Duke athletes hail from far and wide—including several countries currently competing in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. This is part one in a running series:
Duke Tennis' Alain Michel, a rising senior, competed in 13 singles matches this year, as well as many doubles matches with partner Torsten Wietoska. Michel hails from Sao Paulo, Brazil, whose team was last seen dismantling Ivory Coast, 3-1. His answers, in normal font, come from an email exchange.
How closely are you following this 2010 World Cup?
I usually watch two out of the three daily games, so I would say very closely.
With a team like Switzerland recently beating Spain, this looks to be a wide open WC year, and anywhere from 6 to 10 teams look like they have the talent necessary to make a run to the final. Who's your pick?
I would still say Brazil, for its experience in the tournament.
What would've been the national reaction if Brazil had lost that game to the US in the Confederation Cup?
It would have been pretty bad, and the press would be very harsh about it, but what people care about most here in Brazil is the World Cup. The whole country stops to watch it, and that is all people talk about during the month. When or if Brazil loses in the WC then the whole population feels depressed for the next few months. We don't expect anything but winning it.
Much has been made of Dunga's approach to international football— that he focuses too much on the result and not enough on the traditional flashy football, especially after he left Ronaldinho and Neymar off the WC roster. If Brazil wins ugly, is that okay with you?
Yes, despite enjoying watching some very talented players from our country playing the beautiful soccer they can, I only care about the win.
With such a focus placed on winning with style in football, is that something you think about with tennis as well?
Not really, tennis is a very different game where one single point can change the whole match, so there is not too much space to focus on winning with style. You just have to win.
Group G is considered by many to be the toughest group in the tournament. Do you think that will provide Brazil a good warm-up for a deep run?
Definitely. The fact that Brazil is having some tough games already in its group makes the team tougher and humbler for the next rounds of the tournament.
The World Cup comes to Brazil in four years (the Olympics are on the way, too). Are you looking forward to that already?
I cannot wait for that. I want to watch as many games as possible in 2014.
Next up: Rising sophomore fencer Charles Marquardt, a Windsor, Great Britain native.
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