Which Tennis Player - Past Or Present - Would You Want To See Play In Person?

[lovehockey]

Past or present.  I decided to ask this in a new thread instead of distracting another one.

[DonRocks]

The first person who popped into my head was John Lucas.

Maybe Ilie Năstase.

Or maybe Rafael Nadal because I'd love to see just how much spin he's actually putting on the ball.

Arthur Ashe for historical reasons.

Or William Renshaw, the man who won 7 Wimbledon championships in the 1800s, to see what kind of talent he had, although I suspect that would get real old, real fast - he was probably reasonably quick, and had good hand-eye coordination, and that's about it.

Maybe a star from the early 20th century like Bill Tilden.

Incidentally, I just had a house guest who was *at the Borg-McEnroe Wimbledon match in 1980* (the one with the long tiebreaker)!

I saw Jimmy Connors play once in the summer of 74, and (this is pretty amazing), I got to hit with Don Budge - I went to his tennis camp when I was 12, and every camper got to play a couple of points with him. He was 59 years old then, and was still quite good (for those who don't know who Budge is, he and Rod Laver are the only two men's players in history to win a calendar year Grand Slam (Laver did it twice)). The coolest thing was, my parents got to watch me, and it meant a *lot* to them. Incidentally, Connors was playing for Baltimore in World Team Tennis, and our camp (the Don Budge camp) all went to watch the match - he had just won Wimbledon a couple of weeks before that.

[bookluvingbabe]

Arthur Ashe is an excellent choice for the history of it.

Andy Roddick when he was just starting out was all kinetic energy and potential.  That was pretty amazing.

And you know how I feel about John McEnroe...

I would have loved to see Maureen Connolly play before her injury.  (The movie, Little Mo, still haunts me!)

And Martina at her prime.

[Al Dente]

• Maria Sharapova
• Anna Kournikova
• Gabriela Sabatini
• Victoria Azarenka
• Elena Dementieva

Years ago I aced (as in fired a serve past an opponent) the granddaughter of a guy who qualified for Wimbledon.

[darkstar965]

I'd like to see Martina, in her prime, vs McEnroe, a few years past his. That might be very entertaining and, of course, two of the greats.

Also like the Arthur Ashe idea. Maybe Billie Jean King too? Can it be doubles? :-)

[DonRocks]

Arthur Ashe is an excellent choice for the history of it.

And you know how I feel about John McEnroe...

I'd like to see Martina, in her prime, vs McEnroe, a few years past his. That might be very entertaining and, of course, two of the greats.

Also like the Arthur Ashe idea. Maybe Billie Jean King too? Can it be doubles? :-)

This is a 90-minute video, but I watched the entire thing yesterday, and came away with the best feeling for McEnroe's game I've had since seeing him play. At the transition between college and pro (maybe about the 30-minute mark), there's a significant portion of the video dealing with Ashe. It's a lot to invest, but if you don't want to watch the entire thing, you can skip around.

[B.A.R.]

• Maria Sharapova
• Anna Kournikova
• Gabriela Sabatini
• Victoria Azarenka
• Elena Dementieva

Years ago I aced (as in fired a serve past an opponent) the granddaughter of a guy who qualified for Wimbledon.

This is an excellent list.

I might add Euginie Bouchard. I'd like to play doubles, with Arthur Ashe on my team against maybe Gabby and Sharapova.

[DonRocks]

On a similar level I was friendly with the person who followed John Lucas as #1 in tennis at U Md.   Per his own admission this terrific player couldn't touch Lucas...but he was clearly great...great enough to play #1 singles at a big time college.

Was this Claude England?

This is an excellent list.

Yes, but it's supposed to be a list to see play; not to play with!

[DaveO]

Was this Claude England?

No. John Olson

[Steve R.]

I've been going to the US Open (& its previous name) since Forest Hills days & have been to Wimbledon & many pro league matches.  In the late '60s I even got to go (with my High School tennis team) to Madison Sq. Garden to sit in the lower rows and watch Laver, Gonzalez & many others play.  So, my list of who I've never seen but would have loved to see play is pretty much confined to those who came before then and those who I haven't gotten into the big stadiums to see, even when at the majors.  So: Kramer, Budge, Althea Gibson come to mind for the former & Nadal, Sharapova for the current.

My favorite to watch over the years has been Leander Paes & whomever his partner might be.  But, I'm a doubles player for almost 50 years so...

[DonRocks]

On 4/30/2015 at 11:58 AM, DaveO said:

On a similar level I was friendly with the person who followed John Lucas as #1 in tennis at U Md.   Per his own admission this terrific player couldn't touch Lucas...but he was clearly great...great enough to play #1 singles at a big time college.

Now Lucas was an elite multi sport athlete.  An all american tennis player, a two time first team all american basketball player and drafted #1 in the NBA when he graduated from college.   Basketball kept Lucas from seriously pursuing tennis.  How great might he have been if he only pursued tennis?  Nobody, including Lucas, knows.

As a basketball player he was excellent with a long career, though it was hampered by drugs and alcoholism.  I looked him up.  Lucas is currently ranked 23 all time in assists.  Many among those with more assists played after him.  He was noted as one of the very very few elite guards with such amazing ball control, he could get to any place on the court at any time, a master of dribbling.

But he didn't reach the elite of the elite.

The level at the top is rarefied.  Its astonishing to watch them and to watch those that are still astonishing but just below the greatest of the greatest.

On 4/30/2015 at 12:36 PM, DonRocks said:

Was this Claude England?

On 4/30/2015 at 12:57 PM, DaveO said:

No. John Olson

I've been friends with John Olson for a long time (and also got my ass handed to me by Claude England once on clay - and I mean he beat the holy living *hell* out of me (although I did ace him three points in a row and made him curse)) - I asked some of the old-time University of MD studs just how good Lucas was:

Don Rockwell Question for the U of MD players: Just how good was John Lucas? I've never seen him play in my life. Mike Gandolfo-ish?

John Olson Played both , they were both good, john L in practice only, he was still playing hoop so inconsistent at times

Jesse Holt I played against he and Gus Castillo in doubles up at a MATA sectional at Aspen Hill some years ago! I thought I was quick on my feet, but he moved and anticipated at the net like he was Jedi! You could see the movements of a awesome basketball player!!!

Scott Kidd Good...very quick, good serve- volley game...that’s how we all played the game back then. When I was a transfer red-shirt in 1976, I practiced with him after the basketball season ended...right in the middle of the tennis season. He was the most popular guy on campus so practicing meant constant interruptions as his fans and friends walked by. He ended up winning the ACC singles championship that season beating John Sadri from NC State...not too shabby

John Sadri is the guy from NC State McEnroe beat in the NCAA Singles Finals the year he played.

[DonRocks]

On 4/30/2015 at 11:09 AM, darkstar965 said:

I'd like to see Martina, in her prime, vs McEnroe, a few years past his. That might be very entertaining and, of course, two of the greats.

This comes pretty close! Jimmy Connors got only one serve, and Martina Navratilova was allowed to hit into the alleys.