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The common courtesy of an apology to the opponent in a moment of fortune is fairly unique to tennis. You rarely see a hand up in one’s regrets for a fortuitously shinned shot into the goal; nor for a shanked golf drive rebounding off the trees and onto the fairway. Perhaps it’s the sport’s genuine adversarial nature which affords this refreshing sign of affability in the heat of battle. Do they mean it? Who knows – but the simple hand signal is enough.
