IRVING, Texas — He swore he could get a point, maybe two, off Mark Knowles in a set on the indoor tennis courts at
Las Colinas Sports Club. He put $200 on the line and got skunked. Zero points. Not even close. A Golden Set is the term for the winner. A shut out. — a young Val Kilmer lookalike — grinned. What’s a guy gonna do He was facing a buddy, yes. But when that buddy is one half of the world’s third-ranked doubles team “You know, he’s on his game now,” Mallinger smiled. Actually, they both are. Just on different surfaces. Knowles is headed to Paris tomorrow for the French Open, the second leg of tennis’ Grand Slam, where he’ll play with partner Mahesh Bhupathi.
“You know, I’m just going to keep doing what I’m doing,” Mallinger said. “I know it’s going to be tough. Rory is a hometown guy. There’s a lot of guys rooting for him. But I’ve got some buddies that can get pretty loud out there too.”