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From "Feder Sport Disabili News" - monthly magazine FISD - March 2000 |
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"OLD FOX" CHASING KANGAROOS by Enrico Biancotto "Now that we have mentioned the Paralympic Games, let's talk about this and other things with Claudio Rigolo (Sport Insieme Livorno) who has been number one in the Italian ranking for quite a few years. Mazzei won the CI Indoor, he is the best Italian player in international ranking, he won a tournament in Malaysia…..will it be more and more difficult to beat him?" "Well…yes. He deserved to win the Indoor in Cuneo, he plays very well, he is young and he is growing professionally, however should we have to face one another in a tournament he shouldn't be too confident of beating me, I still enjoy playing tennis and I don't intend to give up now." "In Cuneo he will be your opponent but during your recent tour in Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia, you play the Doubles together, what indications for Sydney did you get from these tournaments? Are the world top rankings so far away?" |
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"In
Cuneo he will be your opponent but during your recent tour in Australia,
New Zealand and Malaysia, you play the Doubles together, what indications
for Sydney did you get from these tournaments? Are the world top rankings
so far away?" "In the Single maybe yes. They are still too strong
for us, but for Doubles the gap is not so wide. In the tournament we
just played in Sydney, we were beaten in the semi-final by the world
Doubles champions (Mollier-Stuurman) only in the third set. In the other
tournaments we played another semi-final and a quarter final. In Doubles
we are not scared of anyone." "If you go to Sydney's Paralympic Games, what will your objectives be?" "First of all I would like to say that I was born in Sydney, I have not been there for nearly forty years therefore I truly wish I could go back there as an athlete to attend the Paralympic Games. Even if I have already returned to Australia during this tour, the fact that I have been chosen to go to Sydney has a special meaning for me, it's like a dream come true. It has been important to be able to play on the courts where the Paralympic competitions will take place, test the ground, learn about the facilities. I would like to point out that the Australians are extraordinary: excellent facilities and perfect organisation. In Sydney everything works perfectly, I think things will be completely different from Atlanta '96. To continue our discussion about our objectives, in the Single there are very strong players, difficult to beat, therefore reaching the quarter final would be a very great result. In Doubles I can say that, with Mazzei, we might be able to get a better result. A lot will depend on the matches board, on whom we will have to play against in the first turns, on our physical form and on that of our opponents, on possible injuries. There are a lot of unexpected events to consider, but why put a limit to providence? It will be very important to arrive in Sydney with a good training, constantly trying to improve our game by playing in many tournaments together." " If your dream to attend the Paralympics in Sydney comes true, then from the year 2001 won't you start dreaming of attending the Paralympic Games in Athens 2004?" " Well, if you are asking me seriously, let me tell you a secret: my real goal is to become the oldest Paralympic athlete of FISD of all times." |
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