Was tennis more fun in the 70’s?
Is it just me or was tennis more fun in the old days?
Borg, McEnroe, Evert-Lloyd, Vilas, Navratilova, Connors, Nastase, Wade, Gerulaitis, Barker, Panatta, Billie-Jean, Ashe etc etc.
For the men, the socks and the hair were long and the shorts were short. The women had that big collared Teddy Tingling thing going on and of course, frilly knickers.
Wimbledon fortnight always seemed to be baking hot (maybe that was only 1976) and pop star tennis had arrived in the shape of Bjorn Borg. When Borg lost his epic 5 set Wimbledon 1/4 final battle with Britain’s Roger Taylor in 1973, we all knew there were big things ahead for this 16yr old Swedish boy wonder.
Love was in the air in the shape of Jimmy and Chrissie, Bjorn and Marianna and then John Lloyd and Chrissie.
There were great rivalries and great characters. No one player totally dominated either the ladies or the mens, you always felt that a tournament was there for the taking (even if it was from one of only a handful of the top players).
The game was showing the first signs of what we see today in the shape of the topspin of Borg and Vilas. It may have been slower, but it was there.
The game today is a more professional game. Stricter practice regimes, better diets, bigger entourages and a lot more money at stake. The players of today are highly tuned machines. This of course can only be admired but a little part of me can’t stop hankering after the good old days.
Vamos Guillermo!
borg, Connors, evert, mcenroe, nastase, navratilova, tennis in the 70s, vilas, wade
June 16, 2007 at 3:10 pm
6 Comments
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Comment by tennishead
June 23, 2007 @ 2:00 pm
My favorite was Italy’s Adriano Panatta. He had so much style and charisma. This guy was so cool as he was the only person ever to beat Borg at the French Open - and he did so twice. First in 1973 in the 4th round and then in 1976 in the Q/F. That year he went on to win the title.
Comment by john key
June 23, 2007 @ 6:26 pm
I knew he’d won the French but hadn’t realised he’d beaten Borg there - twice!
I certainly remember some epic Davis Cup battles that GBR had with Italy in Rome. Panatta proved to be pretty lethal on home soil.
Comment by cruncher
June 26, 2007 @ 8:52 am
Hi - Does anyone know what Panatta is doing now. Is he still involved in tennis?
Comment by john key
June 26, 2007 @ 4:36 pm
I found this about the man himself:
“Panatta retired from the professional circuit in 1983. Since then, he has held several positions in the Italian tennis world including, Davis Cup captain, the Italian Tennis Federation national coach, tournament director of the Italian Open, and publisher of his own tennis magazine. But the activity that he has been most passionate about since retirement is competing in offshore speed boat racing. In 2004, his team won the world championship. He also holds two speed world records.”
The full article can be found here
Comment by First serve
June 27, 2007 @ 7:00 pm
I think it was more fun then. Where are the modern players with the character of Leconte, Nastase, Connors & McEnroe ?
Comment by john key
June 27, 2007 @ 7:32 pm
Well there is Novak Djokovic - I can’t think of anyone else though!
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