Never a Dull Moment in the World of Tennis By Luke Jensen
hat a crazy tennis start to 2022, and you can bet I am looking forward to the warmer weather and the outdoor tennis season. But before that, we have to talk about the first months of the 2022 tennis season. The Novak Djokovic situation at the Australian Open was a mess and I wonder how that will affect his tennis moving forward. Rafael Nadal continues to be amazing, and for the first time he goes from the record chaser, to the record holder. He now has 21 major titles, and that is with his favorite one, Roland Garros, coming up. He has won there 13 times! I know Roger Federer still wants to play but setbacks with his knee rehabilitation have pushed his return back to Wimbledon, maybe, but nothing is for certain. There are so many storylines in professional tennis that makes following the best ballers so interesting. On the WTA side, despite the strong depth, Aussie Ash Barty continues to pull away from the field as she won her country’s major in dominating fashion. Barty impacts the game with a very effective serve, and a wonderful second serve that has tons of kick on it. That means the big power returners have a tough time taking control of the point right from the return.
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This spring, I highly recommend a road trip to the Tennis Garden at Indian Wells, Calif. or the Miami Open at Hard Rock Stadium. Two extraordinary venues to see the best on the planet play. Some of the best views are seats on the practice courts where fans get to see how the world class players prepare to play big time tennis. On a personal note my brother and I have spent a lifetime on a tennis court, but a fun tennis exhibition last fall almost tuned tragic. Early in the match, Murphy was about to serve to me when he went into cardiac arrest. Fortunately there were off duty medical professionals and first responders to rush to Murphy’s side. The first thing the medical professionals asked for after assessing that Murph had flat lined was, “Where is the defibrillator?” Fortunately there was a defibrillator right behind that tennis court and it brought back Murph a total of five times before reaching the hospital. Murphy is alive because of extraordinary work from the amazing
first responders who met the moment. Murphy is also alive because the Garden of the Gods Resort made it a priority to have life-saving equipment like a defibrillator in their facilities. Next time you go play tennis just keep an eye out for that facility’s emergency equipment; you absolutely never know when the moment comes when seconds matter. Miracle Murphy is doing better every day with physical therapy and rest. He’s already back on the tennis court and having fun but with a defibrillator implanted on his left side for the rest of his life to prevent this same situation happening to him again. I wanted to share with all of you a scary situation that turned out well because a facility was prepared for a worst-case-scenario situation. I hope you never have to go through anything like this and being at a facility that is prepared makes the difference. It did for my brother Murphy. Always prepare for EVERYTHING! Forever GRATEFUL to the Garden of the Gods Resort…
Born in Grayling, Mich., Luke Jensen’s resume includes 10 ATP Tour doubles titles and singles victories against Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier. Jensen and his brother, Murphy, won the 1993 French Open doubles title. Luke is currently director of tennis at Sea Island Tennis Center in Georgia. He may be reached by phone at (315) 443-3552 or email lukejensen84@yahoo.com.
New York Tennis Magazine • March/April 2022 • NYTennisMag.com
