PETE CHAPTER 5

I first saw Peter Gerrans play when he was a kid at the Albany Open Junior championships way back in the early 80's. Pete was an old school type of player who owned a stylish game, great technique on all of his shots, especially his serve and forehand.
If I was to describe Pete in a word it would possibly be the same word I used to describe Patsy, 'confident'. Pete was a top ranked junior in Western Australia throughout his teenage years which obviously stemmed from his ability to make every shot look effortless.
Pete never looked rushed when he hit a tennis ball, that's a sign of both confidence in one's own ability plus a reflection of who you are as a player.
Along with Brett I didn't really know Pete before the European trip, not well anyhow, I had simply just seen him play and I was impressed with him. Pete also had a great temperament on court that would not see him become flustered easily, a sign of a good player.
The very first training session I had in Europe was with Pete and I believe that he may have let me win the practice set we played just to give me some confidence. Around three weeks later I was fortunate enough to play doubles with Pete and we won a tournament not far from Paris in a town called Gareoult. This was to be my only tournament win in Europe and I treasure it to this day.
Pete was brilliant in that match as he was a class above any other player on court that day and he got us over the line. To say that I won a tournament in Europe was something that not all tennis players can say and I will be forever grateful to Pete for his excellence that day.
As with Brett I had some choice words with Pete on that trip and I will never forget opening the car door on Pete's head after a truck stop sleep over one night when we misjudged the travel schedule. Pete had been sleeping next to the car in a sleeping bag and I didn't realize it when I opened the door for an early morning toilet stop. I think he has forgiven me now but it took a few days for him to get over it in Europe.
The friendship I formed with Pete was one that we have kept for the past 25 years even though we don't see much of one another now days due to the distance in which we live from each other. When ever I hear a song by Australian music legend Darryl Braithwaite it will always remind me of Pete who sung that song over and over again as he listened to it through his headphones over the course of the trip. He even played it between the change of ends in some of his matches !
Pete had a unique way about him both in tennis and in life. Nice fellow is Peter Gerrans....