World Tennis Magazine

Unique Tennis Perspectives

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The Most Popular Men’s Players In The 1970s, 1980s and 1990s

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Tennis is a great game that has been played and celebrated for hundreds of years. Over the centuries there have been greats that rose and fell in the history books, but people have always been left wondering, who were the most popular to play the game? Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal are perhaps the two most popular men’s players ever. But what about from the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s? Well we have decided to roll up our sleeves and get down to brass tax so that we could assemble some of the most popular names to ever play the game in this time period, and finally figure out once and for all which generation played it better.

The List

John McEnroe – It is probably not a surprise to many tennis fans that Johnny Mac would make this best athletes list. Known for having a short temper and a great backhand, Johnny made his impression on many in the tennis world for his almost comical outbursts. But people usually stop laughing when they see how clean and crisp his game is. Johnny just likes to wear his passion for the game on his sleeves. Johnny has won 16 Grand Slam titles, 19 Gran Prix Super Series, and 3 Wimbledon titles. He is certainly no slouch.

Ivan Lendl – Known as a trend-setter in the game that unlocked the secrets of a good diet. Many tennis players followed Lendl’s lead in both what they eat like, and what they play like. For a decade Lendl was the person to beat in tennis, as we won 11 Grand Slam titles in a ten year period. This Czech player spent 270 weeks as the number one ranking tennis player while many other greats were playing the game. This makes Lendl an easy choice for one of the best athletes to ever play the game.

Arthur Ashe – Not only an excellent tennis player, Ashe is known for being a kind of dignitary in the game, as he played with the kind of composure, class, and courtesy that made him an ideal role model for the league. He made big strides in civil rights as an African American player, and has won plenty of titles too.

Andre Agassi – Your search for one of the best tennis players ever is almost always going to land on Andre Agassi. Considered by many to be one of the best strikers to ever play the game, many recognized the talent in this athlete well before he even became a professional. At only 22 years old, Agassi won Wimbledon, and the world did not fail to take notice. Known for being a smart player that is highly mobile, Agassi is easily one of the greats.

Bjorn Borg – Though his name sounds like the supervillain of a comic series, Borg is best known as a tennis prodigy. At only 15 he was playing in the Davis Cup. He had only just turned 18 when he won his first French Open. At only 26 Borg retired after being defeated by John Mcenroe, but he still has one of the best records in Tennis.

Need more? Check out other tennis greats here.

 

Andre Agassi
Andre Agassi

Federer Ends Season In Style – Mondays With Bob Greene

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STARS

Roger Federer beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 to win the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London, Great Britain

Daniel Brands beat Matthias Bachinger 7-6 (2) 7-6 (5) to win the IPP Open in Helsinki, Finland

Tamarine Tanasugarn beat Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-2 7-5 to win the 2011 Dunlop World Challenge Tennis Tournament in Toyota, Japan

Roger Federer captures record sixth ATP World Tour Finals

SAYING

“I couldn’t be more happy and I couldn’t be more exhausted because Jo sucked all the last energy out of me today. – Roger Federer, after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to win his sixth season-ending ATP World Tour Finals title.

“He’s the best player indoors for the moment. He’s maybe the best player ever, because he’s really quick. He’s playing well. That’s it.” – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, reflecting on Roger Federer.

“Now it’s finally sort of reality that I’ve been able to win six World Tour Finals. It’s an amazing feeling. I know it’s one of my greatest accomplishments.” – Roger Federer.

“Maybe I didn’t have really time to relax, but (that) is not the excuse here. He played better than me.” – David Ferrer, following his semifinal loss to Roger Federer.

“I’m shocked every time that I’ve reached so many finals or won against so many players or whatever record it is. It strikes me and makes me obviously very happy and very proud that I’ve been able to do it for so many years at the highest of levels.” – Roger Federer, who continued to better or equal marks in the record book.

“Six weeks ago if you would have asked me if we would have won this, I would have been surprised. But the way we’ve been playing in the fall, I wouldn’t say surprised.” – Daniel Nestor, who teamed with Max Mirnyi to win the ATP World Tour Finals doubles title.

“We feel great to have been able to win the tournament. We’re very excited to have done it without losing a match. We felt that we built confidence throughout the week because we escaped a few very close matches early on in the tournament. Today, towards the end of the match, I felt we both played pretty good.” – Max Mirnyi.

“I mean, all the credit to my opponent, he played a great match. But, you know, I just wasn’t there. It was the worst match I’ve played this season so far definitely. So many unforced errors. I’m not playing well.  That’s a fact.” – Novak Djokovic, after losing to David Ferrer at the ATP World Tour Finals.

“I didn’t play really bad, but he didn’t have one mistake during all the match or two mistakes during all the match. I tried my best, but it seems that wasn’t enough tonight.” – Rafael Nadal, after losing to Roger Federer in the round-robin portion of the ATP World Tour Finals.

“It might seem like a long time but the Australian Open is only six or seven weeks away. I could mess up my preparation for that. The off-season is so important to me and has been for the last few years, to get myself in shape. I would probably do myself more damage playing than not.” – Andy Murray, after pulling out of the ATP World Tour Finals, citing an injury, after losing his first round-robin match.

“I enjoyed still playing at this time of the year when no one else is. We get our own locker rooms back there, our names on our towels. For me, that doesn’t happen every year. A lot of guys have made this (tournament) a lot of times, but I haven’t, and I can appreciate it a lot more. … I know there’s a chance I won’t ever come back to this event, so I wanted to take it all in.” – Mardy Fish, who lost all three of his round-robin matches.

“You have hurt Spaniards, athletes and me. I think it is not fair to discredit the triumphs of Spanish athletes by treating them all as cheaters. The truth is that I am still stunned.” – Emilio Sanchez, responding to Yannick Noah’s assertion that Spanish tennis players take performance drugs.

“I am against all forms of doping, but I’m hypersensitive when it comes to injustice. There are too many cheats winning these days inSpainand elsewhere. At which point is an athlete considered to have doped? When he takes a product that makes him run faster, makes him stronger, helps him recover more quickly? Or when he tests positive? The answer to the question is not the same, depending on the country.” – Yannick Noah.

“I cannot pretend to be a tennis expert of (Slobodan) Zivojinovic’s caliber but I am a big tennis fan and my love for the game has been undiminished since I saw him play against (formerWimbledonchampion) Pat Cash in the Davis Cup inSplit1987.” – Vuk Jeremic, who replaced Zivojinovic as president of the Serbian Tennis Association.

SUPER SWISS

Roger Federer ended the 2011 season in style, capturing his sixth year-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals and his third straight tournament. His 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-3 victory over Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga made the 30-year-old Swiss master the oldest player to capture the season-ending championship. By going undefeated and winning all five matches he played, Federer earned USD $1,630,000 and moved past Andy Murray into third place in the ATP rankings. “It feels very special indeed,” said Federer, who ends the year on a 17-match winning streak.  Before heading to London, the right-hander won two other indoor tournaments, the Swiss Indoors Basel and the BNPParibas Masters in Paris. Federer beat Tsonga three times in his last six matches – in the Parisfinal and in a round-robin match in the season finale.

SETTING RECORDS

Roger Federer continues to rewrite the record book. He becomes the first player to win six season-ending tournament titles, also capturing the crown in 2003-04, 2006-07 and 2010. The victory tied Ivan Lendl’s wins at the tournament. Lendl compiled a 39-10 mark, winning five times, while Federer is now 39-7. Pete Sampras also won five season finales. Federer became the fifth player to reach 100 finals in the Open Era, joining Jimmy Connors (163), Lendl (146), John McEnroe (108) and Guillermo Vilas (104). And with his 807th career match win in the final, Federer broke a tie for sixth place with Stefan Edberg. Connors leads with 1,242 match wins, followed by Lendl (1,071), Vilas (923), McEnroe (875) and Andre Agassi (870). It was Federer’s 70th ATP Tour-level trophy. “This definitely is an amazing finish again to the season,” Federer said. “I’ve never finished so strong.”

SUCCESSFUL DUO

Winning the ATP World Tour Finals doubles is old hat for both Max Mirnyi of Belarusand Canada’s Daniel Nestor. Winning it together was a new experience. Playing together for the first time in the season-ending tournament, the two beat Poland’s Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 6-3 in the final. Nestor has won the ATP World Tour doubles title four times, with Mark Knowles of the Bahamasin 2007 and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbiain 2008 and 2010. Mirnyi won the year-ending event in 2006 when he teamed with Sweden’s Jonas Bjorkman. It was Nestor’s 75th career doubles title.

STOPPED BY INJURY

A knee injury has forced Ivan Lendl to withdraw from the AEGON Masters Tennis event, a seniors event which will be held this week at Royal Albert Hall in London. Lendl had been scheduled to make his debut at the tournament. “I was looking forward to playing in Londonand seeing many friends who I have not seen in quite some time,” Lendl said. “However, I am equally looking forward getting my knee fixed so that I can resume playing and working at my Academy. Hopefully I can come to Londonnext year and play in this prestigious event.” Now in its 15th year, the tournament will feature John McEnroe, Goran Ivanisevic, Tim Henman, Pat Cash, Mark Philippoussis, Henri Leconte, Fabrice Santoro, Thomas Enqvist and Younes El Aynaoui. Others who will play doubles include Mansour Bahrami, Peter McNamara, Jeremy Bates, Mikael Pernfors and Andrew Castle. The AEGON Masters Tennis is the final event of the year on the ATP Champions Tour. Replacing Lendl in the field will be 1996Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek.

SERBIA’S TENNIS BOSS

Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic is the new president ofSerbia’s Tennis Association (TSS). Jeremic takes over for Slobodan Zivojinovic, who was pushed out of the job with the help of the family of top-ranked Novak Djokovic. In his first action asTSSpresident, Jeremic named Novak’s uncle, Goran Djokovic, as one of theTSSvice presidents. He takes the position formerly held by former Davis Cup coach Radmilo Armenulic, who also stepped down. Srdjan Djokovic, Novak’s father, had argued that Zivojinovic, who had reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1986, had been inTSSpresident for too long on past merits and had done nothing to boost his son’s career when he was a child and very little to ensure long-term success of Serbia’s players. Zivojinovic won a third four-year term by a landslide in January, but popular support for him kept dwindling. Zivojinovic is a member of the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) Davis Cup committee. “It was a difficult decision to make at a time when tennis became a shining example ofSerbia’s talent and the country grew into one of the game’s superpowers,” Zivojinovic said. While he was president,Serbiaproduced three players who became number one in the world: Ana Ivanovic, Jelena Jankovic and Novak Djokovic.

SISTERS CLASH

With both seeing action for the first time since the US Open, Venus Williams defeated her younger sister Serena 6-4 7-6 (5) in an exhibition match inMedellin,Colombia. Venus hadn’t played since she pulled out of the US Open following her first-round victory because of an immune system disease. Serena’s last match was the US Open final, when she lost to Australian Samantha Stosur. The sisters will team up inMilan,Italy, on December 3 to play Italians Francesca Schiavone and Flavia Pennetta in another exhibition. In head-to-head competition, Serena leads Venus 13-10, but exhibitions don’t count.

SHIFTS DAVIS CUP SITE

The Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) has asked the International Tennis Federation (ITF) to reconsider its decision to move the Davis Cup Asia/Oceania Group II tie againstLebanonout ofPakistanbecause of security concerns.Pakistanwas due to playLebanoninLahorein February, but the ITF announced earlier in the week that the tie had been moved toLebanon. “We’re very disappointed at the ITF’s decision,” said Mumtaz Yousuf, the PTF secretary. “We’ve filed an appeal with them to reconsider their decision as there’s still time for the event.” Yousuf saidLebanonwas ready to play the tie inPakistanbefore the ITF expressed its reservations over security conditions. “We’re disappointed because we were making proper arrangements and we had also kept the ITF informed about our plans,” Yousuf said. “The ITF should’ve come toPakistanto review the arrangements themselves before taking a decision.”Pakistanhas not held a home Davis Cup since theSri Lankacricket team was attacked in March 2009. The ITF moved home Davis Cup ties againstHong Kong, thePhilippines,OmanandNew Zealandbecause of the security situation. But the ITF moved these ties after the opposing teams refused to travel toPakistan. The PTF had also filed compensation claims with the ITF after losing the right to host their Davis Cup ties. In recent months several international teams have competed inPakistan. The country’s top tennis player, Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, lamented that it would be difficult forPakistanto qualify for the main round of the Davis Cup if they always had to play away from home.

SWITCHING PARTNERS

At the end of each year players who specialize in doubles participate in a game of changing partners. This year is no different. Leander Paes and compatriot Mahesh Bhupathi, who were semifinalists in the ATP World Tour Finals, are splitting again. The 38-year-old Paes will start the year partnering Janko Tipsarevic ofSerbia, then will play ATP Tour events with Radek Stepanek of theCzech Republic. Bhupathi will team with Rohan Bopanna on the Tour. Bopanna, who played with Pakistan’s Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi the last two seasons, said, “Hesh and I are looking to play a full schedule this year, something in the region of 24 weeks, the four Grand Slams and the Olympics.” Qureshi will pair with Jean-Julien Rojer for the Australian Open. Qureshi and Bopanna – the Indo-Pak Express – played in the ATP World Tour Finals inLondonwhere they lost all three of their round-robin matches.

SENIOR BATTLE

Thailand’s Tamarine Tanasugarn won the oldest final in WTA history when she beat Kimiko Date-Krumm 6-2 7-5 to capture the Dunlop World Challenge Tennis Tournament inToyota,Japan. Tanasugarn is 34 and her Japanese opponent is 41. By beating Date-Krumm, Tanasugarn raised her ranking closer to the top 100, guaranteeing her a berth in the Australian Open main draw in January. The Thai increased her head-to-head advantage over Date-Krumm to 3-1. Date-Krumm’s only win came at inToyotatwo years ago. While Date-Krumm started her pro career in 1989 and Tanasugarn five years later, the two Asian stars didn’t play each other until 2008. They have met every year since. Date-Krumm returned to the WTA tour in 2008 after a 12-year retirement. She was ranked inside the top 50 earlier this year, but has since dropped to around 100. The two had set the record for oldest combined finalists when they met for the title inOsaka,Japan, last year. Tanasugarn shrugged off this year’s encounter. “There’s nothing special about that as we are getting older,” she said, “and if we meet again, it will be rewritten. I hope to play for two more years, but I have no idea about Date.”

STAN TO DEFEND

Switzerland’s Stanislas Wawrinka will begin 2012 by defending his title at the $450,000 ATP Chennai Open inIndia. Wawrinka, who beatBelgium’s Xavier Malisse for the title this year, will be making his fourth successive appearance in the only ATP event in the southernIndianCityof Chennai. Organizers said Janko Tipsarevic ofSerbia, Nicolas Almagro ofSpain, Marin Cilic ofCroatiaandCanada’s Milos Raonic are also expected to be in the field for the hard court tournament, which begins January 2.

SWITCH IN PLANS

Great Britain’s top-ranked woman player figures she can change her mind about retiring. Elena Baltacha said that if she is winning matches, she would be “silly” to retire after the 2012 Olympics, which will be held inLondon. In August, Baltacha suggested that the London Games would be her final competition. “Obviously I said that after the Olympics I’m going to retire,” the 28-year-old said. “But it depends what’s going to happen. If I still love playing and I feel I can improve and get better, I’d be pretty silly to retire at that point.”

SANIA TELLS ALL

Sania Mirza says she will tell the real story in her soon-to-be-published autobiography. “The book is about a side of me that very few people know,” India’s top female player said. “For the first time the autobiography will tell my point of view about all the controversies, because whenever I’ve tried to talk about it to journalists, they always end up writing their own point of view.” She said the book will talk about playing tennis professionally. “I dwell on my journey in tennis and that could be useful to aspiring tennis players and their families in the future.” Mirza, who is married to Pakistani cricket star Shoaib Malik, recently celebrated her 25th birthday.

SAYS NO TO TAXES

When foreign sports and entertainment figures work in theUnited Kingdom, they must pay a tax. Bloomberg News reported that the tax amounted to USD $105 million in 2009-2010. Two-timeWimbledonchampion Rafael Nadal said last month that he won’t play theWimbledonwarm-up tournament at Queen’s Club next year and instead will play a grass-court event the same week inHalle,Germany. The Spaniard had said he would “lose money” if he played Queen’s, where he has competed in five of the past six years. Roger Draper, chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), said his group has been lobbying the British government for a tax exemption to be included in the next budget statement in March. Athletes who compete at the 2012 London Olympics have been granted an exemption. “The government (is) taking it seriously and we are very hopeful, but there are no guarantees,” Draper said. The tax law was implemented afterBritain’s tax authority won a landmark case against Andre Agassi in 2006. The American was ordered to pay tax on a portion of the money paid to him by Nike and Head because he endorsed their products atWimbledonand other events inBritain.

SHARED PERFORMANCE

Helsinki:

Martin Emmrich and Andreas Siljestrom beat James Cerretani and Michal Mertinak 6-4 6-4

London:

Max Mirnyi and Daniel Nestor beat Mariusz Fyrstenberg and Marcin Matkowski 7-5 6-3

Toyota:

Makoto Ninomiya and Riko Sawayanagi beat Caroline Garcia and Michaella Krajicek, walkover

SURFING

Seville:

www.daviscup.com

Dubai:

www.dubaitennis.com

London:

www.aegonmasterstennis.com

Ankara:

www.atk.org.tr

TOURNAMENTS THIS WEEK

(All money in USD)

WOMEN

$75,000 14th Al Habtoor Tennis Challenge, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, hard

DAVIS CUP

Final

(December 2-4)

Spain vs. Argentina at Seville, Spain, clay

SENIORS

AEGON Masters Tennis, London, Great Britain, indoor

WEEK OF DECEMBER 19

WOMEN

$50,000 Ankara Cup,Ankara,Turkey, hard

Tracy Austin rallies Team Lendl to victory in US Open Champions Invitational

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FLUSHING, N.Y., September 12, 2009 — Team Lendl rallied behind the dominating play of two-time US Open champion Tracy Austin to defeat Team Cash 21-17 in the final day of the US Open Champions Invitational at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. With the win, Team Lendl finished the competition as the only undefeated team, posting a 2-0 record.

With her team trailing by four games after the first three events, Austin teamed with Guillermo Vilas to roll over Hana Mandlikova and Ilie Nastase, 5-2 in mixed doubles. Austin and World TeamTennis CEO/Commissioner Ilana Kloss routed Mandlikova and Iva Majoli 5-0 in women’s doubles to give Team Lendl the match win.

Team Cash, coached by Pat Cash, started the day with an early lead when Majoli edged Conchita Martinez 5-4 in the opening set of women’s singles. The set was evenly matched with every game going to 3-points all, forcing a 9-point tiebreak at 4-4. Majoli won the tiebreak for the 5-4 victory.

Cash and Todd Martin topped Vilas and Jimmy Arias in men’s doubles 5-4 to add to Team Cash’s lead. Cash subbed in the men’s doubles event when Ilie Nastase had not arrived by the start of the set. Nastase showed up a few minutes later and when interviewed by the announcer about the reason for his late arrival, the irrepressible Nastase replied, “I cannot say – there are kids around.”

Nastase continued in classic form on the court as well, partially mooning Austin during mixed doubles and trying to unnerve her with a bit of trash-talking. “This one is for you, Tracy”. Austin was unaffected as she and her Team Lendl doubles partners outgunned her opponents 10-2 over the final two sets.

Team Cash and Team Lendl, along with Team King coached by Billie Jean King, each played two matches over three days of team competition. The event used the World TeamTennis format for the first time in US Open history and featured a lineup of Grand Slam champions and finalists competing on co-ed teams. Team Lendl finished with a 2-0 record, while Team King was 1-1 and Team Cash was 0-2.

Each match consisted of one set each of men’s and women’s singles, men’s and women’s doubles and mixed doubles. Other WTT features included cumulative scoring, sets to five games, no-ad scoring, playing let serves, Overtime and Supertiebreakers.

Final Score: Team Lendl def. Team Cash 21-17

Women’s Singles: Iva Majoli (Team Cash) def. Conchita Martinez (Team Lendl) 5-4 (4)

Men’s Doubles: Todd Martin/Pat Cash (Team Cash) def. Jimmy Arias/Guillermo Vilas (Team Lendl) 5-4 (1)

Men’s Singles: Todd Martin (Team Cash) def. Jimmy Arias (Team Lendl) 5-3

Mixed Doubles: Tracy Austin/Guillermo Vilas (Team Lendl) def. Hana Mandlikova/Ilie Nastase (Team Cash) 5-2

Women’s Doubles: Ilana Kloss/Tracy Austin (Team Lendl) def. Hana Mandlikova/Iva Majoli (Team Cash) 5-0

Check www.USOpen.org for more details on the US Open Champions Invitational.