'THE EURO KINGS'

The recent feel good story of the 'locals', Arneodo and Nys at Monte Carlo this week got better with an outrageous quarter final victory over Murray and Soares, the pair who finished at the number 1 spot at the end of 2016.
To win 10 of the last 11 points in a third set Super Tie Breaker against the combination who won last year's Australian Open and US Open titles once again fits the headline of one of my recent posts 'Defying Logic'.
When you are a pair who own a combined ranking of over 1000 and are simply playing for your livelihood against Multi Millionaires I believe it's fair to say that the terminology 'Self Belief' should have a photograph of these two in the next edition of the World Dictionary.
To beat players of the calibre that they did this week you not only have to look past your current ranking, prize money and past results but you also have to own a fair slice of heart. To not be totally overawed by guys who have won enough titles and Euros to hang up their rackets today and never have to work again is testimony to their mind set.
Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys took home a share of just over $60,000 Euros when they eventually were beaten in straight sets in the semis by Bopanna and Cuevas which belittled their past combined earnings by a lazy $56,000.
In 1991 when I travelled around Europe in a tiny French Automobile with two West Australian buddies of mine we had a terminology for our biggest money earner Brett Patten, we called him the 'Franc King' as the French 'Franc' was the common currency back then before being replaced by the Euro.
Brett won more Francs than he went away with such was his ability to win in a foreign Country and he used to have a wallet that was so full of notes from his tournament wins that he had to continually off load the contents into different sections of his tennis bag.
So what do a pair of tennis battlers who have never really seen any success on a tennis court and who have obviously battled to live any sort of lifestyle do with $30,000 plus Euros each ?
Well I would imagine that these two are still partying at this moment, living it up in perhaps a suite at an expensive resort in Monaco and maybe even throwing a few chips around at the local Casino. Why wouldn't you ??
Remember if you are a resident of Monte Carlo you don't pay tax on your earnings so every cent you take home is yours to keep without that 'interfering fellow' pilfering part of your hard earned. Oh to be a resident of Monte Carlo.....
So Romain Arneodo and Hugo Nys can now claim a new title of 'Euro Kings' as they embark on a new lifestyle that can now see them afford to at least travel to the next tournament on the French Riviera, brim full of confidence and wallets full of notes that can now perhaps buy them a few extra luxuries along the way.
An entry fee is now 'affordable'.
Tennis prize money usually gets handed out to the players who wouldn't even know how much is in their bank account such is the ridiculous amounts that are handed to the players at the top of the World rankings. So as far as these two are concerned they owe an awful lot to the Tournament Committee who put their faith in them to at least put in a competitive performance in Round 1 because now they believe they belong in the sport.
That's the thing with tennis, many players never gain that slice of luck required to show their skills on the big stage and may never see a Centre Court of the magnificence that Monte Carlo owns. Tennis isn't all about the Dollar however if you don't own any then it's a tough sport to try and make a living out of as you have to spend a Euro to make a Euro, if that makes sense.
Rafa looks as though he will hold the trophy at Monte Carlo this year for a tenth time and pick up another million or so and the doubles finalists will play for around a quarter of a mil, something like that anyhow, loose change for all involved. 
As far as the 'locals' are concerned, well they are now local heroes no matter what happens in the future, 'Euro Kings' to be precise........