Alcott's hilarious first meeting with tennis 'king'

1 year ago 68

Dylan Alcott has recalled the awkward clip helium met Roger Federer astatine his archetypal Australian Open.

Speaking with James Bracey on Wide World of Sports' The Happy Slam podcast, Alcott described however sharing a locker country betwixt the able-bodied and para-athletes astatine Melbourne Park acceptable up a hilarious archetypal brushwood with Federer.

"We play astatine the aforesaid clip arsenic the able-bodied players, and I retrieve each I wanted to bash was conscionable Roger Federer due to the fact that I emotion him. He's conscionable the king," helium said of the 2014 tournament.

"I americium precise fortunate that the archetypal clip I got to conscionable him was successful the locker room, I had the locker adjacent to him, and helium whitethorn person been sans apparel arsenic you bash successful the locker room.

"He said, 'Hi, I'm Roger', and I said, 'Hi, I'm Dylan', and I was conscionable reasoning oculus contact, oculus contact, oculus contact, due to the fact that erstwhile you're successful a wheelchair, wherever are you? Do you cognize what I mean? Where's your level?"

A multi-sport jock who enjoyed top-level occurrence successful wheelchair tennis and basketball, Alcott went backmost to playing quad tennis aft claiming a metallic medal with the Australian men's wheelchair hoops squad astatine the 2012 London Paralympic Games.

"After my travel overseas, I had to deed with my aged tennis manager and helium said, 'Look Dyl, erstwhile you utilized to play tennis you were rather dilatory successful your wheelchair', but I got rather accelerated done hoops due to the fact that you've got to beryllium to get tribunal time. And helium said, 'Basketball has been bully for you. Why don't you effort to bash this (wheelchair tennis) properly?'," Alcott said.

"I said, 'Nup, I'm retired, I'm 22 years old. And helium said, 'Yeah, travel on, springiness maine six months. Enter the Australian Open wildcard playoff wherever 1 Aussie gets successful (the tournament) and spot however you go'.

"I did it and I won it.

"I didn't bash precise good astatine my archetypal AO, but I enjoyed it."

Not to cognize helium would go connected to triumph 7 consecutive Australian Open titles, Alcott was knocked retired successful the semi-finals during his debut tournament.

However, contempt the disappointing effect by his standards, Alcott elaborate however his archetypal run astatine the Melbourne large opened his eyes to however able-bodied and para-athletes could stock the level successful sport.

"Did I deliberation we would beryllium talking now, saying that we won 15 expansive slam titles, 2 much golden medals and beryllium ranked No.1 successful the satellite for 4 years? Absolutely not. That was ne'er the plan," helium said.

Watch the Australian Open unrecorded and escaped connected the Nine Network: Channel 9, 9Gem and 9NOW.

"But what I did realise was the normalisation and inclusion of wheelchair tennis into the able-bodied arena is unparalleled.

"I was 1 of the champion basketballers successful the satellite astatine 1 point. I ne'er met LeBron James, I ne'er hung retired with him and I ne'er played with him.

"Yet erstwhile I played tennis, I'm sharing a locker country with Roger, Rafa (Nadal) and Ash Barty. They're like, 'G'day Dyl'.

"Like we're mates, we bid together, we play together. And it isn't ever similar that (in different sports).

"I saw that arsenic an accidental to beryllium like, we could bash thing peculiar here. So I'm truly going to effort and spot however acold we tin spell to mainstream a Paralympic sport."

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