If you believe in parallel universes, then there is a universe in which Michael Floyd is a professional tennis player. In fact, he’s so good he’s playing Pat Rafter in the final of the US Open.
Michael recounts, “I’m sitting back watching Lleyton Hewitt and Pat Rafter and thinking: maybe? It could have been? But probably not!”
He has a recurring dream where he’s playing Pat Rafter in the final at Flushing Meadows and it’s two-sets all, he’s up 6-5 in the fifth, and is serving for the match. He draws a deep breath to bring his nerves under control, bends his body at the hips to prepare to serve, then looks up and allows himself a brief moment to eyeball Rafter. His opponent has sweat pouring down his brow, he’s drawing deep breaths into his swollen chest. He looks a beaten man.
Michael soaks it up, a sense of satisfaction wells up inside, then he reverts to his serving routine. Head down, the ball in his left hand, the racquet in his right and three, always three, bounces. He tosses the ball in the air; arches his back as he pulls the racquet back behind his head and rises onto his toes. His body is now fully stretched as he pulls the racquet up to meet the ball at the precise moment it reaches the zenith of its rise. The sound is sweet as the racquet and the ball meet….
“That’s when I wake up. I always wake up at that moment.”
At the age of fifteen, Michael was a promising tennis player and was tapped on the shoulder “by a fairly well known coach at the time” to make a decision about his future.
Reflecting on that moment, Michael says, “at the age of fifteen I don’t know that anyone has the maturity to make a well-thought out decision around that kind of issue. That’s life-changing, significantly life-changing!
“So with my parents who have been, and continue to be, a fairly strong guiding light in my life, we decided it was best for me to focus on education.”