tennis slash - The Unlucky Roger Federer (6)
Title: The Unlucky Roger Federer (6)
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Pairing: Roger Federer/Andy Roddick
Other Characters: Mirka Vavrinec, Brad Gilbert, Marat Safin
Disclaimer: This definitely did not happen.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. What if Roger Federer wasn't the great champion? What if his career was plagued by injuries, bad luck and constantly losing to a certain American?
Author's Note: My computer is in the shop for repairs. Fortunately, I had this ready on Google Docs. I hope I won't have to keep you too long for the next update.
Part 6
Roger Federer: I have no idea how to beat Andy Roddick.
Roger groaned as Mirka dropped the first of what would quickly become a stack of newspaper clippings on the subject. "I cannot believe you would give them this. What possessed you to say that?"
"I lost a bet months ago.
"What happened exactly?"
"Andy said that unseeded players... the point is that Haas won the Australian and Andy won the bet. So I had to say that to the reporter."
"I didn't know you and Roddick were friendly enough to make stupid bets. Why would you bet against Tommy anyway? He was once the number 2 player in the world, not some new guy like Marcos. He's had to go through so much in his life that it was downright beautiful when he won match point. You bet against him because you were angry he beat you?"
Roger shook his head. "That was not how it happened at all. This wasn't about Tommy himself. Just that an unseeded player would win. I had lost the bet after the semis because both made the final. That guaranteed an unseeded player winning. So I was rooting Tommy on just like everyone else on the tour who knows him."
Mirka curled up a stray magazine and whacked Roger in the arm with it. "Is that how you got Andy's back issues?"
Oh, yeah, the back issue. That erupted at the French Open when practicing. Roger was able to make it to the third round even with the problem but it did cause him to be unable to play the grass warm-up tournament. Roger said, "I don't think that particular ailment is contagious."
"No, but being around Andy. Betting with Andy. Betting with the guy who always seems to win, that you can't seem to get past. Yeah, that's smart. Now you have to deal with all the reporters while Andy can lounge back and not have to answer for anything. Plus that back. You'd better pray for a good draw, Rog."
That she was right about. Roger wasn't in grass-play shape. He would need a couple of rounds to get settled. A qualifier in the first round. A pure clay courter lucky to win a match here in the second. That would be nice.
Since that was what he needed, of course he got the hardest draw of any high seed. First round, Richard Gasquet. Likely second round, Tim Henman. After that, he'd be okay. But, ouch.
* * * * *
Gasquet was the kid they compared to Roger. Both because he had a "beautiful game" and because he couldn't seem to stay healthy for very long. That's how his rank had gotten so low that he wasn't a seed. Roger was relieved to see the kid wasn't yet ready for the big time moment and he won that match easily.
He didn't expect the same to happen with Henman. Tim was a wonderful friend Roger had made when just starting up. Roger knew it was tennis expectations he was letting down, not a whole country like Tim. The problem with facing Henman at Wimbledon was the crowd; Roger may be last year's finalist but he's not The Brit. The crowd will want a long gritty match - exactly what Roger and his not-quite-100%-back didn't want.
It was four sets of agony that ended with loud applause on Henman Hill for the opponent. If he weren't the opposition, Roger would be very happy for Timmy to have at least one more great moment in his career.
Instead, after the obligatory press conference he returned to his hotel room. Mirka had added more to the stack of clippings so Roger wouldn't forget about the bet. On top of that, she added a note "It's only going to get worse now. You're gonna be stuck in England a few more days. I'm having trouble getting an earlier flight home."
The first night, Mirka stayed in the hotel room. It was one of the few times there were no worries about upcoming matches. Once she got his mind off the loss, it should have been a wonderful night.
Roger couldn't seem to make that happen for her that night. Or the next night, for that matter. Nothing specific - it seemed they were just going through the motions. It should have been a clue that reuniting was a mistake because the passion was gone. That wouldn't be clear until much later.
During the day, the couple were the happy tourists. Still friends but...
Roger opted to walk around town that third night. It must have been a magnetic force that led him into the very bar in which Andy was sitting at the counter.
"Hey, buddy," Andy called out upon spotting him.
Tipsy, close to drunk. He was on the opposite half of the draw so Roger wasn't terribly concerned about his path. Roger gestured to the bartender to give him what Andy was having.
"Either you're out as well or you have a serious drinking problem."
"Same way you were. The crowd beat me."
Roger wrinkled his brow. "You mean there was a Brit who survived to the third round besides Henman?"
"Yup. Well, actually, he's this annoying kid from Scotland, but the Brits don't care. The worst part is I know how he won." Andy downed the shot on the counter, which was quickly replaced. "It's a vicious trick."
He waited for Andy to finish the thought. When none came, Roger had to say, "So what's the trick? I've been trying to beat you for years and I haven't figured it out."
"You would have if you had taken Brad on as a coach."
"I thought Brad was still commentating." Roger took a quick sip so he could determine what Andy was drinking. Fairly strong, Roger determined, then drank the rest.
"Worst kept secret that the British Lawn Tennis Association is courting him. Despite what happened to you, they know Tim's days are nearing an end. They're dangling the kid I played today as the bait. I am sure they have been working together already. When Brad saw the chance to get back at me, he ran with it. Maybe I would have been better off losing that bet so he'd think I cared losing him as a coach."
"Why did you let him go?"
"Brad didn't tell you?" Roger thought he imagined Andy straightening up.
"I want to hear your version."
Andy gave Roger a sideways glance, determining how much to say. For some reason, Roger was now certain Brad either didn't tell or didn't know the entire story. "He kept pushing me to find a woman to settle down with. I couldn't tell him the truth. That I don't want that. I... if he knew, everyone would have known."
"What would everyone know? Andy, this isn't making sense."
"According to him, I need to find someone like Mirka. Well, maybe I don't... what's so great about Mirka, anyway? She's boring. At least with Marat, there's always fun and excitement... around us. You are so pent-up, it's almost painful to watch. I don't know why you two had broken up before but I know that Brad fed you the same story..."
Roger finally asked him, "How did you even know we'd broken up at that point? Nobody else did."
"I notice these little things about you. That day, you appeared to be free, for once. Then, most likely, Brad told you how great a pair you two were. You believed that because you always believe that lie. Whatever the reason for the breakup, you should have stuck with it because it's going to get much worse. She's not happy, you're not happy." Andy dropped some money on the counter, then jumped off the stool. "One of you is going to snap and it will have horrible consequences."
Roger hoped that, for once, Andy would be wrong. That he couldn't be right regarding this relationship.
Part 7
Author: Kris S.
Fandom: Tennis RPS
Pairing: Roger Federer/Andy Roddick
Other Characters: Mirka Vavrinec, Brad Gilbert, Marat Safin
Disclaimer: This definitely did not happen.
Rating: PG-13
Summary: AU. What if Roger Federer wasn't the great champion? What if his career was plagued by injuries, bad luck and constantly losing to a certain American?
Author's Note: My computer is in the shop for repairs. Fortunately, I had this ready on Google Docs. I hope I won't have to keep you too long for the next update.
Part 6
Roger Federer: I have no idea how to beat Andy Roddick.
Roger groaned as Mirka dropped the first of what would quickly become a stack of newspaper clippings on the subject. "I cannot believe you would give them this. What possessed you to say that?"
"I lost a bet months ago.
"What happened exactly?"
"Andy said that unseeded players... the point is that Haas won the Australian and Andy won the bet. So I had to say that to the reporter."
"I didn't know you and Roddick were friendly enough to make stupid bets. Why would you bet against Tommy anyway? He was once the number 2 player in the world, not some new guy like Marcos. He's had to go through so much in his life that it was downright beautiful when he won match point. You bet against him because you were angry he beat you?"
Roger shook his head. "That was not how it happened at all. This wasn't about Tommy himself. Just that an unseeded player would win. I had lost the bet after the semis because both made the final. That guaranteed an unseeded player winning. So I was rooting Tommy on just like everyone else on the tour who knows him."
Mirka curled up a stray magazine and whacked Roger in the arm with it. "Is that how you got Andy's back issues?"
Oh, yeah, the back issue. That erupted at the French Open when practicing. Roger was able to make it to the third round even with the problem but it did cause him to be unable to play the grass warm-up tournament. Roger said, "I don't think that particular ailment is contagious."
"No, but being around Andy. Betting with Andy. Betting with the guy who always seems to win, that you can't seem to get past. Yeah, that's smart. Now you have to deal with all the reporters while Andy can lounge back and not have to answer for anything. Plus that back. You'd better pray for a good draw, Rog."
That she was right about. Roger wasn't in grass-play shape. He would need a couple of rounds to get settled. A qualifier in the first round. A pure clay courter lucky to win a match here in the second. That would be nice.
Since that was what he needed, of course he got the hardest draw of any high seed. First round, Richard Gasquet. Likely second round, Tim Henman. After that, he'd be okay. But, ouch.
* * * * *
Gasquet was the kid they compared to Roger. Both because he had a "beautiful game" and because he couldn't seem to stay healthy for very long. That's how his rank had gotten so low that he wasn't a seed. Roger was relieved to see the kid wasn't yet ready for the big time moment and he won that match easily.
He didn't expect the same to happen with Henman. Tim was a wonderful friend Roger had made when just starting up. Roger knew it was tennis expectations he was letting down, not a whole country like Tim. The problem with facing Henman at Wimbledon was the crowd; Roger may be last year's finalist but he's not The Brit. The crowd will want a long gritty match - exactly what Roger and his not-quite-100%-back didn't want.
It was four sets of agony that ended with loud applause on Henman Hill for the opponent. If he weren't the opposition, Roger would be very happy for Timmy to have at least one more great moment in his career.
Instead, after the obligatory press conference he returned to his hotel room. Mirka had added more to the stack of clippings so Roger wouldn't forget about the bet. On top of that, she added a note "It's only going to get worse now. You're gonna be stuck in England a few more days. I'm having trouble getting an earlier flight home."
The first night, Mirka stayed in the hotel room. It was one of the few times there were no worries about upcoming matches. Once she got his mind off the loss, it should have been a wonderful night.
Roger couldn't seem to make that happen for her that night. Or the next night, for that matter. Nothing specific - it seemed they were just going through the motions. It should have been a clue that reuniting was a mistake because the passion was gone. That wouldn't be clear until much later.
During the day, the couple were the happy tourists. Still friends but...
Roger opted to walk around town that third night. It must have been a magnetic force that led him into the very bar in which Andy was sitting at the counter.
"Hey, buddy," Andy called out upon spotting him.
Tipsy, close to drunk. He was on the opposite half of the draw so Roger wasn't terribly concerned about his path. Roger gestured to the bartender to give him what Andy was having.
"Either you're out as well or you have a serious drinking problem."
"Same way you were. The crowd beat me."
Roger wrinkled his brow. "You mean there was a Brit who survived to the third round besides Henman?"
"Yup. Well, actually, he's this annoying kid from Scotland, but the Brits don't care. The worst part is I know how he won." Andy downed the shot on the counter, which was quickly replaced. "It's a vicious trick."
He waited for Andy to finish the thought. When none came, Roger had to say, "So what's the trick? I've been trying to beat you for years and I haven't figured it out."
"You would have if you had taken Brad on as a coach."
"I thought Brad was still commentating." Roger took a quick sip so he could determine what Andy was drinking. Fairly strong, Roger determined, then drank the rest.
"Worst kept secret that the British Lawn Tennis Association is courting him. Despite what happened to you, they know Tim's days are nearing an end. They're dangling the kid I played today as the bait. I am sure they have been working together already. When Brad saw the chance to get back at me, he ran with it. Maybe I would have been better off losing that bet so he'd think I cared losing him as a coach."
"Why did you let him go?"
"Brad didn't tell you?" Roger thought he imagined Andy straightening up.
"I want to hear your version."
Andy gave Roger a sideways glance, determining how much to say. For some reason, Roger was now certain Brad either didn't tell or didn't know the entire story. "He kept pushing me to find a woman to settle down with. I couldn't tell him the truth. That I don't want that. I... if he knew, everyone would have known."
"What would everyone know? Andy, this isn't making sense."
"According to him, I need to find someone like Mirka. Well, maybe I don't... what's so great about Mirka, anyway? She's boring. At least with Marat, there's always fun and excitement... around us. You are so pent-up, it's almost painful to watch. I don't know why you two had broken up before but I know that Brad fed you the same story..."
Roger finally asked him, "How did you even know we'd broken up at that point? Nobody else did."
"I notice these little things about you. That day, you appeared to be free, for once. Then, most likely, Brad told you how great a pair you two were. You believed that because you always believe that lie. Whatever the reason for the breakup, you should have stuck with it because it's going to get much worse. She's not happy, you're not happy." Andy dropped some money on the counter, then jumped off the stool. "One of you is going to snap and it will have horrible consequences."
Roger hoped that, for once, Andy would be wrong. That he couldn't be right regarding this relationship.
Part 7