sign in sign up
<<
Home , Ai Sugiyama, Alicia Molik, Althea Gibson, Angela Mortimer, Angelique Kerber, Anne Smith

ABI SMITH

Wimbledon’s GREATEST GAMES THE ALL CLUB’S FIFTY FINEST MATCHES

Contents

Acknowledgements 11 Foreword 13 Game, set and match 15

1. vs 17 2. vs Goran Ivanišević 23 3. vs 27 4. vs 32 5. Björn Borg vs John McEnroe 36 6. vs 41 7. vs 46 8. vs 51 9. vs 56 10. vs 61 11.  and Jelena Janković vs Jonas Björkman and 66 12. vs 72 13. Serena Williams and Venus Williams vs Julie Halard-Decugis and 77 14. vs 80 15. vs Betty Stöve 84 16. vs Donald Budge 89 17. vs Jana Novotná 93 18.  and Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs and Édouard Roger-Vasselin 98 19. Ricardo vs 102 20. vs Billie Jean King 108 21.  and vs and 112 22. vs Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 116 23. vs Serena Williams 120 24. vs Boris Becker 125 25. vs 130 26. vs Ilie Năstase 135 27. Steffi Graf vs Martina Navratilova 140 28.  and vs Dorothea Lambert Chambers and Ethel Thomson Larcombe 145 29. Kitty McKane vs 150 30. vs Chris Evert 155 31. Venus Williams vs 159 32. vs Serena Williams 164 33. Goran Ivanišević vs 169 34. vs 174 35. vs 178 36. Serena Williams vs 182 37. Steffi Graf vs 187 38. Lori McNeil vs Steffi Graf 191 39. vs Roger Federer 196 40. Martina Navratilova and vs and 202 41. Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer 206 42.  and vs Dianne Fromholtz and 211 43. Betty Stöve vs 215 44. John McEnroe and vs and Raúl Ramírez 220 45. Goran Ivanišević vs Pat Rafter 225 46.  and vs and Paul Haarhuis 230 47. vs Nicolas Mahut 234 48. Billie Jean King and vs Raúl Ramírez and 241 49. vs 245 50. vs 250

Bibliography 256 1

Maureen Connolly vs Louise Brough

Date: 5 July 1952 Score: 7-5, 6-3

‘Here was the realm of my hopes, my fears, my dreams, and as long as I live, I shall be there in spirit, savouring the glory.’ Maureen Connolly

CHAMPIONS ARE sometimes known for their longevity in the world they play in, their years of domination cementing their success status. But not Maureen ‘Little Mo’ Connolly. Arguably* one of the greatest female players of all time, Mo was just 17 years old when she first came to Wimbledon, a journey that also marked her first ever trip to England. Her nickname, given to her when she was 11 years old by a sportswriter, was in reference to her powerful and punishing . After watching her hit a ball, he described her shots as having the same power as the big guns of the USS Missouri, known as the Big Mo.

17 Wimbledon’s Greatest Games

The All England Club fell in love with her as soon as she arrived; she was young, passionate and poetic to watch, sailing through the tournament to reach the final on a warm July afternoon. was packed. An all-American final between Mo and her opponent – three-time Wimbledon champion Louise Brough – meant that the crowd would be witnessing a teenager making her way for the first time onto the grass courts and competing with someone who was well acquainted with her surroundings. It wasn’t so much young versus old – Brough was 29 years old, but would still go on to rank as world number one three years later; it was more that the crowds and commentators sensed that this was going to be a special moment for the little but mighty Mo. Before the Championships, Mo had injured her shoulder in a practice game at Queen’s Club and her coach, Eleanor ‘Teach’ Tennant, one of the top women’s coaches at the time, wanted her to withdraw from the competition. Seeking advice, Mo visited a local trainer who told her the slight pain in her shoulder was a bit of bursitis, a swelling to the joint, and that a simple ointment would help. But Tennant wanted a second opinion, and a chiropractor told the two that Mo had torn a muscle. The guidance was clear: Mo was not to play. If she did, not only would she be in a lot of pain, but it could potentially cause irrevocable long-term damage to her shoulder.

18 Maureen Connolly vs Louise Brough

With that risk made clear and eager to protect her young protégé, Tennant informed the press that Mo would default the tournament that year because of her injury. But what an unforced error that turned out to be! Furious, Mo called her own press conference to announce not only that she would be competing at Wimbledon, but also that she had sacked Tennant. Some commentators thought this was a precocious act by a stubborn teenager, but her determination to play and prove them wrong was now her motivation. She might have come across at the time as a tough cookie who was not to be messed with, but years later she admitted that her argument with Tennant, on the eve of her first ever Wimbledon, had a profound effect on her psyche and left her ‘emotionally torn’. As they stepped out on to Centre Court all smiles, Mo was already harbouring the fighting spirit that had won her so many matches before this final. The year before, at the US Championships in 1951, her opponent, , had called her a spoiled brat, but instead of intimidating Mo, it unleashed a killer instinct on court. Admitting that she had never hated anyone more in her life, Mo came back from four games down in both sets to win the match, revealing afterwards that she had ‘turned on her [Doris] like a tiger’. Make no mistake; behind the sweet, smiley persona of someone so young was a ferocious and determined competitor. In fact, being angry with her opponent before a game, particularly

19 Wimbledon’s Greatest Games if she got wind that a criticism had been made or she had been dismissed as an opponent, was like lighting a fuse and then giving that fuse a weapon in the shape of a racket. Playing angry with an opponent suited Mo. Her anger turned into energy, focus and an overwhelming desire to punish. So, in a way, you might want to feel a little for Louise Brough, who had hinted early in the Championships that such a big fuss had been made about Mo’s shoulder injury that it would act as nothing more than a good excuse if she lost. When Mo heard about these quotes, she was fuming. This was going to be one explosive final. And given that both Mo and Louise had dropped just two sets across the whole tournament, the expectation that neither would be in the mood to tread lightly proved correct. This attitude from the American teen – who had readily admitted that she hated losing more than she liked winning – tested the reserve of the British crowd. We celebrated sportsmanship, fair play, good manners and decorum. Now Mo was paving the way for aggression, self-assurance and ruthlessness in women’s tennis. Here was an assassin, armed with a big smile and a racket, and who played like she would never lose. The final was indeed a hard-fought affair, with the action unyielding from both players in the first set before Mo broke Brough early in the second to secure a swift yet polished execution. Her shots carried weight rather

20 Maureen Connolly vs Louise Brough than speed across the court, and her backhand punished Brough on more than one . Her superiority was never in doubt; the accuracy of her was matched by their pace, and her volleying, which was still developing, was nothing short of devastating. It was remarkable for the crowds to comprehend that not only was this young teenager capable of causing such upset to a previous Wimbledon winner, but that she did so with such ease. As one sports reporter wrote at the time, ‘This was as near to perfection in sport as one is likely to witness.’ No one at the time, other than her first coach, Wilbur Folsom, knew that she was a naturally left-handed player. Mo had originally visited Wilbur as a ball girl before picking up a tennis racket in her left hand, but she was told in no uncertain terms that no one had ever reached the top in tennis as a leftie. If she wanted to continue, she would have to learn to play right-handed. Perhaps it was this first ‘unjust’ hurdle that fuelled the spark in her competitive drive. This win at Wimbledon marked the first of three consecutive Wimbledon titles, and the following year she became the first woman to achieve the . So an event that occurred in 1954, Mo fresh from celebrating her third consecutive win at W1A, was tragic in every sense. Little Mo was riding her horse near her home when it became spooked by a truck and her right leg was

21 Wimbledon’s Greatest Games crushed. The accident meant she was unable to play again. She retired from international tennis that year and died, aged 34, of cancer. She had one of the shortest yet most significant tennis careers, but perhaps it was her spirit that was her greatest contribution. She showed no fear when she was on court, she took on champions and counter- punched all her rivals. There were no excuses when she played the game she loved, and she played with her mind, body and soul.

*Sorry, no argument; I have been told on good authority that she was the greatest.

22