MELBOURNE, Australia - This should have been just the next chapter of their rivalry, another highlight in their decade-long head-to-head opus. As Andre Agassi finished off the 1995 Australian Open with an ace on match point, beating Pete Sampras in the final, their rivalry looked like it was as even as ever. Instead, Agassi's third major championship ended up being the high point for many years, the spot when the wave started to roll back.
You never would have expected the careers of Agassi and Sampras to take such diverging paths after the final in Melbourne on January 29, 1995. Agassi won the final in four sets, completely controlling the match from his normal position on the baseline, moving Sampras around the court like he was on the a string. After the match, Sampras, then the world's top-ranked player, admitted that he simply lost to a better player that day, that he didn't have a chance when Agassi was at his best.
After Agassi's Australian Open victory, the personal score between the two men was 7-6 in favor of Sampras. Sampras also had more major victories, five to Agassi's three, but both men were now missing only the French Open from their goal of a career Grand Slam. Both men were young - still in their 20s, even - and both were at the top of their game. With their contrasting styles - Sampras the epitome of powerful serve-and-volley tennis, Agassi the best return man in the world and the man who stayed on the baseline to wear down his opponents - this looked like the rivalry that would define tennis for a generation.
And then it fell apart.
After his win in Australia, Agassi beat Sampras two more times before they met in the U.S. Open final later that year. Sampras won, evening up their head-to-head record at 8-8. And from there, Agassi disappeared. Vanished from the top level of tennis, for reasons that seemed mysterious at the time. After the fact, Agassi admitted that the loss to Sampras in the U.S. Open destroyed his confidence. He started taking crystal meth, and he disappeared from competitive tennis.
Agassi started working his way back, but in that time, Sampras turned their personal rivalry one-sided. For the rest of the 90s, Sampras held a 9-3 edge in head-to-head matchups. A rivalry that had started out so even, in which the question of who was better would cause a legitimate debate, had turned lopsided. There was no question who was better now.
After Agassi found his way back from the wilderness, he beat Sampras three times in a row to even up the score a little bit. He salvaged the rivalry with a late-career resurgance, and we are able to look back now and admire how those two, for the most part, brought out the best in each other. Arguements about who was better still always point to Sampras and his 14 career Grand Slam titles, but detractors can always mention the fact that Agassi won the French Open that Sampras never could, that Agassi won the Olympic gold medal that Sampras never could.
It's still considered one of the greatest individual rivalries in tennis history, but it could have been so much more.
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tennis. Show all posts
Friday, January 28, 2011
Sunday, August 29, 2010
August 29, 1968: Ashe's first grand slam
QUEENS, N.Y. - In 1968, the four prominient tennis majors all became open to both professional and amateur players. However, it took one extra year for a pro to win the U.S. Open for the first time, as Arthur Ashe, a 25-year-old lieutenant in the Army beat Tom Okker of the Netherlands in the final to win his first Grand Slam championship.
Ashe's win was much more than just a personal achievement. By besting the first field featuring professionals, Ashe became the first African-American to win any of the Grand Slam championships. He had become a pioneer of his race the same summer that Martin Luther King had been killed.
Ashe was always well aware of his race and appreciative of what minorities had to go through for equal acceptance. Growing up in segregated Richmond, Virginia, Ashe moved to St. Louis so he wouldn't have to travel as far to play white players. As his fame grew, no doubt by his Open win, he became a prominient figure in race relations, meeting with president Reagan and other world leaders. Ashe was even arrested twice, once for protesting Apartheid outside South Africa's embassy, and once for for protesting recent crackdowns on Haitian refugees.
But it was his end-of-life battle with AIDS that made Ashe most famous of all. He contracted the disease during a 1982 heart surgery, then lived privately with the disease for a decade. It wasn't until 1992, when his appearance started to become noticibly frail, that Ashe came forward and admitted he had AIDS. For the last year of his life, Ashe dedicated himself to raising funds and awareness for AIDS, doing as much or more for that cause as he did for race relations in his earlier life.
Ashe died in 1993, just 9 months after publically revealing his disease. When he died, his body laid in state in the governor's mansion in Richmond, an honor that hadn't been bestowed on anybody in Virginia since Stonewall Jackson. He also had a statue of him place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, a place normally reserved for heroes of the Confederacy. Nationally, he was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the main stadium at the U.S. Open, where all final matches are held, is called Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It's possible that Ashe could have had as much impact on the world as he did even if he hadn't been famous as a tennis star. But there's no doubt that his signature victory at the 1968 U.S. Open helped open some doors and make many of his later contributions possible.
Ashe's win was much more than just a personal achievement. By besting the first field featuring professionals, Ashe became the first African-American to win any of the Grand Slam championships. He had become a pioneer of his race the same summer that Martin Luther King had been killed.
Ashe was always well aware of his race and appreciative of what minorities had to go through for equal acceptance. Growing up in segregated Richmond, Virginia, Ashe moved to St. Louis so he wouldn't have to travel as far to play white players. As his fame grew, no doubt by his Open win, he became a prominient figure in race relations, meeting with president Reagan and other world leaders. Ashe was even arrested twice, once for protesting Apartheid outside South Africa's embassy, and once for for protesting recent crackdowns on Haitian refugees.
But it was his end-of-life battle with AIDS that made Ashe most famous of all. He contracted the disease during a 1982 heart surgery, then lived privately with the disease for a decade. It wasn't until 1992, when his appearance started to become noticibly frail, that Ashe came forward and admitted he had AIDS. For the last year of his life, Ashe dedicated himself to raising funds and awareness for AIDS, doing as much or more for that cause as he did for race relations in his earlier life.
Ashe died in 1993, just 9 months after publically revealing his disease. When he died, his body laid in state in the governor's mansion in Richmond, an honor that hadn't been bestowed on anybody in Virginia since Stonewall Jackson. He also had a statue of him place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, a place normally reserved for heroes of the Confederacy. Nationally, he was posthumously given the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and the main stadium at the U.S. Open, where all final matches are held, is called Arthur Ashe Stadium.
It's possible that Ashe could have had as much impact on the world as he did even if he hadn't been famous as a tennis star. But there's no doubt that his signature victory at the 1968 U.S. Open helped open some doors and make many of his later contributions possible.
Monday, July 5, 2010
July 5, 1980: The Tiebreak
WIMBLEDON, England - The two couldn't have been more different. Bjorn Borg was known as the Ice Man, a calm, stoic Swede who won tournaments by pounding the ball past players from the baseline, using an unorthodox two-handed backhand to perfection in the late 70s and early 80s. John McEnroe was the loud-mouthed, obnoxious American, never afraid to yell at an official, who beat opponents with a powerful left-handed volley and liked to play at the net.
They were at different stages of their careers, as well, as they walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon for the championship match in 1980. Borg was the well-respected four-time defending champion, trying to etch his name in the history books as the first man to win five straight professional majors. McEnroe was the up-and-coming star, playing in his first Wimbledon final.
McEnroe won the first set handily before dropping the second and third to Borg. But those sets were just the prologue to the fourth set, one of the most famous in tennis history. With Borg trying every trick in the book, McEnroe kept fighting off match points. As the set went longer and longer - and as per Wimbledon rules, there would be no tiebreak - McEnroe eventually fought off five match points before finally winning the fourth set 18-16.
While he was able to keep the match alive in the most dramatic fasion possible, the length of the fourth set may have taken its toll on McEnroe. With Borg known as the most intense trainer of his time, it's perhaps no surprise that he was able to bounce back to win the fifth set, and the championship, 8-6.
The 1980 Wimbledon final was Borg's fifth and final Wimbledon championship. Borg and McEnroe met again in the final the next year, with McEnroe winning the championship in a rather pedestrian four sets.
They were at different stages of their careers, as well, as they walked onto Centre Court at Wimbledon for the championship match in 1980. Borg was the well-respected four-time defending champion, trying to etch his name in the history books as the first man to win five straight professional majors. McEnroe was the up-and-coming star, playing in his first Wimbledon final.
McEnroe won the first set handily before dropping the second and third to Borg. But those sets were just the prologue to the fourth set, one of the most famous in tennis history. With Borg trying every trick in the book, McEnroe kept fighting off match points. As the set went longer and longer - and as per Wimbledon rules, there would be no tiebreak - McEnroe eventually fought off five match points before finally winning the fourth set 18-16.
While he was able to keep the match alive in the most dramatic fasion possible, the length of the fourth set may have taken its toll on McEnroe. With Borg known as the most intense trainer of his time, it's perhaps no surprise that he was able to bounce back to win the fifth set, and the championship, 8-6.
The 1980 Wimbledon final was Borg's fifth and final Wimbledon championship. Borg and McEnroe met again in the final the next year, with McEnroe winning the championship in a rather pedestrian four sets.
Friday, June 25, 2010
June 25, 1969: The best you've never heard of
WIMBLEDON, England - Ask knowledgeable modern tennis fans to name the best players of all time, and the lists produced would be pretty similar; names like Federer, Nadal, Sampras, Agassi, McEnroe, Borg, Ashe, and Laver would show up time and again. But what about the name of Pancho Gonzalez? Unlikely.
Gonzalez, perhaps more than any other great tennis player, was a victim of timing. When he was in the prime of his career, in the 1950s and 60s, professionals weren't allowed to compete in the Grand Slam events. So despite being considered the best player in the world - in fact, being ranked number 1 for eight consecutive years - Gonzalez only won two Grand Slam events before turning pro, depriving himself of scores of others. Roger Federer holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles with 16, but Gonzalez likely would have approached that record; he won seven straight U.S. Pro championships and 12 overall Professional Grand Slam events. But again, they weren't the Open events that we know today, so he doesn't get credit in the history books.
Once the Grand Slam events opened up to professionals in 1968, Gonzalez was 40 and well past his prime. He still put his name in the Grand Slam history books in 1969 when he played what was at that point the longest tennis match in history, coming from behind to beat Puerto Rican Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9 in the first round at Wimbledon.
That match seems like nothing now compared to the just-completed match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, but at the time, it was grueling. Gonzalez showed a bit of his famous fiery personality when he complained after the first set that the match should be postponed because of darkness. Upset at having to continue, Gonzalez virtually threw the second set before the match was finally postponed, forcing the two to come back the next day. On June 25, Gonazalez won three straight sets from Pasarell, saving nine match points in the process, to advance.
Gonzalez was knocked out by Arthur Ashe in the fourth round of that tournament, never to advance that far again. But his first-round match had wide-ranging implications. The length of the match helped bring about the tie-break rule in tennis, where a tie-breaking game is played rather than forcing players to continue until somebody leads by two (although Wimbledon still has a final-set tiebreak, as Isner and Mahut well know).
Pancho Gonzalez may be the best tennis player nobody's heard of. In the minds of some people he played against, he was the best player ever, period. But while most of his career successes have been buried in the record books, his one epic match at Wimbledon still serves as his lasting legacy.
Gonzalez, perhaps more than any other great tennis player, was a victim of timing. When he was in the prime of his career, in the 1950s and 60s, professionals weren't allowed to compete in the Grand Slam events. So despite being considered the best player in the world - in fact, being ranked number 1 for eight consecutive years - Gonzalez only won two Grand Slam events before turning pro, depriving himself of scores of others. Roger Federer holds the record for most Grand Slam singles titles with 16, but Gonzalez likely would have approached that record; he won seven straight U.S. Pro championships and 12 overall Professional Grand Slam events. But again, they weren't the Open events that we know today, so he doesn't get credit in the history books.
Once the Grand Slam events opened up to professionals in 1968, Gonzalez was 40 and well past his prime. He still put his name in the Grand Slam history books in 1969 when he played what was at that point the longest tennis match in history, coming from behind to beat Puerto Rican Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9 in the first round at Wimbledon.
That match seems like nothing now compared to the just-completed match between John Isner and Nicolas Mahut, but at the time, it was grueling. Gonzalez showed a bit of his famous fiery personality when he complained after the first set that the match should be postponed because of darkness. Upset at having to continue, Gonzalez virtually threw the second set before the match was finally postponed, forcing the two to come back the next day. On June 25, Gonazalez won three straight sets from Pasarell, saving nine match points in the process, to advance.
Gonzalez was knocked out by Arthur Ashe in the fourth round of that tournament, never to advance that far again. But his first-round match had wide-ranging implications. The length of the match helped bring about the tie-break rule in tennis, where a tie-breaking game is played rather than forcing players to continue until somebody leads by two (although Wimbledon still has a final-set tiebreak, as Isner and Mahut well know).
Pancho Gonzalez may be the best tennis player nobody's heard of. In the minds of some people he played against, he was the best player ever, period. But while most of his career successes have been buried in the record books, his one epic match at Wimbledon still serves as his lasting legacy.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
June 6, 1999: Clay-covered gold
PARIS - Andre Agassi always seemed to be in Pete Sampras' shadow. They both entered the ranks of professional tennis at about the same time, and both started winning events as teenagers. Though they developed a rivalry during their career that was considered the best in the men's game, Sampras was considered the superior player by everybody.
However, on June 6, 1999, on the clay courts of Roland Garros, Agassi finally had his moment in the sun. After coming from two sets down to beat unseeded Andrei Medvedev in the final of the French Open, Agassi had accomplished something that only five other men had done and, perhaps more important, something Sampras hadn't. He had won the career Grand Slam.
The Grand Slam in tennis is an especially unique accomplishment because of the different styles of tennis needed to win. While hard court tournaments are considered the most fair, grass court tournaments like Wimbledon favor powerful servers, while clay court tournaments like the French Open favor precision players. The powerful serve and volley style of Sampras worked wonders on hard courts and grass courts, but it wasn't made for the slower clay courts, which is why he always struggled there. For Agassi to win on all three types shows his versitality.
But, the win at the French did more than give Agassi the career Grand Slam - if you add to it his gold medal from the Olympics, he became the only man in history to have won a career Golden Slam. Only one woman has matched that feat - Steffi Graf, who Agassi later married.
Sampras and Agassi will always be linked in tennis history because of their (mostly) friendly rivarly. The record shows that Sampras won more head-to-head matches (20-14) and won more Grand Slam titles (14-8). But he never won the French Open, and because of that, never won the career Grand Slam, giving Agassi one thing his rival never got.
HONORABLE MENTION
June 6, 1920: ST. LOUIS - With a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals closed down Robison Field, the stadium that had been their home since 1893. After embarking on a 21-game road trip, the Cardinals returned home to rent out Sportsmans Park from American League Browns, remaining there until 1966, long after the Browns had left town. So why is a team switching stadiums a big deal? Because the Cardinals used the money they made from selling Robison Field to establish a minor league system, designed to train young players and funnel them to the Major League team. The Cardinals' system was the first of its kind; before, minor league teams were all independent, and Major League teams had to negotiate to buy players. The Cardinals set it up so they could have more good, young players under their control. It had immediate results, with the Cardinals winning nine NL pennants in the next 26 years. The Cardinals' minor-league system was eventually copied around baseball, leading to the elaborate minor leagues that exist today.
However, on June 6, 1999, on the clay courts of Roland Garros, Agassi finally had his moment in the sun. After coming from two sets down to beat unseeded Andrei Medvedev in the final of the French Open, Agassi had accomplished something that only five other men had done and, perhaps more important, something Sampras hadn't. He had won the career Grand Slam.
The Grand Slam in tennis is an especially unique accomplishment because of the different styles of tennis needed to win. While hard court tournaments are considered the most fair, grass court tournaments like Wimbledon favor powerful servers, while clay court tournaments like the French Open favor precision players. The powerful serve and volley style of Sampras worked wonders on hard courts and grass courts, but it wasn't made for the slower clay courts, which is why he always struggled there. For Agassi to win on all three types shows his versitality.
But, the win at the French did more than give Agassi the career Grand Slam - if you add to it his gold medal from the Olympics, he became the only man in history to have won a career Golden Slam. Only one woman has matched that feat - Steffi Graf, who Agassi later married.
Sampras and Agassi will always be linked in tennis history because of their (mostly) friendly rivarly. The record shows that Sampras won more head-to-head matches (20-14) and won more Grand Slam titles (14-8). But he never won the French Open, and because of that, never won the career Grand Slam, giving Agassi one thing his rival never got.
HONORABLE MENTION
June 6, 1920: ST. LOUIS - With a 5-2 victory over the Chicago Cubs, the Cardinals closed down Robison Field, the stadium that had been their home since 1893. After embarking on a 21-game road trip, the Cardinals returned home to rent out Sportsmans Park from American League Browns, remaining there until 1966, long after the Browns had left town. So why is a team switching stadiums a big deal? Because the Cardinals used the money they made from selling Robison Field to establish a minor league system, designed to train young players and funnel them to the Major League team. The Cardinals' system was the first of its kind; before, minor league teams were all independent, and Major League teams had to negotiate to buy players. The Cardinals set it up so they could have more good, young players under their control. It had immediate results, with the Cardinals winning nine NL pennants in the next 26 years. The Cardinals' minor-league system was eventually copied around baseball, leading to the elaborate minor leagues that exist today.
Friday, April 30, 2010
April 30, 1993: The knife that destroyed a career
HAMBURG, Germany - It seems impossible now that it could have ever happened - the top tennis player in the world attacked and stabbed on court in the middle of a match. But that's exactly what happened to Monica Seles, at a time when she seemed to be unbeatable.
Seles appeared on the women's tennis scene like a rocket, winning the 1990 French Open at age 16, the youngest ever to win that event. Proving her success was no fluke, Seles won all three majors she entered in 1991, then went three-for-four in Grand Slam events in 1992, losing only in the Wimbledon final to Steffi Graf, the woman she replaced as the world's No. 1 player.
One of the first players to grunt loudly when hitting shots, Seles' vocal stylings sometimes overshadowed her play, which was often brilliant. When she won the 1993 Australian Open, it capped a stretch where she had gone 55-1 in the Grand Slams. At the top of the tennis world, Seles went to a tournament in Germany in April.
In the quarterfinals of that event, while Seles was seated on the bench during a changeover, a man describing himself as a fan of Graf's ran down from the stands and stabbed Seles in the back with a boning knife. He admitted later that he did so to help Graf retain the world No. 1 ranking. Seles was immediately taken to the hospital; while she was physially healed within a few weeks, she didn't play competitive tennis for two years after the stabbing.
When she returned in 1995, despite being only 22 years old, she was unable to consistenly regain her previous form. She returned to win the 1996 Australian Open, where she had never been defeated, for her final major championship.
The stabbing on April 30, 1993, wasn't the only reason Seles' career got derailed. As she attempted her comeback, she lost her father (and coach) to cancer and had self-described battles with depression and food addiction. But rarely has any elite athlete's career been so irreparably damaged by something completely out of their control. Seles retired with nine Grand Slam titles to her name, but it's easy to believe she could have had twice that many.
HONORABLE MENTION:
April 30, 1986: EDMONTON, Alberta - Only one franchise has won the Stanley Cup five straight times - the Montreal Canadiens of the late 1950s. If not for one errant pass, the Edmonton Oilers of the 80s might have joined them. Attempting a cross-ice pass in his own zone five minutes into the third period of Game 7, Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith accidentally shot the puck off his own goaltender's leg and into the net. The goal gave Calgary a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish in an upset of the two-time defending champions. Edmonton would bounce back to win the next two Stanley Cups, but the 1986 series still haunts them. It remains the only time Calgary has won a playoff series between the two in the heated Battle of Alberta.
Seles appeared on the women's tennis scene like a rocket, winning the 1990 French Open at age 16, the youngest ever to win that event. Proving her success was no fluke, Seles won all three majors she entered in 1991, then went three-for-four in Grand Slam events in 1992, losing only in the Wimbledon final to Steffi Graf, the woman she replaced as the world's No. 1 player.
One of the first players to grunt loudly when hitting shots, Seles' vocal stylings sometimes overshadowed her play, which was often brilliant. When she won the 1993 Australian Open, it capped a stretch where she had gone 55-1 in the Grand Slams. At the top of the tennis world, Seles went to a tournament in Germany in April.
In the quarterfinals of that event, while Seles was seated on the bench during a changeover, a man describing himself as a fan of Graf's ran down from the stands and stabbed Seles in the back with a boning knife. He admitted later that he did so to help Graf retain the world No. 1 ranking. Seles was immediately taken to the hospital; while she was physially healed within a few weeks, she didn't play competitive tennis for two years after the stabbing.
When she returned in 1995, despite being only 22 years old, she was unable to consistenly regain her previous form. She returned to win the 1996 Australian Open, where she had never been defeated, for her final major championship.
The stabbing on April 30, 1993, wasn't the only reason Seles' career got derailed. As she attempted her comeback, she lost her father (and coach) to cancer and had self-described battles with depression and food addiction. But rarely has any elite athlete's career been so irreparably damaged by something completely out of their control. Seles retired with nine Grand Slam titles to her name, but it's easy to believe she could have had twice that many.
HONORABLE MENTION:
April 30, 1986: EDMONTON, Alberta - Only one franchise has won the Stanley Cup five straight times - the Montreal Canadiens of the late 1950s. If not for one errant pass, the Edmonton Oilers of the 80s might have joined them. Attempting a cross-ice pass in his own zone five minutes into the third period of Game 7, Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith accidentally shot the puck off his own goaltender's leg and into the net. The goal gave Calgary a 3-2 lead that they would not relinquish in an upset of the two-time defending champions. Edmonton would bounce back to win the next two Stanley Cups, but the 1986 series still haunts them. It remains the only time Calgary has won a playoff series between the two in the heated Battle of Alberta.
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