ABI SMITH Wimbledon’s GREATEST GAMES THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB’S FIFTY FINEST MATCHES Contents Acknowledgements 11 Foreword 13 Game, set and match 15 1. Maureen Connolly vs Louise Brough 17 2 Andre Agassi vs Goran Ivanišević 23 3. Roger Federer vs Andy Roddick 27 4. Venus Williams vs Serena Williams 32 5. Björn Borg vs John McEnroe 36 6 Althea Gibson vs Darlene Hard 41 7. Henri Cochet vs Bill Tilden 46 8. Arthur Ashe vs Jimmy Connors 51 9. Ann Jones vs Billie Jean King 56 10. Rod Laver vs John Newcombe 61 11. Jamie Murray and Jelena Janković vs Jonas Björkman and Alicia Molik 66 12. Pete Sampras vs Pat Rafter 72 13. Serena Williams and Venus Williams vs Julie Halard-Decugis and Ai Sugiyama 77 14. Boris Becker vs Kevin Curren 80 15. Virginia Wade vs Betty Stöve 84 16. Fred Perry vs Donald Budge 89 17. Martina Hingis vs Jana Novotná 93 18. Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert vs Julien Benneteau and Édouard Roger-Vasselin 98 19. Ricardo Pancho Gonzales vs Charlie Pasarell 102 20 Margaret Court vs Billie Jean King 108 21. Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde vs Sandon Stolle and Paul Haarhuis 112 22. Steffi Graf vs Arantxa Sánchez Vicario 116 23. Maria Sharapova vs Serena Williams 120 24. Stefan Edberg vs Boris Becker 125 25. Martina Navratilova vs Chris Evert 130 26 Stan Smith vs Ilie Năstase 135 27. Steffi Graf vs Martina Navratilova 140 28. Suzanne Lenglen and Elizabeth Ryan vs Dorothea Lambert Chambers and Ethel Thomson Larcombe 145 29. Kitty McKane vs Helen Wills 150 30. Evonne Goolagong Cawley vs Chris Evert 155 31. Venus Williams vs Lindsay Davenport 159 32. Angelique Kerber vs Serena Williams 164 33. Goran Ivanišević vs Tim Henman 169 34. Angela Mortimer vs Christine Truman 174 35. Andy Murray vs Novak Djokovic 178 36. Serena Williams vs Heather Watson 182 37. Steffi Graf vs Monica Seles 187 38. Lori McNeil vs Steffi Graf 191 39. Rafael Nadal vs Roger Federer 196 40. Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver vs Kathy Jordan and Anne Smith 202 41. Novak Djokovic vs Roger Federer 206 42 John Austin and Tracy Austin vs Dianne Fromholtz and Mark Edmondson 211 43. Betty Stöve vs Sue Barker 215 44. John McEnroe and Peter Fleming vs Brian Gottfried and Raúl Ramírez 220 45. Goran Ivanišević vs Pat Rafter 225 46 Mansour Bahrami and Henri Leconte vs Jacco Eltingh and Paul Haarhuis 230 47. John Isner vs Nicolas Mahut 234 48. Billie Jean King and Owen Davidson vs Raúl Ramírez and Janet Newberry 241 49. Ken Rosewall vs Cliff Richey 245 50. Lleyton Hewitt vs David Nalbandian 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 San Diego sportswriter, was in reference to her powerful forehand and punishing backhand 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 Centre Court 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, Doris Hart, 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 tennis 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 point Her superiority was never in doubt; the accuracy of her groundstrokes 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 Grand Slam 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.