Melbourne, when Fahey trounced Riviere seven sets to five. Fahey, the wily veteran, was mentally tougher and, surprisingly, physically fitter. “My legs were crushed after a five-set match I played in the British Open final when I was twenty-two,” Fahey said. “I thought I was young and fit and could run all day but didn’t realize how hard tennis is, bending so much, digging balls out of the corners. Cam hadn’t yet learned that.” In preparation for the world championship, Riviere took a gamble. He didn’t play once from July of last year until January 2016. Instead he did physical therapy to repair his labrum once and for all and endured 5am training sessions three days a week. He also flew to England and spent four days talking tactics with Chris Ronaldson, the world champion in the 1980s. At the 2016 world championship in May at the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Newport Casino, Riviere swiftly turned the tables on Fahey. Riviere’s goal was to take away Fahey’s strengths. His railroad serve was so tight that Fahey was unable to hit his trademark main-wall force, a shot that emphatically ended the rally. Riviere’s retrieving was brilliant. He defended openings and got to every shot, making Fahey win a single point three or four times. And whenever Fahey made a charge, Riviere stood firm, not rolling over and granting any set without a fight. Riviere won three of the four sets on the first day and three of the four on the second day. On the third day, then, he had to win just one of the last five possible sets. He did it immediately, converted on his first world championship point. As they hugged at the net, it was milestone moment. For Riviere, the dream had come true. For Fahey, it was a welcomed denouement. “The instant I lost the last point,” Fahey said, “I felt relief. ‘Oh, thank God,’ I thought. My entire adult life, more or less, has been spent living with the pressure of being the world champion. It was instantly gone.”
James Zug is the author of six books, including Squash: A History of the Game . His writing on sports has appeared in the Atlantic , Wall Street Journal , the Daily Beast and VanityFair. com.
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