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At
31, Younes El-Aynaoui is playing the best tennis of his career. |
By
the age of 30, most professional tennis players are considering ending their
careers and making plans for post-athletic life. Even perennial all-stars such
as Andre Agassi have publicly flirted with retirement, bemoaning the stresses
and strains of one the most physically demanding sports in the world where
athletes often brave soaring temperatures, high emotional stress, injury and
exhaustion for the chance to sit atop the winner’s podium.
Obviously
no one mentioned all these hurdles to 31-year-old Moroccan Younes El-Aynaoui at
this past week’s Australian Open tennis championship. In what is being hailed
as one of the greatest matches ever in Grand Slam tennis play, Aynaoui and
American Andy Roddick battled back and forth on January 22 for exactly five
hours before Aynaoui succumbed to the much younger Roddick. All tolled, the two
played 83 separate games over the course of the match with the final set lasting
an excruciating two hours. In the end Roddick won 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 4-6, 6-4,
21-19.
Aynaoui
was seeded 18th entering the tournament and was not expected to pose much of a
threat to any of the marquee players in Australia. That all changed after he
defeated the world’s number one ranked player, Lleyton Hewitt (6-7, 7-6, 7-6,
6-4) on January 20 to reach the quarterfinals. Everyone took note.
“Wow!
Thanks for coming,” said Aynaoui after seeing the throngs of reporters waiting
to interview him after his defeat of Hewitt.
The
issue of age was not lost on the media and the inevitable questions came halfway
through the interview. When queried about playing his best tennis after the age
of 30, Aynaoui noted, “Well, I think I [started] late. You know, in Morocco, I
was 19 or 20. Then I had two years off due to injury. I'm 31, but can say I'm
27. I feel like 26, 27. For me, I [started] late, so now I find it a bit strange
that some people, some players, [stop] at 29 or 28. I'm fully enjoying myself
and I want to play some more.”
It
was good that Aynaoui had the desire to play more, because he could not have
anticipated the five-hour endurance test that lay ahead of him just two days
later.
In
his match with Roddick, Aynaoui did have his opportunities. In the 10th
game of the final set, he found himself serving match point; but Roddick somehow
dug in and battled back.
In
the post match press conference, Aynaoui was gracious in defeat: “Yes, right
now I'm a bit disappointed, of course. I thought I had a great opportunity to go
in the semifinals. But I think Andy played a great match.”
Aynaoui
went on to say, “I think people understood that I gave everything and I tried
my best, but at the end you have to have a winner and a loser, and this time it
didn't go for me. But I think, after all, it's a good match and a good
performance.”
In
his home of Morocco, Aynaoui is understandably popular and his Australian Open
matches were played live on national television. In the past he has been
recognized by King Mohammed VI for his accomplishments and he continues his
involvement with Moroccan charitable organizations including the King Mohammed
VI Foundation. 
