Injuries Can’T Stop Gambill Despite His Ailing Knee And Ankle, Local Tennis Star Plans To Keep Busy
Despite a knee and ankle injury that forced Jan-Michael Gambill to retire from Sunday’s Mercedes-Benz Cup final, the Spokane tennis star said Tuesday he plans to go ahead with his August schedule leading to the United States Open.
“It came down to so many weeks of playing,” Gambill said. “It was three straight months of tennis and my body started breaking down.”
The first sign of fatigue was a left knee injury that began early in the Mercedes-Benz Cup, played in Los Angeles. In the title match, he also injured his right ankle while overcompensating on an attempted overhead. Gambill said it’s considered a mild sprain.
“The (tournament) doctors agreed it was not bad enough for an X-ray or MRI,” he said.
Gambill plans to play three more tournaments prior to the U.S. Open: the Tennis Masters Series next week in Cincinnati, the Legg Mason Classic, Aug. 14-20 in Washington, D.C., and the Hamlet Cup, Aug. 21-27 in Commack, N.Y. The U.S. Open begins Aug. 28 in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.
“Right now, I’m at 60 percent,” said Gambill, who is tied for 25th in the ATP Champions Race rankings.
Prior to returning to his family home in Colbert - something Gambill had scheduled before his injuries - his only time off was a 4-day break just two weeks ago. He then flew to Santander, Spain, to play in the Davis Cup, where the U.S. lost to Spain 5-0. The young American squad practiced long hours under Davis Cup captain John McEnroe but fell to the Spaniards 5-0 in a match “a lot closer than the score indicated,” according to Gambill.
“The hardest thing was going from clay (Davis Cup) to hard-courts,” Gambill said.
From Spain, the Mead High graduate flew to Los Angeles to begin the hardcourt U.S. Open tune-up season. The week was going great. He advanced to the finals in singles and doubles, where he and partner Scott Humphries rank among the top 10. However, Gambill’s left knee began to bother him. He wore a brace but said the pain got “worse and worse.”
The sixth-seeded Gambill still reached the finals against fourth-seeded Michael Chang. The success came just three weeks after playing in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon where Gambill lost to seven-time champ Pete Sampras.
“I figured I’d get through it and then take the week off,” said Gambill.
Instead, he came down hard on his ankle and was unable to continue. The final score read: 6-7 (2), 6-3, retired. The Australian team of Paul Kilderry and Sandon Stolle then claimed the doubles title on a walkover.
For now, Gambill is keeping off the practice courts and going to a local physical therapist.
Although injuries stopped him from winning a second ATP tournament title, Gambill has been one of the hottest players on the tour.
“I’m playing better tennis, smarter tennis,” he said. “I’m not making as many mistakes. I’m figuring out how to win.”