September 26th, 1997This week I am back in Toulouse, France; site of my first career ATP Tour championship. Due to this fact, Toulouse has a special place in my heart. Last year, I won all five of my matches here in three sets - three of which I won in the final set tie-break. Looking back, it was not an easy week of tennis (matches), as I did not play great tennis until I reached the final. In the final, I defeated Margus Larson 6-4 in the third.
However, Toulouse is significant also for another reason. It was before my second round match against Guillaume Raoux that I found out my manager at Advantage International, Brad Robinson, had died of cancer. When I found this out, I was in denial (shock) and deeply saddened. In fact, I almost felt like not playing and going back to my hotel room to cry. However, my coach at the time, Peter McNamara, told me the best thing I could do was "to win the tournament in memory of Brad." I realized that Brad was and would always be with me spiritually, and that gave me the courage and strength to go on court and do exactly that.
The thing about Brad was that he was not only my manager. He was so much more - a best friend, an older brother-type figure and someone who was always there for me. I remember Brad fondly for his great sense of humor, his loyalty as a friend, his genuine smile and his unflappable courageousness. Even when he was staring death in the face, he continued to live
his normal life, which included looking after my day-to-day affairs. He never allowed anyone to feel sorry for him because he always believed he lived a fabulous life.Indeed, before Brad began working with Advantage International in Melbourne, Australia, ha had been a talented musician. Brad played keyboard for the group Australian Crawl. During the late 70's and early 80's, Australian Crawl was one of Australia's most popular bands. I have most of their albums, but my favorite will always remain the band's debut album entitled,
The Boys Light Up. This album remained high in the Australian charts for an unbroken 104 weeks (two years; that is extraordinary).Some of my fondest memories of Brad come from a fishing trip that we went on with my father. We rented a houseboat near Melbourne for three or four days and fished from sunrise to sunset. I remember sitting at the back of the boat at the end of the day and, as the sun was setting in the distance, we would slowly cook and then eat whatever we had caught for that particular day. Those days full of fun, relaxation and bonding will remain with me forever. I feel Brad's presence surrounding me wherever I go and I know that he is looking down on me with a great big proud smile on his face. That's the way it always was and always will be! I miss you, Brad!
In my opinion, the best way that I can pay tribute to Brad this week is to go out and defend my title. That would mean so much to me.
-Mark-