Tennis the majestic game from the Grass lawns has moved to slower and flat courts of clay and hard surfaces down the lane which has seen the evolution of this game from a game of feathery touch, wooden rackets, technical finesse and acrobatic volleys to boom boom boom power and precision and nothing else. It has become racket technology unfounded killing the game and its glory.Where has this beautiful game gone?
How many volleys did Federer have in his two weeks of scintillating Tennis in Wimbledon?
Where are the lobs, the slice, the cross court swipe and acrobatics in front of the court?
It makes me remember and revel the good old days of Tennis from the great rivalries of Borg-McEnroe, McEnroe-Connors, McEnroe-Lendl, Edberg-Becker and Sampras-Agassi with the hope that Federer-Nadal rivalry will continue this great tradition of sporting duels.
Here are my ten masters of the game who have enthralled me in the last 26 years of Tennis that I have watched and entered my Hall of Fame.
*Masters of Serve & Volley –endangered species
John McEnroe-(1977-1992) Magical and foul mouth Mac
*If you want to see one of the most graceful players on the Court with the most disgraceful tongue and temper that you can ask for then it is the inimitable Big mac. Being left handed was a distinct advantage but being brilliant behind the net was his forte with the game that had magnificent touch shots like volley, sliced backhand and dipping lobs. He had a good baseline game which could not help in winning over Lendl on clay. One of the finest doubles players ever, he partnered with John Fleming.
Great Duels –with Bjorn Borg in Wimbledon finals in 1980 and 1981, one of the greatest finals ever played on Grass lasting more than 3 & half hours. He stopped Bjorn Borg’s 41 match winning streak on Grass which has been overtaken by Federer now.Jimmy Connors (31-20) including the loss to him in four hours in Wimbledon 82, Ivan Lendl (15-21) which included the loss in French Open epic final 84, Mats Wilander lasting 6 & half hours in Davis Cup 1982
Record: 72 singles titles, 72 doubles titles, 11 Wimbledon titles (3 singles ), 9 US open titles (4 singles)
*Boris Becker-(1985-1996) Boom Boom Becker
*When I watched him in Wimbledon in 1985, he was unseeded player whom none new. Here came a teenager with pimpled face and red head and it was so amazing and refreashing to see him climb the rungs of each round and he became hearth throb for all of us for the next few years. Boom Boom because he was big and had powerful serve and volley and with that weight, he was acrobatic too which was a sight to behold. Great because he has won 3 Wimbledon championships among his 6 grand slam titles and reached the Grass court finale seven times.
Great Duels-with Ivan Lendl, Stefan Edberg and Andre Agassi. First Wimbledon finals with Curren lasting 3 hours and 18 minutes
Record : 49 singles titles, 16 doubles titles, 6 Grand slam titles, 1 masters, 1 world championship and 1 Olympic gold, 2 Davis cup titles (Germ)
*Stefan Edberg-(1983-1996)-Elegant on and off the Court
The most beautiful player in his era in terms of shear elegance of serve and volley which did not boast off any power but grace and charm and had lovely clean ground strokes to support that. He was truly a great sportsman for his Country winning the Davis Cup for Sweden four times. Highly respected and regarded for his game and mental calmness, he was a treat to watch and learn. His week baseline game put him off on clay courts of Paris.
Great Duels**-with Boris Becker
Record-42 Singles Titles, 6 Grand slam Titles
*Masters of Baseline-setting trend
Jimmy Connors-(1972-1992) Ageless wonder, the one and only Jimmy
*Jimmy was another flimsy mouthed Tennis pro like John but had a game which could compare with Mac as chalk and cheese, so different and so much from Baseline , sometimes boring and sometimes jarring yet tenacious with grit and determination that lasted 20 good years with staggering 1337-285 match record. He had the game to last but not the one to beat the best. That’s why He is in my Hall of fame. His major repertoire was double fisted baseline game and in today’s game of racket technology, he would have surely made a bigger impact.
Great duels: with Bjorn Borg in Forest hills finals 1976 11-9 tie break, Bjorn Borg (7-10), John McEnroe (13-20) and Ivan Lendl (13-22)
Record: 109 singles titles, 6 US Open titles (1 doubles), 3 Wimbledon titles (1 doubles), 1 Australian open title
*Andre Agassi-(1986-2006) Ageless Agassi, found god in himself
*When he played his first Wimbledon, Nadal could barely walk and today here is the man who bid farewell to Tennis when his counterparts are busy in commentary box, a journey greater than any rock band star for the shear transformation of life from a Poster boy, the most exuberant cult of US turned into a monk and has several attributes to be in my hall of fame.
You would never ever see another service return like Agassi’s. He excelled in the mastery of dropping from Baseline and killing the opponents’ volleys.
You could never ever imagine a baseliner winning Wimbledon after Borg .When he lost in Wimbledon to Henri Leconte in first round in 1987, he called it quits on grass. Here he was back again to win facing up the Grass court giants Boris Becker and Ivaniscivic with big serves and fought and won Wimbledon 1991
You would never imagine a Tennis super star tonsuring his head
You would never get another Tennis star contributing to Humanity like him.
Only player to win all four titles though not a SLAM in 37 years.
Great duels-5 set Wimbledon finals win over Goran Ivenisivic , Pete Sampras (14-20)
Record: 60 singles titles, 4 Australian open titles, 1 Wimbledon title, 1 French open title and 2 US Open titles
*Rafael Nadal (2002-) – The future of Tennis
*He may not have the calm of Borg, but has a game similar and more aggressive than him and it will be fitting to call him the Powerhouse of Modern Tennis for shear Counter punching and amazing topspin that he brings from behind the court. Forget that he is still a kid and forget that he has won two French Open titles, but remember that he is the only player to break nerves of a cool King and he is the one if he shows patience half of that of Agassi will win Wimbledon one day, No, he will win far more than that because I have seen him trying to volley many times (which in fact is not needed in this era ).He has to only win against himself –his temperament and his patience lest he will burn out.
Great Duels-Roger is calling, Record:17 Singles Titles, 2 French Open titles
*Complete Players of Open era
*Many a times Tennis becomes a paradox of Mind and Body because even the players with poor minds win and become great with shear talent. The complete players exercise the quotient of Mind and Body to greater perfection and become far greater.
Cont’d in comments with apologies