Batata Clerc’s confessions: from his darkest days to the pending accounts with Vilas that to this day he is still hurt.

The figure of José Luis Clerc has not been understood for generations, and his name has always been present among the great names of Argentine tennis. At 63 years old, Batata currently acts as a sports commentator, and just as he did in sports, he also knows how to make a place for himself on television. The winner of the 25 ATP title chatted on the Todo Pasa program, from Urban Playand left some very strong titles.

The second Argentine tennis player with the most commitments, able to stand out during the time with him the figure of Guillermo Vilasand in remembering the high points of his career, many will remember the Davis Cup final in which Argentina fell to the United States, in 1981.

The fact is that Clerc is more intimate than ever, and talked about everything on the Urbana Play program. In this way, Batata clarified that he had to live with more complex things, many times unrelated to tennisand that ended up compromising their mental health for nearly two decades.

“I had a panic attack for 16 years after I stopped playing tennis. I took it as a life lesson. I don’t know what everyday life is, what we have now“, thus bringing up a debate that has become very relevant in recent years, of athletes and the importance of taking care of their mental health.

“Speaking of anxiety, I could give a class to anyone. I had tachycardia, my coach -Pato Rodríguez- was gone, he was my cable on the ground. I hugged it. He is my friend, my father, my manager, my coach, everything. So I started with a massive tachycardia“.

“When the head is thinking nothing, you are on the divine button, the head is thinking too much, that is what happened to me. I had a panic attack for 16 years. These are difficult moments when one says ‘I’m going to kill myself’. I can’t see my children, I always have to have someone by my side to be my support in case something happens to me, “added Clerc.

The words of the historical tennis player were added to many athletes, who began to give more and more importance to the mental health of athletes. As for what anxiety means in his life, Clerc is frank, stating: “What is anxiety? It is death. That’s what’s running through your mind. And nothing happens, absolutely nothing. They are all ideas. “

“Ideas when you do something crazy you don’t think about it, you do it. It’s a life lesson and if it will work for these people who are listening to you, I send you my solidarity, my love, my love, don’t worry, relax, let the flow, these are just thoughts, ”reveals Batata, who makes these statements more than 3 decades after his retirement.

The former tennis player manages to have an in-depth conversation about that complex stage, and in the same way, he explains that he found the answer with professional help: “In the United States I met a psychiatrist who treated me and I said ‘there is a different life’. I couldn’t even water the plant. Now I am a happy man mowing the grass, watering, talking to you “

Clerc, victim of violent theft

In the interview, Clerc also recalls in detail a stressful stage, where he suffered violent theft inside his own homeback in 2018. “They hit me, they punished, they hit me. Seriously. They scare you, you have no reaction,” he said.

“My daughter was with a little friend. ‘Go up, lie down facing’. The balls! I didn’t drop myself because I wanted to see the girls. Two entered the dressing room, one holding a weapon there. I have a little daughter, Sofi is 9 years old. Me telling the girls: ‘Don’t worry, they’re my friends’. The guys don’t believe you anything, they catch everything on the fly, but what can I tell them?

“It’s really hard. I was really calm, I was enlightened by the above. At one point they told me to give me everything or I’ll take your daughter and then: ‘Don’t worry, you see, everything should be there, they told me where things are, if where is the money, where is the jewelry. ay. I always get cold. These are the moments where a person needs to be very calm.“, He added.

Regarding how the robbery was planned, and the outcome of the investigation, Clerc expressed the following: “There was another vehicle outside waiting for them. The funny thing about all of this was that I was alone mowing the lawn at home, leaving. my wife. with my brother. I have cameras everywhere in my house and now more and more, security and everything. “

“They entered with a key. You should ask yourself: How did they get in with the key? They entered with a key. They did a massive investigation into the woman who worked until three days ago, who has since retired. So the suspicion is him but it’s not him … I don’t know how they did it, they got into a house in the North Zone of San Isidro or Martínez that is exactly the same as my house ”.

Certainly these cameras mentioned by the main character, have been key to solving this and several similar cases, and led to the arrest of criminals. Batata adds the following: “Thanks to the cameras they’ve identified the jets. They’re prisoners, fortunately. They say it’s a gang dedicated to it.”

“I got her out of everything cheap. One of them, who was the brother-in-law of the one who threatened me, slapped me, raped a man inside the cana. ‘Those are the kids with me. Home! Then go to them … My voice is still shaking. The lawyer defending one of them told me: how did you find out? ‘I got goosebumps’ I told himClerc is closed.

His bond with Vilas

Not caring about the statements of his stage as a professional, Clerc also left a few words about his relationship with Guillermo Vilas, who is moving away from public life due to a health issue. “I miss Guillermo so much, I love him, I admire him. I fought a lot with him. I called him and told him that my husband was organizing an event. ‘I’m going’. I froze, ”he said.

“I made friends with my daughter. Life often put these things on the table for you. Sofi is hard of hearing, she is a happy girl who listens perfectly, who speaks perfectly and he helped me. I was surprised at the gesture because we weren’t talking, we were so hostile. I don’t even want to see. The envy of the competition, our coaches … I called him to say I needed him“.

“I’m saying now, that’s wrong, because I would like to be by his side. It excites me because Guillermo Vilas is part of my life. He is the brother I never had and he left very quickly. I love, I want. How many stupid things many times when one is involved in a sport as competitive as tennis … It’s a hunchback sport, ”Clerc closed.