Marxism Today June 1982 37

WIMBLEDON STYLES Dave Berry

When John McEnroe beat Bjorn Borg to He span the ball all over the court, deceiving win the Wimbledon Men's Championship opponents and spectators alike. His mix of last year, men's tennis at last emerged from pace and touch produced extraordinary the doldrums of the late 70s. Borg was bad games in which no one was quite sure what for tennis. It's not simply that he's a showbiz was going to happen next. Ashe was pure reactionary; nor that he feels no compunc- elegance. The lines and angles that the tall tion at playing in South Africa. Nor is it his American created were more like a chess- cool arrogance (he prefers lucrative exhibi- game than the shoot-outs of more recent tions to tournaments): it's how Borg plays Wimbledons. Both these players, and others the game. like the Amritraj brothers, were simply Borg is the master of percentage tennis — more entertaining to watch than players like he hits every shot with a machine-like accu- Connors or Borg. racy and with a heavy-handed topspin And more than this. Each new Wimble- revealing little flair or emotion. He's dull. don champion influences how tennis is And because he has been so pre-eminent in played through all the levels of the game. the game, his style has percolated down into Nastase and Ashe inspired the ordinary club and park tennis. Every weekend in player. Their games were built on an ortho- summer, you could see hundreds of Borg- dox approach using natural shots that could imitators methodically ironing out their be immediately imitated (Borg's strokes are imagination, complete with scowl and very unorthodox and based on table tennis headband. causing havoc for a less gifted player). Yet It wasn't always like this. In the early 70s, they also had the imagination to try unlikely the men's game reached a point that happens strokes and this encouraged club-players to to most games every decade. The old guard try their own shots, spins and inter- — the Australians Laver, Newcombe, Roche pretations. They made tennis enjoyable in etc — had passed their peak. Their game had sharp contrast to their taciturn, macho emphasised service and volley and an inevi- opponents. table reaction was due. Two competing Still, they weren't quite good or young styles were on offer. An all round game enough to withstand Borg and, from 1975 to which emphasised touch, deception and dif- 1980, the only interesting question was ferent spins (exemplified by Ashe and Nas- whether anybody would ever beat the tase) — and a return to pace, topspin and Swede. It was only when the brash New accuracy (shown by Connors and Borg). The Yorker McEnroe entered the scene in 1979, big hitters, of course, won. And this was a that top men's tennis started to change to a minor tragedy for men's tennis. more open style. McEnroe drives and vol- In Nastase and Ashe, the game reached leys as forcefully as Borg. But he has a touch new heights. Nastase was slightly absurd. quite foreign to the former champion. He inspires in a way reminiscent of Ashe or, a women professionals have to face from the generation ago, Laver. And this time he is media. young enough to encourage other profes- This glorious trio — a trio moreover that sionals, and through them the weekend has been in the forefront of fighting for equal player, to return to the entertaining all-court rights for women players — is now being game. challenged by several others, Austin, While the boys were lost, women's tennis Shriver, Mandlikova which should produce by contast had a good run. No one player has another exciting women's event this dominated but three women have won most Wimbledon. of the major championships in the last few Soon the world media will descend on years. And three women with very different Wimbledon, the leafy London suburb that is styles giving club players a variety of a rather unlikely focus for top tennis. It's a approaches to choose and learn from. good story: the action is constrained and It seemed for a while that Chris Lloyd predictable. There are top personalities to would become as unbeatable as Borg. In the interview at length and to constantly reinter- mid 70s she often went 70-80 games without pret what's happening. The women players defeat. Her game was a pleasure to watch. can be quizzed about their sex-lives, the men Rarely coming into the net, she out- about their 'unsportsmanlike' behaviour. manoeuvred her opponents by being able to And it all builds up to a climax at a precise hit shots anywhere from the baseline. Lloyd time — the singles championships in the also changed the orthodox women's back- second week. hand, a difficult shot for players learning the What you won't hear about is the 100 or so game, from a soft one-handed slice to a hard men arrested each year for harassment of double-handed drive. Navratilova, by con- young girl spectators, the business deals that trast, relied much more than Lloyd on serv- are made in the company entertainment ice, volley and topspin. Her power was tents, or the bonanza that top manufacturers simply astonishing. Evonne Cawley, at her like Dunlop receive from the many people best (which was rarely shown) could excel at that take up tennis each year after watching both approaches. She had an elegance and it all on the box. And you won't hear much ability which had rarely been seen before. about the styles that different players use. And it was unfortunate for the game that she Yet it's these styles that influence the ordi- peaked too early — in 1971 — and then nary player, that are imitated ad nauseam in suffered all the indignities that new young clubs throughout the summer. •

Austin Lloyd