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Former American player Patrick McEnroe is on cloud nine as his daughter Victoria McEnroe beat Victoria Matos 6-4, 7-5 in the final of the New York State Tennis Championship yesterday. Patrick is John McEnroe's youngest brother and the winner of the 1989 French Open in the doubles category.
For the title clash on Saturday, Matos seemed exhausted as she stepped foot on the court less than 18 hours after winning a three-set thriller in the semifinals. She beat Mia Palladino 5-7, 6-0, 7-6(8) to set up a meeting with Victoria McEnroe in the final.
After the match, Matos stated that the semifinal had taken a toll on her physically and mentally, but was happy with the fact that she finished second this year, compared to seventh last year.
“I could have played with more energy,” Matos said. “She was getting her shots in and I needed to move my feet faster. The semifinal was just so physically and mentally draining. I was obvious with my first serve not getting in much. I even tried adjusting by tossing it more in front but that didn’t work. Second place is a good finish after finishing seventh last year. I have to be happy about that.”
The New York State Public High School Athletic Association took to social media to congratulate the youngster and her father.
"It must run in the family. Proud papa @PatrickMcEnroe and his daughter Victoria, who won the 2022 #nysphsaa girls tennis championship," the association tweeted.
Patrick McEnroe reacted to the tweet, saying that he was "incredibly happy" for his daughter.
"So incredibly happy for Victoria…she has worked soooo hard. And yes…one very VERY proud papa here," he wrote.
"I don’t think we should say that Simona Halep is a victim" - Patrick McEnroe on the Romanian's doping charges
It's been a few days since Simona Halep was provisionally banned by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) after Roxadustat, a banned substance, was found in the Romanian's drug test during the US Open in August. While the player has stated that she didn't consume the drug knowingly, Patrick McEnroe refused to call her a victim in this case.
Speaking on his podcast, McEnroe said that even if it's proven that someone else tricked her into consuming the banned drug, it's still Halep's responsibility to be careful and hence, she cannot be called a victim.
“As far as I know her, she has been a tremendously polite, nice person, but again, that is neither here nor there when it comes to whether or not she actually took the drug or not. She is not saying she didn’t take the drug. At least in her comment, she is saying that she never knowingly took any prohibited substance,” Patrick McEnroe said.
"Someone could have given her vitamins, recovery stuff that’s legal and then, possibly could have given her something that was illegal, so obviously the athlete has to be well aware of that," he continued. "Let’s just say, for the sake of the argument that it happened. It’s still a positive test. Now whether it gets proven somehow that somebody gave it to her and she didn’t know about it, maybe that could make whatever ban she gets, not quite as serious."
"I don’t think we should say that Simona, in this case, is a victim. You have to be, as an athlete, responsible. She’s a grown woman. She’s a very successful tennis player throughout her career," Patrick McEnore added.
