Thomas Enqvist Q&A
Q: Why do they call you ‘Melon’?
Thomas: It was Nicklas Kulti that came up with it. It was probably him that sent in the question! He tried my cap on once and it came down way below his nose so he said ‘you have such a melon head!’ And that was it, it all came from there.
Q: Describe your perfect day off.
Thomas: Well now I have a lot of days off. So at the moment the perfect day is just to spend time with my family. I have a two and a half year old son and spending time with him and my wife is absolutely my favourite day. I’m also very into different kinds of sports. When we were playing in the States if I had a day off I liked to go to NHL games and then when I was in Europe I liked to have the chance to see, for example, a Barcelona football match or something like that. That was a good day off for me when I was on the Tour.
Q: Of all the players on the ATP Champions Tour, who are you most looking forward to playing, or getting your revenge on?
Thomas: I would like to play McEnroe and Borg. I never had the chance to play against them. I played Llendl and I played Edberg and Becker but I never played those two so that would be a dream.
Q: What are your ambitions for the future now that you’ve retired?
Thomas: I don’t really set myself any goals for the future. I’m just enjoying every day of what I’m doing now and that’s more than enough.
Q: Some players find it mentally difficult to retire, they talk of a ‘black hole’. What was your over-riding feeling when you retired?
Thomas: It is a difficult decision to make. I started playing tennis when I was like three or four years old, and tennis had been my life since then. Everything was about tennis. You eat what you eat because of tennis, you go to bed because of tennis, you’re in a particular part of the world because of tennis. Everything was about tennis and when you take that away of course it felt weird. But the toughest part really was to actually make the decision. After I’d made it, it was a big relief. I think I maybe actually played one or two years too long on the Tour because I really didn’t enjoy those last two years, which is a shame.