Travelling with the twins: Part II. One year with Sonchat and Sanchai Ratiwatana, by Robert Davis
Eleven months, fifty-one weeks and seven days ago, Saipin Ratiwatana, mother of the twins, was sitting in a corner of the Player's Lounge at the Impact Arena in Muang Thong Thani. She could not control her hands from shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks.
Her mind was flashing back to just a few years earlier to all those sleepless nights when she and her husband, Chatchai, worried over accounts that did not balance. It was a time when things just would not add up. What would they do? How could they tell their boys that they could not afford for them to continue? Finally, they decided to sell the family car so their boys could have one more Futures tour to Europe, one more chance. If they failed, this would be it, for there was nothing left. Now, a little less than hour ago, her boys had just captured their first ATP title, the Thailand Open. She does not know what to do or say, the emotion is too much. She is overwhelmed and cannot stop crying.
30,000 feet over Myanmar, May 26, 2008
TG flight 931 from Paris is almost over and on the approach to Bangkok. The twins, will have five days rest at home before traveling to London for the grass court season. Sitting together in the Business Class section with their headphones on and music playing, the brothers could feel each other's pain. Unlike most teams, there was no option of changing partners when results were poor. For better or worse, they were in this together and for them there was only one way out of hell, and that was too start winning.
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| ON THE ROAD : Travelling to many different countries may sound glamorous but the day-to-day necessities _ like finding a place to wash your own clothes _ can prove problematic. — PHOTO: ROBERT DAVIS |
Coach Chuck Kriese, who has worked with the twins this year, says, "What I respect most about the twins, is that through all the difficult times, they never once made an excuse, or withdrew energy. In fact, it was the exact opposite. They looked inwards and tried to discover how they could work harder, get fitter and play better. I look for them to come out of this most difficult period a much stronger team because of how they have handled the rough road."
London, June 22, 2008
The grass court season got off to a bad start with the twins losing in the first round at Queen's Club and then again in the first round in Nottingham. It is the night before Wimbledon begins, and the twins are sitting at a table in a Thai restaurant in Earl's Court. For the past three weeks, Christopher Rungkat of Indonesia, who has been travelling with the twins most of the year, is here for the junior circuit and is living with the twins at their rented flat. And on this night, joining them are the numbers one and two Thai junior boys, Peerikat Siributwong and Kittipong Wachiramanowong, who are also in London for the junior tournaments. During the entire dinner and for a good while afterwards, the twins explained how much work is needed to make it on the tour, how to schedule tournaments, and basically, showing that they care about these young boys.
By now the twins knew that there was little chance that they were going to make the Olympics on direct entry, and would need a wild card. I knew that they were down emotionally, but they did not show it, and next day they had arranged for extra practice court time.
All England Club, London, June 25, 2008
In the first round of the Wimbledon men's doubles championships, the twins are down two sets to love, and in a third set tiebreak, locked at six points each. They would lose the next two points, and the match and any chance of a wild card into the Olympics. What started out as a season of hope has turned into a season of despair.
The twins returned home to Bangkok for a week before departing to the United States for the hard court season. They would play in Newport, Rhode Island, Indianapolis, Lexington, Vancouver, Los Angeles, and Washington. In Lexington and Vancouver, Challenger level tournaments, the twins managed to win their first round matches, but lost in the first round in all the others.
US Open, New York, August 27, 2008
When a player or a doubles team on the Tour starts losing, at first everybody just offers encouragement. Then as the losses begin to add up, they start whispering behind your back, saying that you should do this, or do that. Everyone has an opinion what is wrong, and it is as if the losing player had some type of disease. And everyone forgets that those players had ever won before.
Over the course of their careers, the twins have won seven times together on the Futures circuit, thirteen titles on the Challengers and twice they have lifted the champions trophy on the ATP Tour. They have several SEA Games gold medals and a silver medal from the Asian Games in Doha. There can be no doubt that they are a great team! However, all that is easily forgotten when it is August and you are on a losing streak that dates back to February. Like luggage, each loss starts to pile up, slowly and steadily, weighing on a man's mind until the strain of it becomes, for much of the time, unbearable. During these times, a good night's sleep is impossible and peace of mind is nonexistent. A player begins to overanalyze himself, searching for answers where there are no questions. Quite simply, he is in a state of torment, desperate for a win, begging for a win, any win.
Today, it is already late in the evening and the twins are playing their first round match on outside show court. In a crowd of about 1,500 people sits the Thai Consulate General to the USA, Piriya Khempon, and a large gathering of Thai supporters.
It is the final set, and Sanchai would serve next, down four games to five. The ability to execute under pressure in front of hundreds and thousands of people is what makes these players professional. Unlike many spectators, all players have learned that there is no such thing as an easy shot under pressure. And knowing about this pressure, and accepting the responsibility for it, Sanchai Ratiwatana, walked back to the baseline and prepared to serve, knowing that for the next game at least, the match was in his hands.
After opening the game with a double fault, Sanchai shook his head, bounced the ball a few times and prepared to serve again. Another double fault. Sonchat jogged back to his brother who was now in a near panic, patted him on the back, said, "mai pen rai", and told him that he has a good serve, just trust. Three points later, Sanchai missed a forehand volley, his third error of that game and the match was over that fast. Sanchai shook hands with his opponents at the net, and reeling from the shock of what had just happened, turned to face his brother, and then the dam busted and the tears of shame flowed like a river flooding.
A stunned crowd in the middle of a standing ovation for the quality of the match, could not believe what they were witnessing. Sanchai was inconsolable.
Taking the large towel from his chair, Sonchat wrapped it over Sanchai's head and shoulders, and gently led him off the court, through the knotted mass of people crowding the gate and into the locker room. I followed behind, carrying their racket bags while watching Sonchat trying to shield his younger brother from the pain.
Over the years that we have been together, I cannot remember all the big wins or bad losses, nor can I remember all the times they fought and argued during training sessions, for their were too many to count. But, what I will always remember about these two men is how on this night, during their hour of greatest need, they were there for each other.
This year, the twins have logged 187,000 air miles each. They have seen their world ranking plummet, and prize money drop considerably. Some might look at the results and suggest that 2008 has been a year to forget for the brothers. But I would argue the contrary, and say that it has been a year to remember. For it was a moment in time when the Ratiwatana's not only embraced each other, but it was also the time when they accepted the role as guardians of a tennis nation.
By doing so, they have demonstrated that it is what you give, not get, that matters most at the end of the day.
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