there is no such thing as cannon fodder at this level
When I turned off the TV this morning to feed the kids breakfast, Roger Federer was down two sets to Alejandro Falla in their first round Wimbledon match. He came back to win in five. This bit in the AP story about the match caught my eye...
When Federer won the third, Falla, who had several bouts of treatment on his left thigh from the trainer during changeovers, could have been expected to fold.
However, the Colombian, who had been dismissed as “cannon fodder” in an article in the day’s official programme, broke in the opening game of the fourth, with Federer contributing to his total of seven double faults in the process.
Sure, Falla's only ranked 65th in the world, and Federer's ranked 2nd. But at this level of professional sports, there's really no such thing as cannon fodder. (Need more proof? Just ask the Italians...)