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Fish looks ahead to his ‘most fun time of the year’


 

Originally published on: 13/07/12 00:00

Fish decided earlier this year to skip the Olympics and play instead a full programme during the north American hard-court season. He will compete in Atlanta and Washington before heading for the Masters 1000 tournaments in Toronto and Cincinnati and the US Open.
 
“I see it as a plus as far as playing the events that I do well at,” Fish said.  “Playing in the States is my most fun time of the year, playing in the summer, playing in the heat, and I didn't want to miss that. I didn't want to miss two full weeks of the most important time for me or the most fun time for me.  I've played the Olympics before, and I think it's very hard to play the Olympics and Davis Cup in the same year. Everyone's schedule is suppressed during an Olympic year.
 
“I was lucky enough to do well in the Olympics when I played in 2004 and win the silver medal, so I've got a medal and I've got the memories from that, so I'll skip the Olympics this year and look forward to going to [Washington] DC, which I would have missed had I gone to the Olympics.”
 
Having been ranked high enough to make his first appearance in the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the end of last year, Fish has dropped down to No.13 in the wake of a health problem he suffered in the spring. The 30-year-old American was diagnosed with arrhythmias (an irregular heartbeat) and puts the problem down to the demanding schedule he played at the start of the year.
 
“I think stress is one of the main reasons why you get arrhythmias – stress, alcohol, caffeine, things like that bring them on,” he said. “I went to Australia in January, I went to Switzerland and back, to LA for Davis Cup, then I went to Marseilles and Dubai, then back to LA. So I think we can draw our own conclusions how hard the schedule is for us and how tough it is on our bodies and our minds.”
 

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Tim Farthing, Tennishead Editorial Director & Owner, has been a huge tennis fan his whole life. He's a tennis journalist and entrepreneur as well as playing tennis to a national standard. He also helps manage his local club and volunteers for his local tennis organisation. He's a specialist in content about the administration of professional tennis and tennis coaching for all levels.