Man Wielding A Dangerous Weapon

Sudsy Monchik loves freedom, hates tyranny. We know this because his favorite film is Braveheart, the Oscar-winning kilt-fest about 13th-century Scottish freedom fighter Sir William Wallace. "If I'd lived in Wallace's time, I would have been pillaging right at his side," says the 20th-century Staten Island racquetball player. "William Wallace was the Man!"

Monchik preps for matches by watching Braveheart (he travels with the video), has memorized long stretches of Braveheart dialogue, has even installed a Braveheart screen saver on his laptop. Boot up the computer, and out spews Wallace's rousing pep talk before the Battle of Stirling Bridge. Shut it down and you hear, "Every man dies; not every man really lives."

As Sudsy sees it, the reel-life Wallace is not so different from the real-life Monchik. Both are brash charmers who display an insouciant impudence. "In the movie Wallace combined cockiness with confidence," Monchik says. "What he believed in, he fought for." Monchik believes mostly in himself, and he fights to maintain his place atop the pro racquetball tour. His diving, vaulting, crowd-rousing rallies are Wallacian in their fury: He has gouged, hacked and hewed his way to the No. 1 ranking in three of the last four seasons. "My racket is my sword, my slicer and dicer," he says. He tilts his head back and closes his eyes, his posture for expounding at length. "I'm pals with each opponent I face, but once the door closes, I want to rip out his eyes and step on his trachea."

Monchik, 24, is 5'9", with a pale, rubbery face and large staring eyes of a blazing fluorescent green. "Sudsy schmoozes with everyone and never gets in a bad mood," says fellow pro Jason Mannino, a friend since childhood. "Even at his most obnoxious, he's totally lovable."

A totally lovable homeboy. Until this month he still lived with his parents. "I just moved in with my fianc�e, Lisa," he says. "She's really understanding—even let me hang a Braveheart poster on the refrigerator." They are getting married on July 10, in Bermuda. Does she know what she's in for? "Come on, she's got the Messiah!," he says, incredulous. "She's seen me play! I own 'em once they see me play. I'm where the action is."

He has been an action guy since he was a little Mon chick. "Even as a baby they tell me I didn't crawl: I sprinted," he says. "There was no walking involved."

Monchik's moniker was hung on him in utero. His father, a New York City cop, came up with Sudsy while the boy was still submerged in amniotic fluid. "I used to say my nickname came from licking the foam off the Mc tops of beers as a toddler" says Sudsy, whose given name is Walter. "The truth is Go I don't drink beer—can't stand the taste. But if Budweiser or Coors wants to sponsor hit me, I'll drink all they want me to."

As it turns out, Monchik isn't his birth name, either. When Sudsy was five his parents divorced, and he went to live with his mother and her new husband, Allen Monchik. Sudsy's stepfather had a stake in several local health clubs: At age seven the tyke wandered into the racquetball courts and started banging a ball around. Seeing the boy's interest, the elder Monchik hired pro Ruben Gonzalez to give the younger Monchik lessons.

Racquetball came easy to Sudsy. "Too easy," says Gonzalez, who was ranked No. 1 on the pro circuit in 1988. At practice Gonzalez began asking the boy if he was tired. If Sudsy said yes, he would have to pay Gonzalez a dollar. "I realized the only way to keep my allowance was to keep saying no," says Sudsy, "even if I was throwing up my guts. Ruben hoped that by training me that way, stamina and consistency would develop."

They did develop, quickly. Sudsy became the greatest junior player in the sport's history, winning national titles in every age division from eight to 18. He also became the sport's greatest junior prankster. If a hotel fountain started foaming over or a bottle rocket blasted out a hotel window, Sudsy would be the prime suspect. "I would always get blamed for everything," he says. "Everyone knew I knew who was responsible, but I would never rat."