SUN CITY, South Africa -- The first time he met Nelson Mandela, Gary Player got
on his knees and kissed the former political prisoners feet.
Alex Song Jersey . Remembering his "very
tearful" first encounter with Mandela, the nine-time major winner paused Friday
to compose himself and hold back more tears. Mandela, the beloved former South
African president and Nobel laureate, died Thursday at 95. Renowned as a fierce
competitor on the golf course, Player was invited to meet Mandela at his office
in Johannesburg after the anti-apartheid leaders release after 27 years in
prison. But he didnt expect to do what he did, Player said. "I knelt down and I
kissed his feet and I said, I have never kissed anybodys feet in my life, and I
said, I have so much admiration for you. I said to him, It is remarkable, how
can you not have revenge?" Mandelas reply, according to Player, was: "You have
got to start a new life and forgive and go ahead." Player, speaking at the
Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, said Mandelas ability to inspire with
compassion left him amazed then -- and still does. "It was very tearful for me,
because when you think of a man that has gone to jail for all those years for
doing the right thing, not the wrong thing, it is hard to comprehend that a man
can come out and be like that," Player said. "He was an exceptional man." From
that first meeting, Player and Mandela would cross paths regularly as the
golfer, one of South Africas greatest sportsmen, worked with the president on
charity projects. Once, Player remembered with a big smile, Mandela landed at a
charity tournament in a helicopter to lend support. "I had to meet him when the
helicopter arrived and open the door. Now I had been around him all these years
raising money for young black children and I opened the door, and he says Good
morning Gary, do you remember me?" Player recalled, imitating Mandelas unique
rasping voice. "Just wonderful." Although Player wasnt sure if he ever saw
Mandela swing a golf club, he knew that the anti-apartheid leader "realized the
value of sport" and even followed Players career overseas while he was
imprisoned by South Africas former racist regime. "He said to me, When I was in
jail, I used to watch you playing. He was very complimentary," Player said.
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toward the Feb.
Lionel Messi Barcelona Jersey . Clevelands
struggling offence, which scored 13 runs on an 0-6 road trip, finally broke
loose. Brantley hit a leadoff homer in the fifth and added a two-run single in
the sixth. Santana hit a solo homer in the second and had an RBI single in a
five-run first, while Ryan Raburn and Yan Gomes each drove in two runs. NEW YORK
-- Two 23-year-olds, Milos Raonic and Grigor Dimitrov, broke through to their
first major semifinals at Wimbledon. Perhaps this years U.S. Open will be the
tipping point for the rise of a new generation. But recent history suggests that
if somebody other than the "Big 4" wins, a veteran may be more likely. "We didnt
have many young players who were able to challenge for top spots and win Grand
Slam titles," Wimbledon champ Novak Djokovic said. "So this is something that is
happening now, but its still a long way to the Grand Slam title. Its not
something that can happen overnight." It was then-28-year-old Stan Wawrinka who
snapped the streak of 16 straight Grand Slam titles by Djokovic, Roger Federer,
Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray when he won the Australian Open in January. The
only other men in the U.S. Open field who have reached a major final in the last
five years are 32-year-old David Ferrer and 28-year-old Tomas Berdych. The U.S.
Open starts Monday with Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka, Maria Sharapova and Venus
Williams among the big names on the court. The player with the most impressive
performance leading to this tournament was 29-year-old Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Tsonga, the runner-up at the 2008 Australian Open, beat Djokovic, Murray,
Dimitrov and Federer to win the title at Toronto this month. As the sport became
more physical, Grand Slam titles became less likely not only for teenagers but
for players in their early 20s. "Everybody realizes that youre reaching your
peak physically maybe a little bit later and then theyre staying there longer,
because they have the technology and theyre more systematic about their
training," said Patrick McEnroe, the U.S. Tennis Associations general manager of
player development. So a group of players not that young by tennis standards has
gained little experience of playing in the highest-pressure moments. The
oft-repeated stat is that the Big 4 have won 36 of the last 38 Grand Slam
titles. Contrast that to the five years before Nadal won his first major
championships at the 2005 French Open to start that streak.
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Sampras reign was ending and Federers beginning, 12 different players won the 20
Grand Slam titles; for six of them, it would be their only major championship.
Now, its daunting not just to win championships but to even get close to them.
Since Murray reached his first major semifinal at the 2008 U.S. Open, the Big 4
have hogged 63 of the 96 slots in the semis. And since the 2006 French Open, the
first Federer-Nadal major final, theyve filled 58 of the 68 spots in Grand Slam
title matches. Nobody else reached a major final for 10 straight events from the
2010 U.S. Open to the 2013 Australian Open. "Its definitely been a tough time
for everybody else trying to break through," Raonic said. Especially younger
players. Of the eight other men to play in Grand Slam title matches since the
2006 French, only Tsonga and Juan Martin del Potro were under age 24. "I was
really impatient -- I wanted things to happen quick for me, just wanted to
achieve right way," Dimitrov said. "I cant forget that nowadays the game has
changed so much that nothing happens like that," he added, snapping his fingers.
A 20-year-old del Potro stunned Federer in the 2009 U.S. Open final, seemingly
heralding the arrival of a new generation. It wasnt to be. Del Potro, now 25,
has been hampered by injuries and wont play in New York this year because of a
wrist problem. He and his contemporaries are a glaring omission from the upper
echelons of the sport. The rankings current top 10 include the two 23-year-olds,
Raonic and Dimitrov; no one else is under 27. Other promising players in their
mid-20s such as Kei Nishikori, Ernests Gulbis and Marin Cilic have never
maintained a consistent high level. Djokovic and Murray were born a week apart
in 1987; Nadal is less than a year older. If they can stay healthy -- certainly
a big "if" with Nadal -- the logjam at the top could stick for a while.
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