Mantilla Thread

As asked for by hitler ;)

Please refer to me as GWH joeb.

It's good that Mantilla does have a few fans as he is the forgotten Spaniard. He doesn't have the girls swooning like Ferrero, Lopez or Moya, he hasn't been as successful as Corretja or Costa.

He has won 10 titles and his last one was in Rome. He has had some achilles problems this year and it has effected his play so far. Too bad the shoulder problems wrecked part of his career, but he is still a favourite of mine.

For a guy who has his best results on clay he has beaten Sampras and Hewitt on hardcourts when they were #1 and he made the QF of the Australian Open and semis in 98 French Open.

Vamos Felix get back on track for the European clay season and get some points for this year.

Here are some pictures in the next few posts of the unheralded Mantilla.

This was in the final of Rome against Federer.

More Rome pictures.

Felix and Roger after the match

Relaxing and enjoying his TMS Rome win.

If anyone knows some of the tournaments felix will be playing this year, please feel free to list them here ;) thanks

OK, here are the tournaments upcoming that felix should play in :) ill add results after:
April 12 - Valencia
April 19 - Monte Carlo Masters
April 26 - Barcelona
May 10 - Hamburg Masters

Felix is a cool guy

Tennis: Underdog role suits mild-mannered Mantilla

ROME : Felix Mantilla is hoping he can upset the odds and spring another surprise when he begins the defence of his Rome Masters Series title.

The unassuming Spaniard ripped up the form book last year, beating two former French Open champions, Albert Costa and Yevgeny Kafelnikov, before winning the final in straight sets against current world number one Roger Federer.

But he failed to build on that success after suffering a stomach injury and struggled for the remainder of the season with a dismal 1-10 record.

This year the mild-mannered 29-year-old hopes to have turned the corner and is raring to go in the Eternal City.

"I have some great memories from last year - it's a wonderful place to play and the atmosphere here is very special," said the softly spoken clay court specialist, who reached the semi-final at Roland Garros in 1998.

"I've had some problems with my stomach and I haven't always been able to train properly and that's very tough for any player.

"But I feel a lot better now and I just want to go out on court and play my best tennis."

Seeded 30, Mantilla admitted he was happy to be considered an outsider, just as he was last year.

"Last year I started more or less in the same position and I won the tournament," he said.

"I was perhaps better prepared then, but you never know what can happen in tennis.

"If you win a couple of matches, get into a rhythm, you can suddenly find yourself in a good position."

Mantilla, who faces American Robby Ginepri in his opening match at the Foro Italico, was barely recognisable from the man who lifted the trophy last year.

His unkempt beard has been shaved off, while his hair has blonde highlights.

"Yeah, now I look like a normal guy," he said. "I like to change my image every so often."

OK during my day at wimbledon thursday (1st week) i managed to see felix for a set and half. during his first round match, i had centre court tickets, so i didnt stay to watch all the match. i had already missed the first two matches on centre court. it was nice to see felix for real, even on grass. he is a great guy as i expected, i managed to get some photos. although it was court 18, so the bars were in the way, and people also:

http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0012.jpg
FELIX BEFORE THE MATCH

FELIX SITTING DOWN:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0012.jpg
COIN TOSS:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0014.jpg
COIN TOSS:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0016.jpg
SERVING:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0019.jpg
SERVING AT THE OTHER END:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0020.jpg
FELIX:
http://img75.photobucket.com/albums/v228/joeb_uk_tennis/wimbledon/DSCF0025.jpg

I know I am so lame to be posting a reply to the pictures, but I have been so out of it with tennis much of this year, :eek:

these pictures are nice, to think I searched high and low for the picture in my avatar and there were good pictures here, aie

And Felix IS better looking than all those other dudes from Spain :) ,,, what are their names again?

felix has to qualify for sopot :( damn, hes now ranked around 120

its sad to see him playing in challengers, and qualifying for events such as sopot

10) 122 FELIX MANTILLA

10th seed at a challenger

what's his deal? Has he had injury trouble?

Joeb, those are absolutely fantastic pictures and who would have thought that Mantilla would win a match on grass.

I have found some old ones and I will scan them this week at some point.

its sad to see him playing in challengers, and qualifying for events such as sopot

10) 122 FELIX MANTILLA

10th seed at a challenger

He is ranked 113 and he had his chances to make the semi finals in Gstaad and should have beaten Schuettler. He is lacking the confidence needed to win these matches.

He had the match against Safin serving for it 3 times and couldn't do it, then the bad light didn't help him.

Starace beat Mantilla in the San Marino Challenger 62 36 63.

As for him, after the French Open last year he only won 3 matches and had a stomach problem, then at the start of the year, he had problems with his achilles in Chennai. Also the game has changed quite a bit and at his best, he doesn't make errors and runs for everything, he might have lost a bit of speed as well.

He has come back before and he doesn't have any points to defend. I just want him inside the top 100 at the end of the year, so he doesn't have to qualify for the Australian Open.

Great pictures joeb, and there are not many Felix fans around, he is the forgotten Spaniard and that was great when he won Rome last year, he deserved a clay TMS for just being the warrior that he is.

These are some old pictures of Felix warming up at the Aus Open.

thanks for the photos george, yeah i saw the result agaisnt starace! after seeing starace beat volandri in the second round, i dont think it was a bad loss, considering felixs form. does anyone know his next event?

I am not sure where Felix is playing at the moment, but he needs to get some points in a hurry.

he isnt playing this week, ive checked all the challengers and he isnt playing any of them this week. i wonder what his next event will be?

Sopot.

ahhh yes, 8th seed i think for the qualies! looks an impressive event for me has alot of players i would like to see, also nice that its wta at the same time.

felix is actually 2nd seed now, he is in the last round of qualies.
1st round Juan Antonio Marin 61 60
2nd round K Kwinta 61 63
final round S roitman

63 62 Felix into the main draw

(Q)F Mantilla (ESP) d (7)A Montanes (ESP) 60 62

vamos!

next up another spaniard, portas

Yes, he can take down Portas. I just hope he doesn't need to save 9 mps to do it this time.

He needs a really good result here, and get back into the top 100.

He has a 5-2 record over Portas, so he should be the man to take him out again.

Vamos Felix, this is a huge chance to make the semi finals at least, now just take care of Portas.

He took care of Portas but that was very close unfortunately, hopefully he can continue his form and make his 1st semi final of the year, it's bad that the winner of Rome last year, has to play here, but it's a start, so vamos Felix.

Felix made the semis which is a good thing, and I hope he can take this title.

There is a minute audio in English from him after his match with Portas.

Mantilla: "Well first of all I'm really happy to have won this match. It was an unbelievably tough match. We know our games very well but he always plays very well against me. If he played like that everytime he would be much better ranked."

"I don't have the big serve that someone like Safin has. I'm smaller, but I have a big heart and a lot of courage. That's why I've played well all my career. The last year, for some reasons, my motivaiton went down and I didn't play with that same courage that I showed today. Two weeks ago I said I must play two or three more years but playing every match giving everything I had."

Does anyone know his next event? he isnt in the us open main draw or qualies :(

Mantilla is on the list to play in Bucharest, and might have to play qualies.

Then after that he is playing in Palermo.

Felix got into the main draw and took out the # 5 seed Davydenko 7-5 6-0.

:clap2: :clap2: keep up the good work Felix and perhaps he can have some good results and possibly win a tournament this year.

09-23-2004 - Felixs birthday :) keep going oldman

Another quarter final appearance, that means some more points for him, and he has Palermo and maybe he can make another quarter final and at least he is back in the top 100 now, and he will make the main draws of the Slams.

felix lost 6-4 7-5 to portas in the first round of the Szczecin challenger :(

shame that was a tough first round for him, compared to some of the people he could have got

Happy birthday felix!!!

Belated happy birthday wishes for Felix.

He is now on the way to playing in Palermo. I hope that he can have another good showing in a tournament that he has won before in the last tour clay event of the season.

for some reason he isnt playing palermo! not in the main draw or even qualies (anyone know why?)

Maybe he is injured and he had to pull out of the tournament.

I wonder if Felix will get a WC or have to qualify for Madrid?

probably have to qualify i should think!

ok 2004 is over, do you think felix will continue playing on the tour?

ok 2004 is over, do you think felix will continue playing on the tour?

Yes, he said he will play for about 2 more seasons. He had some encouraging results in Sopot, and he has had some time off and is playing in the Spanish masters, then it will be work, work and get him right for the Aus season.

I think he will get in directly to the Aus Open and that is something to build on.

when exactly is the Spanish masters this year? mid December?

What is the spanish masters?

it's a tournament held in Barcelona normally in December. It's for the top 8 Spanish guys and the top 8 Spanish girls...last year they couldn't hold it cos they ran out of time...that's why I'm wondering if the same thing will happen again this year since there's the Davis Cup and all...

Ok thanks, seems a good idea! usually on clay or hardcourt?

I hope he is training his arse off somewhere getting prepared to run around the court in the Mantilla style and maybe pull of another good run.

I remember he lost a tough match to Schalken in Chennai and he isn't on the list to play there in Jan. His entry ranking was high enough and I wonder where he is going to play pre-Aus Open and if he plays here, he better not play a favourite of mine.

Since the Davis Cup final is on this week I thought this would be time to reflect on Felix's great DC performance.

Basically what happened was that Spain were relegated to the Playoffs in 1999 and they were drawn against New Zealand and they played them away on a fast Plexipave surface.

What happened was none of the big guys were prepared to travel to NZ to play this match.

Mantilla volunteered and with a team of Clavet, Balcells and Alonso they got Spain back into the World Group.

Mantilla def Mark Nielsen 6-2 3-6 4-6 7-6(2) 6-3. If it wasn't for him winning that first match and giving confidence to the others they wouldn't have been promoted.

After helping them regain World Group status he was dumped in 2000, then again the team rallied and thanked him for his 1999 efforts.

Ok thanks, seems a good idea! usually on clay or hardcourt?

well the last time it was played (in 2002), it was greenset

I saw that Felix is an alternate for Doha, though there are a few above him and he will have to qualify for that tournament.

Then again it's interesting since Chennai had a lower ranking cutoff and Felix could have made the main draw.

have u seen the Dubai player list yet GWH? if so, where can I see it?

have u seen the Dubai player list yet GWH? if so, where can I see it?

It was actually on the tournament thread, and then I went there to look and it's not there. I will try and look again.

I know Federer and Gaudio are playing.

This was the initial list.

Federer, Roger SUI 1
Gaudio, Gaston ARG 10
Grosjean, Sebastien FRA 15
Youzhny, Mikhail RUS 16
Pavel, Andrei ROM 20
Ljubicic, Ivan CRO 22
Lopez, Feliciano ESP 25
El Aynaoui, Younes MAR 27
Davydenko, Nikolay RUS 28
Johansson, Thomas SWE 30
Soderling, Robin SWE 34
Verdasco, Fernando ESP 36
Volandri, Filippo ITA 43
Beck, Karol SVK 45
Ferrer, David ESP 48
Rusedski, Greg GBR 49
Andreev, Igor RUS 50
Nadal, Rafael ESP 51
Santoro, Fabrice FRA 52
Costa, Albert ESP 56
Karlovic, Ivo CRO 59
Arazi, Hicham MAR 60
Koubek, Stefan AUT 62
Lee, Hyung-Taik KOR 65
Muller, Gilles LUX 68

ok cool thanks...I hope Safin and Robredo are added soon

Alternates
1. Sanchez, David ESP 74
2. Dupuis, Antony FRA 79
3. Tursunov, Dmitry RUS 80
4. Hernych, Jan CZE 83
5. Ulihrach, Bohdan CZE 85
6. Kohlschreiber, Philipp GER 92
7. Mantilla, Felix ESP 98
8. Patience, Olivier FRA 120
9. Zib, Tomas CZE 122
10. Vanek, Jiri CZE 126
11. Mahut, Nicolas FRA 129
12. Lisnard, Jean-Rene FRA 130
13. Peya, Alexander AUT 131
14. Karanusic, Roko CRO 132
15. Thomann, Nicolas FRA @132

where did you get it from though? I don't see a tournament thread

I found it while I was reading the Frenchie section as I was looking at the steveg website as well.

do you mean Dubai or Doha? cos I'm talking about Dubai

I made a mistake and I meant Doha and I don't know the Dubai ones are out yet, that's the same week as Acapulco.

phew ok thanks...I was hoping the Dubai one would be a bit better than that...ok, panic over...no matter...thanks anyway!

Dubai usually gets a very good draw and you are trying to go there in 2005.

yeah that's what I thought...yeah I'm going for sure in 2005

I saw their site and it says under construction, but for some reason Agassi is on the front of the page. It's not like they couldn't afford him.

yeah I saw that too...I don't really care if he's going or not so long as Robredo's there

I thought you will see him in Melbourne, then again he normally plays Dubai.

I know Felix made the final there one year.

yes of course I'll see him in Melbourne but I want to see him in Dubai too ;)

yes of course I'll see him in Melbourne but I want to see him in Dubai too ;)

Anyway, you won't have a problem finding me in Melbourne, though I won't always be wearing the Norwegian hat.

George, i am curious to see why you go to the AO when its so far away? unless its one of your favourite tournaments is it?

George, i am curious to see why you go to the AO when its so far away? unless its one of your favourite tournaments is it?

Now I am in Australia and it makes sense, but when I was based at home I used to go there for my work holidays and an excuse to get out of the winter.

It's a great event and I love it.

Felix has committed to the ATP event in Buenos Aires and it looks like he will get into the main draw of the Aus open.

cool...look forward to seeing him in Melbourne

cool...look forward to seeing him in Melbourne

You should have no problem finding me during this tournament. :)

Btw george have a favour to ask for ;) do you have any high res mantilla images? i dont have any yet :(

Btw george have a favour to ask for ;) do you have any high res mantilla images? i dont have any yet :(

No, I don't sorry. I only have those small pics I had earlier and a couple of others.

Ok george, my friend from holland has just found around 20-30 high res images for me, are you interested in having them?

Ok george, my friend from holland has just found around 20-30 high res images for me, are you interested in having them?

Yes I am.

He is playing in Viña Del Mar, then Buenos Aires.

Ok great, do you have yahoo or messenger? then i can send on there

Send it to my email address listed joe.

Great Felix is in the 2nd round, please make the quarters of this tournament.

Its not possible george :D they are 0.5mb files, and there is 20-30 of them. Also if i hosted them on an image site they would be resized and of no use.

hey! :wavey:
does anyone know what felix's schedule looks like?

he's doing the South American circuit for the next few weeks I think...after that I don't know...he might qualify for the US masters?

Buenos Aires and Costa do Sauipe he is playing and I am not sure whether he is in Acapulco as well.

He should be able to move up the rankings as he didn't play much at this time last year.

Yes, he is the first alternate for Acapulco as well.

Felix plays Oscar Hernandez in the 1st round of the tournament in Buenos Aires.

Felix won a few matches, but eventually got taken out in the quarters by:
F. Mantilla 7 4 6

A.Martin 5 6 7
:(

He shouldn't have lost to Martin. I was hoping that he would make the semis at least, he needs to win these kinds of matches.

One thing though he doesn't have to meet Gaudio and that is good for me as I can't really cheer against or for either player in this case.

joe, the link didn't work.

I agree he should be winning matches like that :( another bad loss today:
F. Mantilla 6 6 3

M. A. Vassallo 7 4 6

Ok here are some high res images from rome 03 :) i really like the set, great photos (have been searching for them for a while now).

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/8528/1973771100yq.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1973771100yq.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/8780/1982935107ck.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1982935107ck.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/5695/1988910107ef.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1988910107ef.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/6794/1990434108of.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1990434108of.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/8334/1990449102eb.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1990449102eb.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/4853/1990467103ps.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1990467103ps.jpg)

http://img50.exs.cx/img50/3847/1990585106ct.th.jpg (http://img50.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img50&image=1990585106ct.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/3702/1990587102vi.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=1990587102vi.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/4144/1990658109vh.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=1990658109vh.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/7488/1990664106jl.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=1990664106jl.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/1417/1990682103ms.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=1990682103ms.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/3563/1990728105kd.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=1990728105kd.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/733/2004584109tx.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=2004584109tx.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/2662/2004599109pr.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=2004599109pr.jpg)

http://img134.exs.cx/img134/2573/2004632106ht.th.jpg (http://img134.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img134&image=2004632106ht.jpg)

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/89/2004647105xv.th.jpg (http://img49.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img49&image=2004647105xv.jpg)

http://img49.exs.cx/img49/2048/2020918106tb.th.jpg (http://img49.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img49&image=2020918106tb.jpg)

http://img92.exs.cx/img92/3880/2020947102tr.th.jpg (http://img92.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img92&image=2020947102tr.jpg)

Thanks for the pics they are really cool.

Felix is back in the top 100 which is great, but he really needs to step in this upcoming section of the season and hopefully he can make it 50 or around that, it would be fantastic.

I wonder how many more years felix will continue to play?
Its a shame i discovered him towards the later end of his career. What is his current ranking george?

I think Felix will play another 2 years, then he'll finish up. He is ranked #88 and it could have been so much better, had he made semis instead of quarter finals like the matches he lost against Alberto Martin and Puerta.

Felix is on the list for Valencia and he'll be playing the qualies. I just hope he can get back into some more form and make a main draw for the clay TMS events.

Felix plays the future Wimbledon champion Oscar Hernandez in the 1st round of Valencia.

Felix looks v happy in Valencia... ;)

http://www.open-comunidad-valenciana.com/photos/mantilla_ATP.jpg http://www.open-comunidad-valenciana.com/photos/draw_05.jpg

Felix trounced GWH's Wimby hope Oscar Hernandez 60 62 in R1! :eek: :worship:

Felix killed Oscar that is good to see and now has a huge match against Gonzalez, just hope Gonzo can be off and Felix can run everything down and maybe they should water the court a bit more.

Felix Lost 6-4 6-1 :(

The warrior made it into the main draw of Monte Carlo.

In the first round he took out Patience very easily.

In the last round he lost the first to David Sanchez 3-6 but won the next two 6-3 7-5. He served it for the match at 5-3 and had heaps of break points, he has to convert them in the next matches.

He now plays gasquet in the second round, its on sky interactive so i can watch it! im really happy because i can watch pipo-canas after too! :woohoo:
if he beats gasquet he would probably play canas, and has beaten him quite a few times! after that could be fed! damn i am wishing so much for a fed rematch, such good memories of their last match

Joe, you better watch this one for me as I won't be able to see it.

Damn :( he lost, a silly break in the first game and he didnt really recover until 5-4 i think where he broke back, but then he got broken again! he didnt seem to be playing like he usually does, and his backhand looked weak compared to gasquet. He is usually able to cope with a player with a greater weight of shot, but gasquet kept hitting winners past him (i dont know if he was injured before or not, because i thought he wasnt his normal self) We know he has a better backhand then gasquet but he didnt show it. He was hitting short balls all the time and letting gasquet come to the net and finish it off, he didnt seem to be defending that well either. There were also many chances for gasquet to smash winners past him due to the short balls. Usually im impressed by his backhand by the winners and pressure he applies with it, today it was nothing
At 2-0 first set he had an injury timeout for achilles, that was it match over. 6-1 final set, 75 61

Yes, Mantilla had some movement issues in that match and Gasquet and that was the most frustrating thing about that match.

I hope Felix's leg is alright as he has to play Llodra in the 1st round and his reward for that is a match with Gaudio in the 2nd round.

Felix schooled Llodra in straight sets and then lost to Gaston 6-4 6-2. I have been trying to get reports of that match, but it seems it was a very good performance by Gaston. I couldn't cheer in the match, so I didn't.

Time for Munich now.

George does felix ever play grasscourt warmups such as queens, nottingham etc?

Valencia' photos :)

George does felix ever play grasscourt warmups such as queens, nottingham etc?

No, he wont play.

Wimbledon is the only grass court event he has played :D guess i was lucky to see him then


btw thanks for the two photos :yeah:

why wasnt felix at rome, hes injured?

I am not sure, he should be in the draw at Hamburg and he should have played in Rome if he wasn't injured.

Felix is playing the very strong challenger of PROSTEJOV:
CHALLENGER PROSTEJOV CUT: 124
Zib CZE 61
Sanguinetti ITA 65
Ventura ESP 72
Koubek AUT 75
Hernych CZE 76
Almagro ESP 80
Calatrava ESP 83
Haehnel FRA 88
Mantilla ESP 89
Tabara CZE 97
Nieminen FIN 100
di Mauro ITA 101
Montanes ESP 104
Minar CZE 106
Calleri ARG 107
Ulihrach CZE 108
Simon FRA 114
N.Lapentti ECU 115
G.Lapentti ECU 118
Saretta BRA 119
Serra FRA 120
Falla COL @

Felix is playing in St Pölten as a WC which is interesting since Leitgeb is the tournament director and Muster's old coach and there wasn't much love lost there.

He playes Fogues and is a winnable match for him, hopefully he can do something at RG.

F. Mantilla 7 4 7

M. Puerta 6 6 5


The warrior marches on :woohoo:

Felix beat Zib and then beat Novak in 5 sets just like the warrior he is and now plays Gaudio in the 3rd round.

Hard to decide who i want to win :shrug: felix is my favourite, but i dont think i would want gaudio to go out this early :p

In this case I have to cheer for Gaudio only cause of the venue of this tournament, you'll get these idiots who are looking for him to stuff up.

Who does the winner of this match play?

Who does the winner of this match play?

More than likely it will be Froggy Ferrer.

The bit I love is all the Mantilla fans now just because he is playing Gaudio, yet some of these people whine about double standards when people cheer against their player.

http://www.mariovilla.com/eventi/telecomitaliamasters2004/incontri/images/felix_mantilla.jpg

From the match against Novak.

Felix retired in his match today, 4-5 :shrug: anyone know why?

Felix lost to Coria in the 2nd rd of Umag05 today, but here's a photo of him at the autograph stand :)

http://www.croatiaopen.hr/dokumenti/Clanci/mantilla_velika.jpg

Felix lost to that weasel Coria in 3 sets yet again. I wish they'd play over 5 sets, it's frustrating, yet encouraging that there is some life in the warrior at the moment, as long as he finishes within the top 100 and will play in Australia next season.

Just a shame he gets coria twice in a few weeks so early on, but i suppose that will happen when he has a bad ranking.

Mantilla now plays coria in the 1st round of the usopen :sad: 3rd time in as many months! At least we will get to watch felix :woohoo: i cant see coria playing on a court other than the five they are covering on sky interactive.

I've decided to refresh the thread as I haven't heard any news about Felix. Anybody knows what's going on and why he's not playing? Does he have an injury?

He hasn't announced his retirement, but I don't think we will be seeing him play again.

:sad: He was always funny to watch and so open-hearted... Even after a lost match he always knew how to thank the people and so he was adored here in Poland... I'm gonna miss him a lot, but I still hope I can see him play...

Looking doubtful if we will ever hear a retirement announcement :eek:

He has slipped away quietly and no more Felix Mantilla on the courts as a pro player. He came in quietly and left the same way.

:sad: I think almagro will now be my number 1 spanish interest, a shame to see him go though.

some Felix news.. (i've translated below)

Félix Mantilla se plantea regresar a las pistas

29/11/06 03:00 h. El tenista barcelonés Félix Mantilla, retirado desde hace unos años por una enfermedad, comentó ayer que se plantea volver a jugar competiciones una vez adquiera la forma física idónea. El tenista, de 32 años, dijo en Catalunya Ràdio que “he estado luchando contra un cáncer de piel. Eso te hace ver las cosas de manera diferente, pero estoy mucho mejor y me planteo regresar a las pistas”

Basically saying Felix is planning on returning to the courts after being forced to retire a few years ago through illness. He told Catalunya Radio yesterday he had been fighting skin cancer. It had made him see things differently, but he's feeling better and plans to return to the courts.

I had no idea he'd had cancer :eek: poor guy!! I hope he gets fit again soon and comes back...he's a great guy!

Em, what is the official link please of the above info?

Thanks for that news and I'd love to see him back.

no worries Nils, here's the link

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/20061129/NOTICIA240826704.html

no worries Nils, here's the link

http://www.elmundodeportivo.es/20061129/NOTICIA240826704.html

Gracias and I posted it on GM.

I mean there are about 10 fans, lets see how many he has.

oooh this is sad news :sad:

Gracias and I posted it on GM.

I mean there are about 10 fans, lets see how many he has.

lol yeah...i guess some ppl won't know who he is..

http://www.tenispain.es/tenispain/fotos/fotos2006/absequesp06/images/f11890.jpg

Cto. de España por Equipos Absolutos 2006 (http://www.tenispain.es/tenispain/fotos/fotos.php?carpeta=fotos2006/absequesp06&&titulo=Cto.%20de%20Espa%C3%B1a%20por%20Equipos%20A bsolutos%202006&&an=2006)

thanks for the pic Sjoukje! he looks good!

Well, I just saw this and thought you guys maybe would like to send him messages:
http://www.tennisafondo.es/scripts/

Right column "Preguntale a Félix Mantilla"
Click on Félix Mantilla and a message window appears.
It's a Spanish magazine but there seems to be no problem writing messages in English. Sometimes they translate English into Spanish, other times not.

This is a monthly thing and runs normally by middle of the month - middle of February this time.

EDIT:
They choose some messages and publish them on the next(?) issue. Not 100% sure but looks like they give all the messages to the player.

Tennis A Fondo, February 2007

Thanks a lot for that article scan Carlita, sadly I can't speak a word of Spanish. I won't ask people to translate it :devil: but what is the main headline/story?

There is a Mantilla thread on GM, that should help you.

Maybe some people have questions to Mantilla?

Félix Mantilla
Tenista
Jueves, 01-03-2007 - 12:00h.
http://www.elpais.com/edigitales/entrevista.html?encuentro=2597&k=Felix_Mantilla

Felix is back :)

Monza Challenger Qualies

(3)Julio Silva (BRA) vs Dejan Katic (SRB)
Andrei Golubev (RUS) vs Felix Mantilla (ESP)
Tomas Behrend (GER) vs Alberto Brizzi (ITA)
(8)Tobias Summerer (GER) vs Giancarlo Petrazzuolo (ITA)

and he beat Golubev...great start for Felix. So happy to see him back on the circuit!! vamos!

Felix def. Arnaboldi 6-3 6-1 :)

next Eschauer

anyone know why he retired in the 2nd round?

anyone know why he retired in the 2nd round?

Right shoulder. I think it could be just overuse, cause he has played a lot of matches in a short time.

YAY for Felix! I'm so happy he's back :yeah:

so glad to see Felix got a WC in Barcelona...he deserves it. He gets a qualie so hopefully he can make it to the 2nd round! vamos Felix!

http://www.openseatbarcelona.com/3/en/photogallery/2007/day1/b5.jpg

good to see he came through against Dustov...now it's Moya...a nice battle of the older generation :)

Prag Singles Main Draw

(1)Sergio Roitman (ARG) v (SE)Bohdan Ulihrach (CZE)
Ivo Minar (CZE) v Fernando Vicente (ESP)
(wc)Karol Dusan (CZE) v Q/LL
George Bastl (SUI) v (7)Ivan Navarro Pastor (ESP)

(4)Jan Hernych (CZE) v Jiri Vanek (CZE)
Lukasz Kubot (POL) v Raemon Sluiter (NED)
Q/LL v Andre Sa (BRA)
Ramon Delgando (PAR) v (5)Danai Udomchoke (THA)

(6)Lukas Dlouhy (CZE) v (wc)Dusan Lojda (CZE)
Robin Haase (NED) v Q/LL
Oliver Marach (AUT) v (wc)Martin Durdik (SVK)
Robin Vik (CZE) v (3)Jan Hajek (CZE)

(8)Alex Bogdanovic (GBR) v Jan Mertl (CZE)
Q/LL v Konstantinos Economidis (GRE)
Tomas Zib (CZE) v (wc)Felix Mantilla (ESP)
Ricardo Mello (BRA) v (2)Diego Hartfield (ARG)

Prague is a good challenger...vamos Felix!

He deserve a WC for Roland Garros

yeah..i hope he can get one! but the French don't really like the Spanish players too much..

Felix won't get a WC to RG, if he got one to qualies, that would be huge enough.

Felix is into the final of Reggio Emilia and he plays....Olivier Patience :)

Was good to see him in Amersfoort :yeah: took lots of pics :)

he was very friendly :)

cool Sjoukje...feel free to post the pics here when you get a moment!

:D of course

Robin! :(

14 July 2007, 1st round qualies Amersfoort

part 2

part 3

more later :)

Thanks for the photos Carlita.

:) you're welcome.

these are from the 2nd round qualies

part 2

part 3

last ones :)

wow great pics! thanks Sjoukje! :kiss:

http://www.atptennis.com/1/en/2008news/mantilla_retires.asp
ATP PLAYER NEWS

April 7, 2008
Mantilla Retires from Professional Tennis

Former Top 10 player Felix Mantilla has announced his retirement from professional tennis, a year after returning to the ATP circuit following his successful fight against skin cancer.

The 33-year-old Mantilla captured his final title in 2003 at the ATP Masters Series event in Rome, but he celebrated one of his most significant victories last year in his hometown event in Barcelona when he defeated Uzbekistani Farrukh Dustov in the first round.

When a wrist injury forced him to visit the doctor instead of attending a two-month training camp in Cuba in late 2005, the Spaniard learned that he had a cancerous mole on his back - which left undiagnosed could have been fatal. Mantilla had the mole removed and a follow-up biopsy showed he was cancer-free, but he still elected to sit out the 2006 season.

He said: "It was more psychological. I was afraid to be playing. I didn't like it. Maybe it's the reaction that happens when you have the shock, the doctor tells you that you can die and you say, 'Wait, I am going to try to enjoy my life like I want.' In that moment, tennis was not the first priority."

But last April, a No. 1009-ranked Mantilla decided to step back onto the courts for the first time in 18 months, first at a Challenger event in Italy and then the ATP event in Barcelona.

"I didn’t want to end my career in that moment [his cancer scare]," said Mantilla after his first round win in Barcelona. "I was a fighter during all my years and I wanted to decide to finish when I want, not in that moment. That’s why I came back. It’s important for me, also to be back out in the sun, how I react.

"Now, in this moment I am enjoying more the small things. The [first-round] win is bigger for me maybe than winning tournaments before. Maybe people don’t understand that but if I understand that myself, it’s enough."

It proved Mantilla's last match win at the ATP-level, as he fell in his opening round matches in his appearances at Amersfoort and Umag in July. In June, he came up just shy of the Challenger title in Reggio Emilia, Italy, losing to Frenchman Olivier Patience in a third set tie-break.

Mantilla compiled a 313-218 ATP match record and 10 clay titles during his professional tennis career, enjoying his most successful season in 1997, when he won a career-high five titles in six finals and posted 42 clay victories. A year later, he broke into the Top 10 after reaching a Grand-Slam best semifinals at Roland Garros.

He'll be missed :sad:
I wish him all the best for the future!