At 34, Ruben Bemelmans, a deeply human player, is ending a fine career marked by his two Davis Cup finals.
Ruben Bemelmans put an end to one of the greatest chapters of his life on the eve of the Grand Slam which gave him the most joy: Wimbledon. “Bemel” had reached the 3rd round there in 2017 by beating a certain Daniil Medvedev.
He left tennis on tiptoe, but surrounded by the love of his wife Maaike and his son Rocco. Player always smiling and available, he denoted in a world of selfish. At 34, Bemelmans, propped up on his sofa alongside Maaike, gave us his first interview as a retiree. “Obviously, this decision was very hard to take”blows the 335th player in the world. “During the matches, I felt that I no longer had the maximum determination from the first to the last point. My motivation was going down. I no longer had that fighting spirit which is necessary to go for the last points. It was no longer like before. If you don’t fight for a whole match, there’s no point in continuing.”
(….)
