Davis Cup Victory

Posted by Nell Mead at 08:00 on 2 Sep 2010

In my previous incarnation as Major Mead RAMC, I was posted to RAF Akrotiri as the clinical and professional lead for British Forces Cyprus’ physiotherapy and rehabilitation team from 2008-10.  With Victory Health & Performance in mind, I had already decided that this was to be my last tour and wanted to make it a memorable one.

On arrival, I joined the Limassol Sporting Club where I played tennis.  I was made very welcome, and trained regularly with Romanian-born Rares Cuzdriorean, now a naturalised Cypriot, and head coach Jean Dobrescu, who used to coach Marcos Baghdatis.

During my tour, I got to know various members of the Cyprus Tennis Federation – a small world – and they learned that I was a physiotherapist, specialising in sports medicine.  However, being British and especially being in the Army (our presence there is not universally popular) I was surprised to receive a call from team captain Yiannos Hadjigeorgeou asking me to provide physiotherapy cover for the Cyprus Davis Cup team for their training camp and match against Egypt in March 2010.

It was amusing, when I turned up on the first day of the camp, to be introduced to Marcos Baghdatis (“Hi, I’m Marcos”) as if I might not recognise him.  Throughout my week with the team, he was unfailingly polite, speaking to me and Rares in fluent English and translating when he thought we might not understand the constant hubbub of cheerful Greek.  I had been a fan of Marcos’ for some years and was delighted to have the chance to watch him train at close quarters.  In common with other top players, awesome anticipation gives him an incredible amount of time on the ball; and perfect timing allows him to use his opponent’s power against him.  For a professional athlete he is also unusually relaxed, both on and off court, which led to a superb atmosphere in the changing rooms.  One of Marcos’ greatest strengths though is his ability to recover quickly after a match, which he attributes partly to genetics and partly to his attention to staying well hydrated.

The other players in the team were Photos Kallias, Rares, and Christopher Koutrouza.  Also working hard were Yiannos and head coach Hugo Fonseca, plus a host of volunteers from the Cyprus Tennis Federation.  The match was held at the Spyros Kyprianou Stadium, just outside Limassol, on a specially-laid indoor court, so the players trained at the venue for the three days preceding the match to get a feel for the court and conditions.

As team physio, or φυσιοθεραπέυτρια, I had an access-all-areas pass and sat courtside with the official doctor throughout the matches.  On the first day, Friday, the volume of noise in the tunnel was tremendous.  Sporting Club’s junior players, supporting their fellow club members Marcos and Rares, had brought their drums and whistles.  I felt incredibly proud to watch my hitting partner Rares contest his debut Davis Cup match, and he rose to the occasion.  Although he lost narrowly to the Egyptian No 1 Karim Maamoun, he never looked outclassed.  Marcos obliterated Sherif Sabry, and on Saturday Marcos and birthday boy Photos won their match to give Cyprus a 2-1 lead.  After the doubles, Marcos led the crowd in a rousing rendition of “Happy Birthday”.  Marcos crushed Mohamed Safwat in the reverse singles on Sunday to give Cyprus the win, leaving Christopher to play the final dead rubber.

Fortunately, I was only required to come on court once, to treat a blister, but as with any sports team, there was plenty of pre- and post-match manual therapy required behind the scenes to get the players properly prepared and recovered.

All in all, it was a fantastic week.  To end with a win was a real bonus, and to cap it all, the Cyprus Tennis Federation kindly agreed to donate my fee to the Sirius Dog Sanctuary, a marvellous charity that rehomes stray dogs.

If you would like an appointment with me, please e-mail me.

If you have any other comments or questions, I would love to hear them so please feel free to comment below (I will respond!) or to e-mail me.