Slamming Shane silences critics

TODAY he’s here, tomorrow he’s gone. In a superman-like swoop, Shane Frank Stone, (and his accomplice Troy Stone), flew into Trinidad and in a matter of days, was gone again — and with two titles to boot! After seven years of his absence from the tournament, Shane made a terrific comeback, clinching not only the Men’s Singles at the 2004 Evian National Open Tennis Championship, but also the Men’s Doubles in partnership with brother Troy. The Texas-based player, who is often portrayed by his critics as a “hotshot” on court, admitted that it is always a humbling experience to play at home and represent his country, at both national and regional events.

“I was very happy to win the nationals this year, mainly because I set the goal of winning both singles and doubles, and was able to accomplish it.” And he’d tell you that his string of wins is no fluke, neither is it an overnight success story. He didn’t divulge it during the championships, but the 26-year-old had been nursing a back injury sustained earlier this year that sidelined him from the game for five months.  “I wasn’t able to hit a ball during that time up until about three weeks before the tournament. When you’ve played any sport professionally, you get to know your body and how to train given a certain amount of time. I was able to put together a plan that I felt would prepare me sufficiently for the tournament — using more of my mental ability than physical ability,” Shane revealed. He said it was unfortunate that the “out of sight, out of mind” perception still existed, whereby “if they (Trinidadians) don’t see you play, then they think that your results don’t matter.” He hoped that one day the perception will change. Of his 15 years of competitive tennis, Shane has held a Junior world ranking, an NCAA Division 1 college ranking, has attained a CAC (Central American and Caribbean) Games medal, as well as an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) world ranking — a feat accomplished by few players.

He no longer holds a world-ranking since lack of funding has limited his participation in professional tournaments. Though his ultimate goals are competing in the US Open and Wimbledon championships he said, “if you don’t have constant funding to get you out there on the circuit for years and years, your chances are even slimmer than normal. I was fortunate enough to compete in the Junior French Open and against the Bryan brothers in doubles (former world number ones) and Marcelo Rios in singles.” His disappointing finish at the Davis Cup two years ago and Trinidad and Tobago’s current standing at Group 4 has not dashed his hopes of TTs chances at next year’s event. “I think if we take our best team, we have an excellent chance of winning Group 4. We have had very good results in Group 3, so it makes sense to me that we should be one of the favourites to win Group 4.” But it is not peculiar that the former St Mary’s College grad who hails from the West is often misread. It happened in his boyhood and has spilled over into his professional career. He always nursed a passion for tennis, even when fleeting thoughts of becoming a lumberjack, he joked, as opposed to tennis pro, stepped in.

“I guess it must have been around age five when I took a fake racquet and tried to chop down a tree in our yard. But, the main thing I remember about my childhood, strangely enough, was how quickly I had to grow up and dedicate myself to tennis and school. I can still remember my friends always making fun of me for either studying or playing tennis all the time. The nice part about that is, I learned throughout the years who my true friends were — those who respected my goals and were supportive of me.” Though named after his father, Shane lives up to the name literally — being quite “frank” when speaking on issues regarding the sport or criticisms about his game. About the negative media reports that have surfaced in the past about the Stone brothers, Shane said: “Everyone is entitled to their opinion about someone’s ability or behaviour. I know they have not been exposed to my sport at any level. When people see us compete locally, the only thing they can compare tennis to is what they see on TV, at the highest events, where they don’t show you what goes on in between changeovers and after matches and all the dollar fines that are administered to players.

“The public doesn’t see any of this because the stations edit it out or go to commercial. We have travelled all over the world competing and have never had any problems with officials or fines or any negative connotations towards us whatsoever.” Shane also has to his credit, “Sportsmanship” and “Ambassador of country” awards. “I have been fined one time in my entire career for $75 at a pro tournament when an opponent walked past my wife in the stands and cursed her out. So, of course, I didn’t take that too lightly and we got in an argument. The referee, who wasn’t there, had no choice but to fine us both for the incident. But as far as I am concerned, that was a fine worth taking.” Yes, Shane is married to wife of three years, American Jemilla Stone. Now more muscled and more focused, he is ready to fight bigger challenges. He currently tutors in the sport and lends voluntary assistance to various charities at home and abroad.

He expressed concerns about sport “across the board” and felt that more of an effort to promote athletes should be exercised by sport officials. “Why is it that we always wait for the rest of the world to recognise our athletes before we do? What George Bovell III has done for TT swimming and sport in general is phenomenal, and congratulations to him again. However, suppose George was on the losing end of that .02 second, third-place finish? Would he have failed? Of course not! Would he have been given the same exposure that he so rightly deserves? “The same can be said for Stephen Ames who I guarantee could walk through any Hi-Lo in TT and no one would have any idea who he was. How is that possible? Simply because he lives away? He is a local sporting hero and we don’t have one billboard with his face on it! “How about Ato who is a giant in Europe and the USA and ‘chose’ to run for TT,” Shane lamented. His passion, and no doubt exuberance stem from the politically charged books he has been reading lately. He likes non-fictional reading, particularly books on globalisation and biographies of world leaders. Nevertheless, Shane issues a challenge to writers, newspaper editors and the public — “Make us all more positive and stop harping on only negative stuff.”