THE QUEEN’S FINAL. THE DISTORTION OF A SPEECH.

For me, who has been watching the entire final, from the moment that Feliciano Lopez has finished his Speech, I have already cared about everything that happened inside, the details seen, … etc … because his words have fallen on me like a jug of cold water, because if someone can stop the sharks, make them open their eyes, they are those with the power to change, but it is too easy to draw an interpretation from the outer thin layer, from the superficial, not unreal, of that first layer, that chocolate base that covers everything that the cake really has underneath.

 

Before continuing, let me tell you about the various anecdotes with Feliciano, to  highlight two:

 

The first anecdote:  It happened at  Queen`s 2015 , when Feliciano came to me several times for some kind of help that I needed, and he spoke to me in English, in one of them, without trying to be an edge with him, I say,  hey you know that I am Spanish, speak to me in Spanish,  because between the enthusiasm of a rookie, the love for Spanish, and the illusion of seeing almost the entire army around here, I loved to say that I am Spanish, and basically because there are other people involved. and the conversation is between two Spanish people, I like to speak in my language, and more after several occasions that you have come to me. 

The second anecdote:  Occurred at Queen’s 2016 , when he asked me and my Italian-Argentine partner, this time if in Spanish, if we had any good shampoo, I reacted quickly, without needing to think about anything else, and I lent him my shampoo and professional softener, KERASTASE brandof hairdressing, which I always use of good quality, I have always left everything not only to him, to other players, to partners during normal work time, … etc … and I would do it again today , tomorrow and the day after. Because my motto is “We are here to help each other not to screw each other, and there is no more beautiful gift than to bend down to help someone” , even with small things, but that is where you see the first step to a true change.

The truth in both the first Queen’s Club  tournament and the second, in which I was working as a dressing room assistant (Gentleman Dressing Room) , my colleagues hesitated with: Your Friend is here , …  Feliciano isn’t nice with you (Your friend is here, …. He is not being very nice to you) , they were shocked by being Spanish, and by how his attitude was being with the rest of the people compared to us, my answer was and continues being the following:

 

I would smile, take it with humor and add:

Well, he is not being it with any of us, you do not have to take it personally, he has his personality, it is not something apologetic, or intentional, it just happens that way, lack of empathy, conscience, besides that he is not friendly, his reasons will have, But apart from that I did not forget in what personal situation he came according to what I read in the media, although nothing should justify inappropriate attitudes, but it does not mean that I should not be nice to him or to the rest of the people, just like with the club members Whether he is a partner king or a partner pawn, no grudges even if the trouble to take care of his worker is nil. 

In the second year, I could have been a fucking edge and have left him without shampoo or fabric softener, in fact my classmates told me that I should have done that, but why use a grudge? Why be selfish? I also knew that he came with an unstable personal situation, and those are not my values, the values ​​that my parents and grandparents have taught me, there was nothing more comforting when you then see his grateful face. In fact, that second year, which in the first year there was hardly any contact, if I had a good relationship with both his physiotherapist and his coach Pepo Clavet , with whom I had a mini-chat. Life is never linear, it always puts you in different situations without control and spontaneous.

Another argument that I told them and I continue to say to my teammates, we for them is true even for the partners, we were or are like mere statues “without family” “without feelings” “or emotions” , but it is true that with the players , there is much less time, many people approach them with some type of interest, they pass in front of many people and when not, the ATP team comes with a stress and burden, which the team and player have to manage, so as not to end up being impertinent and what is worse that it ends up affecting your own internal well-being, before or after jumping to the track.

I also told them, well but  Feliciano Lopez , he is not my friend (although I know that my colleagues told me in an ironic tone), nor yours, he comes and does his job and leaves, he should not behave as a friend. In fact, due to other situations that I have observed in the first year, as in the second, I think he is a good boy, I think that the Spaniards out there (there were many both years) have a good background, they seem like good boys, with their personalities despite of the people who move them and so on. I wanted to get the point across. 

In fact, when they later returned for doubles training with a focus on  the O2 Master Cup , seeing that they had lost themselves in the facilities, I told them where to go to the track,  Feliciano I  admit that I don’t even say hello, more than a thank you, but  Pepo  did recognize me, ah, you are Spanish !. Being human and with feelings, well, the situation made me bitter, but since I already knew him on more occasions, which was not the first, you accept it and period, there is no more, to enjoy his training.

 

Where do I want to get to with the above explanation?

Although they are to so many things, it is true that they should not travel blindly, our field of vision and information that we have in front of us, is broader and more beneficial than we believe to walk, to say that you travel the world, it is not to go as a “tourist” week or two weeks that the tournament lasted, is to soak up the culture, what happens inside, to bother to tear the canvas that separates the facilities from which to enjoy for the right to earn an accreditation and what is on the other side of The canvas, the most human side, the one that should be listened to the most and from which the most can be learned, not to see both sides of the canvas is to live in self-deception, there is no one more harmed than your own profession and the people on the other side of the canvas.

Neither of course pretending to be a “friend” of everyone who approaches you, nor to be a good remains, we would all be hypocrites then generating false relationships, even more in situations that pass like a shooting star, and that make us lacking one of the most important powers that the human being has,  a good conversation  that allows breaking the first barrier between the two, knowing that the other has in his head, breaking the beer for a good squeezed orange juice, for this the restlessness and predisposition are necessary on the part of both because with only one it would be insufficient, for that first very narrow interval available, even more so if one passes through a place where labels mark the first great bankruptcy between human beings. 

The words of Feliciano Lopez during his speech have hurt me a lot , because although, from the value of TORELANCIA , I know they are true, because every interpretation of one is valid, it is all that that person has been able to appreciate in every moment that he has passed by, regardless of the reason to use for it, on the other hand, for me, who have seen the ins and outs, the feeling is of a “bubble of a lie” , from outside living one thing and inside another, because one thing is the week and another day to day.

For this reason, dear reader, I consider that  Feliciano Lopez in each of his words are true but others are missing or distorted from the part that is not seen or rather, from which they do not stop to see, hear and feel them for themselves. Two clear examples: If you go as a client to a restaurant, you see the waiter working, but from the client’s side, not from the worker’s vision; Another case a boss in his tennis club or academy, you go through the locker room as if you were “just another client”, you change and go to the gym, but you never stop talking to your worker, see the tools and working conditions, nor to spend a few hours by his side to have and feel every detail for yourself, seeing what happens, what is missing and what needs to be changed.

I have tried to change things while I was there, it is true that with the handbrake on, being a coward in many moments, going home crying with rage and sometimes impotence, but above all for having been that, a coward, not in my own benefit, but for the benefit of those who come from behind me, and can do a job without suffering what I had to suffer, regardless of whether I am a very sensitive person, which I am, although compared to what happens in other countries or continents, that suffering is nothing, but in the 21st century in a developed country, with all available means, there are situations that lack any excuse. 

I was also a coward, for having the thought of if I was doing something that I should not, a door as powerful as the Queen’s , which, honestly I did not look for, I fell there in a very bounced way, it was the closing of all the doors with opening of the Tunnel called Tennis , because although it sounds egocentric, I felt, I feel, knowing myself very well (courage, suffering and work required), seeing tennis from the inside, still with some fear towards a medium that you do not handle yet, knowing my own Faculties to help, with the intention of making tennis something more pure, at least to do my bit, from a coherence and sense of life close to our own particular and difficult being, that each one of us possesses. 

To be honest, today he had a double thought about whether he wanted Feliciano Lopez to win today or not, precisely because of what he sensed he would hear in his speech, but another part, is Spanish, life gives him back everything he suffered in recent years in different areas of which he is only knowledgeable, and for what he loves this tournament, how they want it, they appreciate there, and what he himself greatly appreciates playing in his cozy, flirtatious, quiet and pleasant place, with a great tennis atmosphere but with details, not forgetting all the wonderful facilities that the Queen’s Club offers.

I do not forget either, despite my analysis, the amount of good people who have been working for this club for a long time, that I know first-hand, I know their good background, their good heart, and that I, like Feliciano Lopez , without forgetting anecdotally We are both Virgo and separated for three days, I will appreciate all my life in a very special way to the QUEEN’S CLUB. Although hurt by not having made changes, ETERNALLY GRATEFUL.

Ending without grudges, because there is no prettier beauty than bringing Love where there is hatred, I will end by saying: Many Feliciades to Feliciano Lopez , for what we did last week, let’s not forget it and especially for what was done, this last week, to win such a title. special and dear to you, a tournament where love has always been reciprocal between Feliciano and the people, something that I have been able to appreciate from both sides, from the inside as well as from the artificial one. Nowadays, people only believe in Karma, right? Here Karma acted giving Feliciano what he deserved, life never fails, but if you want him to continue without failing, you must return things without expecting anything to change, more than the performance of a duty beyond the duty done.

Happy Queen’s Club to Feliciano and I wish him with an honest and deep heart all the best for Wimbledon. 

Without forgetting the following:

FELICIANO hurt with the inconsistency of your speech, hurt with the little or no approach, and you have had it at hand, from knowing very deeply what is inside a house, beyond the last layer of chocolate that covers it. Of course, I have nothing personal, nor will I take anything personal, because I know that there is neither bad faith, nor bad intention, nor act on purpose, nor the limitation of thoughts to search for any culprit or whose fault is or is not, the Thoughts must be much broader, the starting point is but the vision of a “false bubble” created from habits of years, habits together with Egos, from experience of many years ago, are our worst enemies.

Faithfully with affection,
A lover & respectful of the values ​​and spirits of whatever sport but specially The hidden on tennis .
Remember:

ALWAYS PURE TENNIS !!!