"In 2005, I gave an interview to The Sunday Times, in the UK, and was accurately described as having "severed all ties" with the sport. The reporter, Paul Kimmage, asked why I'd chosen imposed exile, and I told him, "For the last five or six years, the most important thing in my life has been my family. It was nothing against tennis; tennis was my love and passion, but after 30-odd years of it, I needed a break.""
"For the last five or six years, the most important thing in my life has been my family. It was nothing against tennis; tennis was my love and passion, but after 30-odd years of it, I needed a break."
In 2005 he was accurately described as having severed all ties with the sport and entered an imposed exile. For the five or six years before that, the most important thing in his life had been his family. Tennis remained his love and passion, but after roughly thirty years involved in the sport he needed a break. The withdrawal reflected a conscious decision to prioritize family and personal rest over continuing a lifelong professional engagement. The move away from competition was motivated by fatigue and a desire to focus on close relationships rather than any active rejection of the sport.
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