WIMBLEDON, England(AP) In tennis' hierarchy of greatness, there are the legends, followed by the demigods and then, perhaps not that far behind, those with magic hands like Fabrice Santoro, the players' player.
The Frenchman doesn't have a truckload of titles like Roger Federer. In 20 years as a pro, the 36-year-old Santoro has never been a household figure. But he does have THAT shot, a double-handed forehand slice that practically carries his name. Don't try it at home, kids, not unless you've got wrists of jelly and steel.
Santoro's resilient, too. Wimbledon marks his 68th Grand Slam tournament, an Open era record for men. Among all players, only Amy Frazier played more - 71. Here, the unseeded Santoro ousted No. 33 Nicolas Kiefer in straight sets before falling to Juan Carlos Ferrero in the second round. He is still in the mixed doubles.
Santoro owes his signature shot to his greedy former self: As a kid growing up in Tahiti in the Pacific, where his dad was a repairman on French aircraft carriers, he picked the biggest racket offered to him. Too heavy to be held with one hand, he gripped it with both. A coach tried changing him to a one-handed style when he was 11. ``I said no. No one ever tried again - thank goodness,'' he says.
Those who've never seen his forehand should buy tickets or turn on the television now, because this season is Santoro's last.
Failing that, then picture an avant-garde sculptor chain-sawing through ice, a millimeter-perfect two-handed downward and delicate slice.
With a racket, in Santoro's soft hands, that downward cutting motion puts huge spin on the ball. For two decades, it has bamboozled opponents, prompting some to run home to try it themselves.
``I've seen Federer do it on a practice court a million times,'' says Mike Bryan, who with brother Bob has won all four majors in doubles. In 2006, they beat Santoro and partner Nenad Zimonjic in the Wimbledon final.
Everyone is always mimicking the Fabrice Santoro forehand,'' Bob adds.It's become legendary.''
Says Federer: ``I can actually do it not bad.''
Since imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, that's high praise indeed.
Compare Santoro with Marat Safin, who is also saying ``au revoir'' to the pro circuit this year.
With his huge physique and talent, Safin really should have won more majors than just the 2005 Australian Open and 2000 U.S. Open. The Russian will be remembered as a great underachiever.
Santoro, on the other hand, lacks Safin's physical gifts. Too small at 5-foot-10 to truly be a force in today's power game, winning a major was not in his stars.
But Santoro's strength has been squeezing the utmost out of what he has. His weapons are guile, determination to chase even the most hopeless of balls, terrific tactical ability and hand-eye coordination, and a wide range of shots, including the famed forehand, that earned him the nickname ``The Magician'' from Pete Sampras.
My game style was out of date when I arrived on the tour,'' Santoro said in May after competing in his 20th and last French Open.I got on the tour in the '90s, and my style dated back to the '70s. So when I arrived, I was, you know, 20 years late already. So managing to get good performances for 20 years when you're 20 years late, that's difficult enough. But that was my challenge. And that's the beauty of my career, if I may say so.''
His range of slices, lobs and trick shots makes for circus tennis. Appropriately, British comedian Benny Hill's theme tune accompanies one of the many Santoro highlight reels that circulate on the Internet.
He looks like he's having fun. In the first round of mixed doubles at Wimbledon, he pursed his lips in an ``ooh'' of self-appreciation after securing a break point with a sliced forehand volley. He won that game with a precisely targeted lob.
He has very good hands,'' playing partner Anabel Medina Garrigues says. His sliced forehand isunbelievable,'' she adds. ``I looked at it like 10 times and I don't know how he does it.''
``He's a nightmare to play. He is the magic man. He can do everything. His racket is a wand. He can make you look absolutely silly on the court,'' Mike Bryan says.
``He's probably the player I love watching the most,'' Bryan adds, echoing others on the tour.
In singles, Santoro's best at a major was reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open in 2006. He also played the Open era's longest match, a 6-hour, 33-minute win over Arnaud Clement in the 2004 French Open first round. Paired with Michael Llodra, he won the 2003 and 2004 Australian Open doubles and the 2005 and 2006 French Open mixed doubles with Daniela Hantuchova.
He's such a genius on the court. I think anybody who played against him would say that,'' Hantuchova says.The stuff he was able to do with the racket, you know, the rallies he made, I think they're going to make history in tennis.''
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John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org.