The opponent almost lost consciousness at the sight of this fracture.
In the mid-90s, Andrei Chesnokov was still in good shape. Behind one of the best tennis players in the country already had the Roland Garros semi-final, the Davis Cup final and two Masters won. It was already more difficult for an athlete to fight for titles, but he was still highly ranked in the rankings.
Everything changed the fatal tournament in Philadelphia. A monstrous injury received by the Russian in the fight for the ball divided his career into “before” and “after”.
Chesnokov was no longer destined to return to the previous level.
Fateful duel
In February 1997, Chesnokov flew to Philadelphia to compete in the Advanta Championships. That season, the US Championship just got a new name and began to be played on hard for the first time, but in this form it did not last long. The draw, which became fateful for the Russian athlete, was the penultimate one in the history of the tournament.
Many star tennis players came to Pennsylvania to fight for more than half a million dollars in prize money: the American championship was then still part of the ATP tour, so it was relatively popular. Among others, the tournament featured its reigning champion and former world No. 1, Jim Courier, as well as the great Pete Sampras.
The tournament was especially popular, not counting the hosts of the court, among the Australians. In 1997, six athletes from Australia tried to compete for the Advant title, including Todd Woodbridge: that season was the best in his singles career. But Russia, and the whole of Eastern Europe in Philadelphia, was represented only by Andrey Chesnokov.
Todd Woodbridge / Photo: © Clive Brunskill / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru
The Russian and the Australian clashed already in the first round. At that time, Woodbridge was considered the favorite of the match, and the first set was held in accordance with the expectations of the bookmakers (6:3). Todd also started the next game confidently: he took the first game, and then had to win the second. The scoreboard read 40:15 in favor of the player from Australia, who at that moment sent the ball into the left corner of the court with a powerful blow. Andrey made a desperate leap… And in a moment the game had to be interrupted.
“Heartbreaking Scream”
When Chesnokov tried to reach the ball, Woodbridge heard a “terrible crunch” and then a “heart-rending scream” from his opponent. The Russian unsuccessfully transferred the weight of the body and received a severe injury – a fracture of the fibula and tibia, plus a dislocation of the ankle. At the sight of this damage, the Australian, by his own admission, almost lost consciousness: he had not seen anything like this in many years of performances.
People get similar injuries as a result of terrible accidents, but not in the course of matches – Andrey’s diagnosis was a shock even for doctors from the University of Pennsylvania Hospital. It was immediately clear that the Russian would have to forget about sports for at least six months, after which he would have a long recovery.
Andrey Chesnokov / Photo: © Jean-Yves Ruszniewski / Contributor / Corbis Sport / Gettyimages.ru
Chesnokov himself later said that in the first seconds he did not feel anything – terrible pain came later. Andrei thought not about whether he could return to tennis, but was afraid to remain disabled for life. The leg, he said, looked like a broken match. In this state, the athlete had to lie on the court for almost ten minutes, waiting for the doctor to connect: it’s hard to imagine what kind of torment the Russian suffered at that time.
Return to tennis
Fortunately, Chesnokov managed to avoid serious health consequences, but in any case, the surgeons had to fasten the crushed bones with special pins. The doctors promised the Russian a quick return to the court, but he himself was in a real depression, realizing that he would not return to his former level.
Andrei returned to tennis a year later, but he could no longer compete with the best. Of course, the age of the tennis player also affected, but it was impossible to explain the gap in the quality of his performances at 31 and 32 by aging alone. After a terrible injury, Chesnokov never reached the finals of the Masters, not to mention the highest stages of the Grand Slam tournaments.
Two years later, Andrei had to end his career. However, for 15 years on the court, Chesnokov, in any case, was able to forever write his name in history, becoming a pioneer in Russian tennis. The athlete began his path to the elite back in the days of perestroika, clearing the path for the next generation of stars: Safin, Kafelnikov and many others.
2023-07-01 05:30:54
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