27th February, 2000
Hard work Thorpe's only crime
The issue of drug abuse is rarely far from the public agenda these days. Virtually as soon as a sportsperson forges to international prominence and success, rumours begin to circulate.
Swimmer Ian Thorpe is the latest victim. His only crime is cashing in on natural talent and years of hard work.
For some people that formula is not enough, so they drag their sport and innocent athletes through the mud with their drug taking antics.
From what I can tell, Thorpe is a champion who handles himself awfully well, especially for a teenager with so much success already.
Most athletes are the victim of malicious rumours at some time in their careers.
In the US a couple of years ago a certain player was telling people I was using drugs.
It didn't seem to matter that I'd had a similarly good run the previous year in the lead up to my first US Open win and that the US summer hardcourt circuit is one of my favourite times of the year.
This guy wanted to believe there was something sinister happening. Too bad about all the hard work I'd done with Muddy Waters and Tony Roche.
Typically, the bloke didn't have the guts to raise the issue with me and, to be honest, I couldn't be bothered giving him the time of day.
Hopefully Ian Thorpe can put the rubbish to one side and win Olympic gold in Sydney in September.
Shane Warne has had to live in the public eye more often than most, as the New Zealand cricket tour has already shown.
People want to see how far they can push him and it is obvious the Kiwis love to bait him.
You have to sympathise with the guy. Nobody deserves to have a radio station putting them live on air at 7am when there's a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the door.
Warney likes to talk from the hip a little bit and, unfortunately, it's hard to do that in public.
I've used false names at hotels to protect my privacy because there are some pretty scary people out there who want a piece of you.
A desire for privacy is one of the main reasons I live in Bermuda.
The island is not only convenient to Europe and America, but the people have a different attitude towards me. Nobody gets in my face and they respect my space.
If it wasn't that way, I wouldn't stay here. The fact is, I've just bought a new place and I love it here.
I'll be spending more time in Bermuda over the next few years with the increased number of breaks I intend takingbetween tournaments.
I'm finally ready to play singles again, in Delray Beach this week. It's been a long, frustrating haul back from the shoulder operation but I'm ready to go.
I rate my serving at about 85-90 per cent I'm satisfied with my groundstrokes and I'm hopeful or getting a couple of matches under my belt on the green clay.
If everything goes well, I'll be playing Scottsdale, Indian Wells and Key Biscayne before the Davis Cup quarter final against Germany in Adelaide.