為賽事中狀態最好的兩個選手，這場比賽
可能會是漫長的體能戰(可能得吃掉很多三明治跟棒棒糖)，究竟誰的狀態能夠挺住四強
的壓力呢?

Piles loves running - he just completed a marathon in less than three hours -
and Ferrer has obviously caught the bug. He can run one kilometre in 3 mins
25 seconds and clocks 36 minutes for 10 kilometres - not only is he fast but
he keeps on going like the Energiser Bunny. This year, though, he varied his
routine during the off season and tried mountain biking. Clearly, he took to
that, too, and racked up 90k a day when he was not running himself ragged
playing soccer. Somewhere in amongst this eye-watering schedule, he found
time to squeeze in two weeks' worth of holiday time so now he feels fresh,
relaxed and as fit as a flea.
Piles喜歡跑動，他才剛剛達成在3小時內跑完一次馬拉松，Ferrer顯然是有得到真傳。
他可以3分25秒跑完一公里，以及36分鐘內跑完10公里，這不只是最高紀錄而是常態，
就像金頂電池的兔子一樣。今年休季他也嘗試了山路自行車，顯然這對他不是問題，
只要他沒先為了踢足球耗掉體力，他可以一天騎90公里。在這會讓人想哭的訓練行程表
裡，他還是找到的兩星期的時間渡個假，所以現在他覺得神清氣爽，精神飽滿。

Just to make sure that his slight frame is as strong as it can be, Ferrer
practises with Basque racquets during December. These are heavy wooden bats
used for playing pelota and its many variants so, basically, Ferrer's
off-season training involves playing tennis with a lump of wood the size of a
cricket bat. That builds muscle on his racquet arm but in order to make sure
that his body is in perfect balance, he finishes every practise session by
playing left handed (but with a normal racquet) for five or 10 minutes. A
chap does not want to be lop-sided if he is chasing a major title.
為了確認他矮小身材是不是足夠強壯，Ferrer在12月練習巴斯克迴力球，那是一種使用
木製球拍的運動，所以基本上Ferrer的冬訓是用板球拍尺寸的木板打網球。這可以訓練
他握拍手的肌肉，但為了身體的平衡，每次練習的最後5到10分鐘他會以左手持正常球拍
練習。一個追求大滿貫的人不會想讓自己身體失去平衡。

So, in theory, Ferrer is six sets away from a Grand Slam title; in practise,
he is two of the biggest matches of his career away from achieving a
lifetime's ambition. And if he achieves it, perhaps he might then - and only
then - believe that he is not half bad as a tennis player. Then again, I
would not put your money on it.
所以，理論上，Ferrer距離大滿貫冠軍還有六盤，但實際上他和完成自己生涯目標的距離
，是他職業生涯中最重大的兩場比賽。如果他完成了，或許那時 - 只有那時而已 - 他會
相信自己不是那麼差的網球選手。但在那之後我可不敢跟你保證。


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