Family Rivalry & Sabotage? Quad Biking In Marrakech

It is fair to say that many matches on the ATP World Tour are like wild rides with many momentum shifts and plenty of ups and downs. But before the action got started this week at the Grand Prix Hassan II in Marrakech, some of the tournament’s stars got to enjoy a new kind of wild ride.

Radu Albot, Pablo Andujar, Kyle Edmund, Robin Haase, Matwe Middelkoop and Gilles Simon ventured just outside of the city Sunday afternoon into the Palmeraie district, where they rode quad bikes.

“It’s nice to go out of the city and drive around the Palmeraie. It was good fun,” said Edmund, the second seed in Morocco. “When I go to South Africa we do similar things with the family and I always enjoy it a lot. It was nice to do this together with my team.”

It was great fun for all, even if Haase’s quad bike broke down due to technical issues.

“Maybe a player sabotaged my brakes,” joked Haase, who is the only player seeded in both singles (No. 5) and doubles (No. 4 w/ Middelkoop).

After the festivities, all the players and their guests got to partake in the local culture, as they were served traditional Moroccan mint tea and some pancakes after the ride.

For some players, the activity provided valuable bonding experience. Simon, who would go on to save a match point before winning his opening-round match Monday against sixth seed Benoit Paire, got to ride with his son, Timothée, who was born during the 2010 US Open.

“It was fun and my family enjoyed it a lot. My son was on the bike with me and we had good fun,” Simon said, breaking for a laugh. “He’s an excellent driver.”