| | NEW YORK -- Australian Scott Draper came to the U.S. Open
because, after all, he's a tennis player and this is the place for
a tennis player to be at the end of summer.
So he packed his bags and rackets and flew from the other side
of the world for the Grand Slam tournament. All he left behind was
part of his heart.
Last month, after a long, hard battle with cystic fibrosis,
Kellie Draper died. And so did a little part of her husband.
The draw put Draper in against Paul Goldstein in the opening
round. "I went out to play tennis," he said. "I had no match
plan. I had no goal. I just went out there and played."
The result was a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 victory for Goldstein that was
perhaps tougher on the ex-Stanford player than it was on Draper.
"It's really difficult circumstances," Goldstein said. "It's
a match that's difficult to go into. It's a match you play with a
heavy heart because you feel for Scotty because he's really one of
the most well-liked and well-respected people on tour as an
individual.
"You have a lot of compassion. You admire someone for going out
there in those circumstances and competing the way he did. For him
to step out there on the court and play the entire match, you have
a great deal of respect for him.
"Scott reminds us of the more important things in life."
At the end of the match, Draper stopped at the net to talk with
Goldstein.
"I was fiddling around a little bit," Draper said. "Sometimes
that can be a bit frustrating, like if I'm trying real hard and the
guy at the other end is not really out there. It's sort of like
you're disrespecting that person. I just wanted him to know that
wasn't the case."
For his part, Goldstein had taken no offense.
"He came up to me and said 'Mate, it was nothing against you.
My head wasn't in it today.'
"I said, 'I don't take it bad at all. You're all class.' I said
to him, 'I admire you for being out here and I wish you all the
best because you're all class.' "
For a time after his wife died, Draper wasn't sure he would be
able to make this trip. In the end, though, he thinks it may have
been the best thing for him to do.
"Believe me, I didn't want to come," Draper said. "My heart
didn't want to come. I didn't want to come here.
"I think that you can't walk away. You're not going to get
anywhere in life just walking away from things. I like to think
that anything that comes along in life for me, I can handle. I
think that was a decision that did it.
"I needed to come over here for many reasons. I just did it;
got on the plane, came over, sorted out things, see people, play
tennis. That may help me in the long run."
The pain of his loss is still fresh. Draper knew he would be
embraced by other players at the Open and that support network was
important for him. Now he moves on, perhaps to continue on tour,
perhaps to pull back a bit.
He thinks about getting a job at home in Australia, changing the
grueling lifestyle of a professional player.
"Tennis is a great sport," he said. "It brings a lot of great
things, but it may not bring happiness. Being sad is an effort for
me. I've got to find where I am and find that happiness again, find
myself basically, I think." | |
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