By Cliff Richey
In honoring Black History Month I think back on my tour days with Arthur Ashe. It’s hard to believe Arthur has been gone almost 30 years. He was only 49 when he passed away. He won the Australian Open, Wimbledon, and the U,S, Open as well an author and humanitarian. And he was my friend.
Ashe grew up in Richmond, Virginia in the 1950s. It was obviously a difficult place at that time for him and he began a migration west for more opportunity. Arthur lived in St Louis for awhile and then moved to Los Angeles to attend UCLA. He was three years older than me and my first match with him was at Wimbledon in 1964. After winning the first two sets I thought I was on my way to a great win, but maybe my overconfidence and his better play cost me. I lost in a tough five setter. Our competitive record would span the next ten plus years. I really don’t know what our match record was. Arthur probably has the edge, but I know it was pretty neck and neck. A couple of matches I remember very well were the 1972 US Open semifinal and the 1970 Washington D.C. final. He beat me at the Open 6-1, 6-2, 7-6. (Featured here on YouTube recently by the U.S. Tennis Association here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMHU5PzE1Ig) For me grass was my least favorite surface. And combined with Arthur’s great serve, it was always uphill. In DC, I was on my best surface—clay. I won the final 7-5, 6-2, 6-1. Of all the great players I was blessed to play against Arthur was probably the toughest for me because his serve was brutal. And he simply went for winners with his ground strokes. So on a fast surface when he was clicking on all cylinders he could hit me off the court. However, I am proud of beating Art a couple times on fast surfaces, and I don’t remember any losses to him on clay!
In one of Ashe’s books, he was quoted as saying “I got along great with that Southern boy Cliff Richey.” I have so many memories of our time together. We were roommates for three months on the Australian tour in 1965. We played Davis Cup together not only in the 1970 Cup final but in zone matches in places like Mexico and Ecuador.
On the Aussie tour in ‘65 we travelled as the Davis Cup squad. I remember Clark Graebner, Herb Fitzbibbon, Marty Riessen, Jim McManus as the other squad members. Herb would later say about me in those days I was not “house broken”. Nobody wanted me as a “roomie” so Arthur volunteered to take me on! After a few days, I remember sitting in bed one early evening, and Art came into our room from dinner. Art said, “Richey…. Ya think from now on you can leave me just one clean towel?”
Arthur dominated the Aussie Tour that summer Down Under. As I remember there were six tournaments leading into the Australian Championships. He won every event except one and then lost in the final of the Australian to Roy Emerson. He served everybody of the court, and in those days on the Aussie tour every event was on grass. So his serve was even more of a weapon. I remember his final round match in Brisbane against John Newcombe. He beat Newk in three straight sets and served 27 clean aces. That’s a wow!!!
Arthur was a pretty laid back guy and I guess a little superstitious. Before one final he had forgotten his rackets at the hotel and had to borrow Marty Riessen’s. No problem. Arthur won easily and the next week before the next event final he asked Marty for his rackets again since it had worked so well before. No worries—he chalked up another one! So that Aussie tour for me was pretty special. Arthur showed me how to play on grass, and best of all we bonded as good friends. I wish I could relive some of this days again.
So—in Guayaquil, Ecuador in 1967 we were teammates in a Davis Cup zone match. Arthur and I were chosen for the singles matches and Graebner and Riessen for the doubles. On paper we were big odds on favorites. But it was on clay with a 2,000 seat arena with a loud hometown crowd. The locals ended up beating us three matches to two. After I won my match over Poncho Guzman on day one, Arthur lost to Miguel Olvera. So it was tied. The second day featured the biggest upset of the tie. Riessen and Graebner were the No. 2 team in the world but lost to Guzman and Olvera. So we are 2-1 down going into day three. Ashe played Guzman first on that final day. If he won, I would play Olvera in match five in the decisive match. I was listening to the Ashe/Guzman match on the radio at the hotel. Guzman had a big forehand and I kept hearing “Bueno forehand” from the announcers.
When the third set looked like it was going in Guzman’s favor, I hopped into the courtesy car to the arena. Just as I got there, Ashe was coming into the locker room for the then traditional break down two sets to one. I kneeled by the chair Ashe was sitting in. I said to him “Art, I’ve been listening to the match on the radio and it sounds like you are coming to the net a lot and Guzman is passing you with his great forehand.” That was Arthur’s natural game to be aggressive. He looked at me and just shook his head up and down. So I said “ Look, go out there in this fourth set and chase down every ball and don’t come to the net once and you’ll show him you can out rally him and you’ll break his spirit.” Arthur won the fourth set 6-0. At three all in the fifth set Arthur started to attack the net again! I couldn’t believe what he was doing. Guzman won. And my match against Olvera was meaningless. I beat him but the show was over before the match began! It is one of the biggest upsets in Davis Cup history.
Arthur and I redeemed ourselves three years later in Cleveland by beating West Germany in the Davis Cup Final. We both won our two singles matches and Stan Smith and Bob Lutz won the doubles. Being the Davis Cup champion with Arthur Ashe is very special.
Through the years I saw some pretty racial things happen to Art. In the late 60’s and early 70’s it was not easy for Ashe. At an exhibition match in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1967 we had a party after the matches at a socialite’s home. A couple guys were talking to me and one of them said “Mr. Ashe seems to have a chip on his shoulder.” It really made me mad. I said to him “ Well how would you like it if he was the life of the party?” Now I know what I said could be taken the wrong way. But I was simply trying to have them understand that my friend was in a no-win situation, and it was not fair for Art. Another time, at a posh country club in the south of Texas we had an annual tournament. We always were given the main members locker room for the week. It was always an “invitational” tournament. And before Open Tennis in the 60’s Ashe had never been invited to play. When tennis went “open,” tournaments had to accept players based on world rankings. The first year Arthur was in the event, low and behold our locker room was move to the swimming pool locker room! I knew the event director and I said to him “So we are in the pool locker room eh?” He said “Oh yeah it’s more convenient and closer to the courts.” I simply said to him “Don’t give me that crap. We all know why and it’s an insult to all of the players.” He didn’t argue. He knew I knew! On the world tennis tour for those 15 years we had players from probably 50 countries. I had great South African friends. A lot of Aussie friends. And South American, European and Jamaican friends. We did not see color in the locker room. We saw talent, we saw great work ethics, and we saw great personalities. I wish today’s society could be like we were in that traveling band of brothers. We were respectful of one another no matter the color or where you were from.
Arthur is a true legend of sports. And I can tell you my friend was a great man!
Cliff Richey was a semifinalist at Roland Garros in 1970 and a semifinalist at the US Open in 1970 and 1972. He won the first ever Grand Prix points title in pro tennis in 1970 and was a member of the 1969 and 1970 winning U.S. Davis Cup teams. He won 45 singles title in his career spanning the amateur and pro eras. He is also the author of the book “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” for sale here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257669/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_tKfsxb12PF601 as well as “Your Playbook To Beating Depression” with Mardy Garrison here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1937559688/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_0WP5VHT63EYP3KCBYSSH\
