I am an avid tennis fan and a weekend warrior on the courts. I was introduced to tennis by my father, who is not a tennis player by any means - he's more of a golfer - but I finally caught the bug to play more seriously after graduating highschool.
My girlfriend back in senior year of highschool, YM, was an amazing tennis player. She was either number 1 or number 2 tennis player on our highschool because she was good enough to beat most boys in our CIF Division. She was the only girl in our highschool tennis team. I didn't even play tennis then, but I already like the sport and has been a fan of the greats like Borg, McEnroe and Connors from earlier years. This was back in 1988-1989. Trying to beat her at tennis was the original impetus - but of course I never caught up since I only picked up tennis that year. Back then I was more into team sports like basketball & volleyball, but I was soon hooked with tennis.
I remembered 1988 was a breakthrough year for a very young, long-haired and denim wearing Andre Agassi who finished as the highest ranked American at No. 3 in the world. Mats Wilander finished No. 1 in 1988 after winning the Australian Open (beating Pat Cash), French Open (beating Henri LeConte) and the U.S. Open (beating Ivan Lendl). That year, my tennis idol Boris Becker finally lost a Wimbledon finals match, in 4 sets to Stefan Edberg on a Monday finals (due to rain delays) after winning the 1st set and holding all his serve but still losing the 2nd set. Becker faded badly in sets 3 & 4 and was inconsolable after losing - one of the few times in his career that he was in tears after losing.
On the women's side, there was only 1 story in 1988: Steffi Graf. She won a Golden Slam that year - all four grand slam tournaments + a gold medal in the Seoul Olympics. She didn't beat tomato cans for her titles, either. Steffi beat a HOFer Chris Evert in the Australian Open in straight sets, the doubles star Natasha Zvereva in the French Open (scoring a rare double bagel 6-0; 6-0 victory in half an hour or something), a very game HOF Martina Navratilova in 3 sets for the Wimbledon title and the always tough Gabriela Sabatini twice for the U.S. Open & the Olympic Gold.
Anyway, reminiscing aside because I could go on and on, I want to highlight my favorite men's tennis players of all time and there's quite a few of them, but I'll discuss at least a few of them here and will discuss more of them next time. Some are obvious choices while others are a bit obscure perhaps, maybe you'll agree, maybe you wont. Here they are:
1. Boris Becker
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| A Youthful Becker Executing the Famous Becker Lunge |
Herr Boom Boom or Baron Von Slam is at the top of my list as he is as compelling in defeat as well as victory. He is painful to watch when he is off - whining and berating himself in German (I was told by my friend who speaks German that Becker's language is often quite profane when he's whining) and absolutely lifting when he's on - often making incredible shots and impossible gets by the legendary Becker Lunge (Das Becker Hecht).
Winning Wimbledon in 1985 as an unseeded 17 year old, Becker repeated as Wimbledon champion in 1986. In 1987 he suffered a shocking loss in the second round to Australian journeyman Peter Doohan and he famously declared that he's allright - he just lost a tennis match, he didn't lose a war, nobody died. Some might think he's not as competitive as he should be because of that statement - but I honestly believe that he's really trying to comfort himself. Becker is as passionate, complex, stubborn and as mercurial as an athlete can be.
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| The Famous Becker Fist Pump |
Becker made it to the Wimbledon finals a total of 7 times (1985, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991 and 1995) winning in 1985, 1986 & 1989. The worst drubbing I ever saw Boris received in Wimbledon finals was in 1991 at the hands of Michael Stitch. A swift 4-6; 6-7; 4-6 straight set thrashing which came as a surprise - not too many players can do that to Becker on center court.
Besides winning Wimbledon, Boris also won 1 U.S. Open title in 1989 and 2 Australian Open titles (in 1991 & 1996), but never winning the French - the only true blemish on Becker's grand slam record. In fact, Boris never actually won any singles title on clay - the closest being the finals of Monte Carlo Open in 1989 (losing to Alberto Mancini) and in 1995 (losing to Thomas Muster) and the finals of the Swiss Open in 1998 in Gstaad (losing to Alex Corretja). The best he managed in the French Open was reaching the semis in 1987, 1989 & 1991.
Most tennis greats are also evidenced by how great their rivals are during their era and I strongly believe that Becker played during an era when the John McEnroe-Bjorn Borg-Ivan Lendl-Jimmy Connors of the late 70s and early 80s generation shifts to the late 80s and early 90s. Becker's main rivalry is with the great Stefan Edberg, as the three met in Wimbledon finals 3 consecutive times (1988, 1989, 1990) and also in the 1989 French Open semis. Becker easily has an overall winning record against Edberg (25-10), but Edberg has bested Becker three out of the four times they met in Grand Slam tournament matches. I believe Becker also has winning records against Ivan Lendl, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors, but I don't think he has a winning record against Pete Sampras or Andre Agassi, though.
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| Boris Becker for Tag Heuer's Inner Strength Campaign |
Boris Becker, despite briefly reaching the No. 1 rank on the ATP Tour in January 1991, has never finished any season as the year-ending No. 1 ranked player on the ATP Tour rankings. Retiring in 1999, Becker has amassed great fortune & fame through on the court and notoriety off of it. He's cannon fodder for the Paparazzi with his various scuffles with the law and the gossip crowd (tax problems with the German Government in 1993, controversial marriage with African-American Barbara Feltus followed with the messy divorce in 2001, the paternity suit vs model Angela Emarkova, etc). Boris Becker is quite an astute businessman - having interests in various businesses including: the Boris Becker Business Towers in Dubai with ACI, multiple Mercedes Benz dealerships in Germany "Autohaus Boris Becker", as well as the Boris Becker Tennis Equipments and other ventures. He remains a marketable name as various manufacturers use his name and likeness to represent their brands still to this day.
2. Yannick Noah
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| Yannick Noah's antics |
My next favorite player may be an odd choice as he has not always been a consistent winner, but the few times I had a chance to watch his matches were quite entertaining and spirited. Yannick Noah won the French Open men's singles title in 1983 and became the first frenchman to do it since 1946 and has been the only frenchman to do so since 1983 (by 2011 - 28 years and counting).
I don't see a frenchman winning the French Open title in the foreseeable future eventhough there are 4 current crop of French tennis professionals (Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Gilles Simon, Richard Gasquet) in the top 20 of the ATP rankings. They are still longshots to win it (at best - darkhorse).
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| Yannick Noah winning the French Open men's singles title in 1983 |
Noah is a Frenchman born in Sedan, Ardennes, France as a son to Marie-Claire Échalier-Perrier and Zachari Noah, a former Cameroonian football star who immigrated to France and became a professional football for the Sedan-Torcy club, once leading it to the French Cup.
Yannick Noah turned professional in 1977 and by 1978 has won his first top-level professional title in Manila. It was not until 1983 that the Frenchman made a huge splash by winning the French Open men's singles championship - becoming the first Frenchman to do it in 37 years. The last Frenchman to win the title before Noah was Marcel Bernard in 1946.
Noah unfortunately did not cope well with the incredible adulation the French fans showered him. Although he made a lot of money peddling goods and becoming spokesman for advertisements, he struggled with his fame and his tennis suffered.
Even with these personal issues, Yannick still managed to win 23 singles titles (12 on claycourts, 7 on hardcourts and 4 on carpet). I find it peculiar that he never won on grass, because his game is based on his athleticism, his service and his penchant to attack the net and make the spectacular volleys. His game is care-free, acrobatic volleying with many spectacular athleticism on improbable trick shots (backwards between the legs shot, reverse/backwards overhead shot, between the legs half-volley, lunging volleys, 180 degrees spinning overheads and many more).
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| Yannick Noah Lunging for a Difficult Get |
Yannick Noah was also a successful doubles player - winning 16 doubles tournament with several partners, but mostly with his countrymen Henri Leconte or Guy Forget.
In 1984, he and Leconte managed to win the French Open doubles title to the delight of French fans, defeating Chekoslovakian doubles specialists Pavel Slozil and Tomas Smid in a thrilling see-saw 5 set battle.
Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte also made the 1985 U.S. Open doubles finals, but losing to American doubles team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso. Noah teaming with Guy Forget made the doubles finals of the 1986 Doubles Finals in London, as well as the 1987 French Open doubles finals.
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| Yannick Noah - Davis Cup Captain circa 1991 Finals |
Yannick Noah is a big hero for the French
team tennis matches representing their country. Noah started playing for France since 1978 and has been a strong contributor for both the singles and the doubles matches for France until his last involvement as a player in 1990. In 1982, Noah was leading the French Davis Cup team that made the finals - losing to the United States' team 4-1. His combined Davis Cup record is a strong 39-22.
Yannick became a bigger hero for France when he took over as the Davis Cup Captain in 1991. He lead the French Davis Cup team all the way to the Finals in 1991, where they beat the highly favored U.S. team comprising of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and the doubles team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso.
He also captained the French Davis Cup team to the title in 1996 and captained the French Federation Cup team to the title in 1997 for good measure. Yannick Noah now enjoys his life outside of tennis with his music career and his business ventures. He is a successful recording and touring artist with three albums (Black or What - 1991, epynomously titled Yannick Noah - 2000 and Charango - 2006). He is a spokesperson for hot selling underwear brand "Sloggi" and owns a restaurant called "Do Brazil" in the French West Indies.
3. Andre Agassi
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| Young Andre Agassi in Denim - hitting the ball flat as hard as he can & grunting as loud as he can |
Andre Agassi used to be the player I would love to watch the older guys beat. His irreverence and self promoting attitude was alien to tennis for the most part, but never dull. His insistence on non conformity strikes a familiar note in my heart, but I wasn't raised that way - thus I wanted to see this hot shot kid to do well but still losing to the legends like John McEnroes, Jimmy Connors, Boris Becker, Ivan Lendl and the likes. But you know what? I always watched his matches. There was something enthralling about how Andre played - his laser like groundstrokes off both sides, his grunting, his clowning around, his clothes - oh his clothes.
Andre turned professional at the tender age of 16 in 1986, leaving the Nick Bollettieri's academy which he joined at age 13, finishing the year ranked No. 91.
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| Believe it or not - this 'costume' was hot back in the day |
In 1987 Andre achieved more success as his game developed - winning his 1st singles title in Brazil and finishing the year ranked No. 25. Andre took tennis by storm in 1988, winning 6 tournaments (5 in U.S.A. and 1 in Germany) and making the semifinals of the French Open (losing to eventual champ Mats Wilander) & U.S. Open (losing to Ivan Lendl) - finishing the year ranked No. 3.
1989 was a bit of a down year for Agassi as his ranking dropped to No. 7, failing to do well in the French, he nevertheless still made the semifinals of the U.S. Open, losing to Ivan Lendl again - this time in four set, but meekly by 6-1 in the fourth. Andre only won 1 title in Orlando that year, but his clothing and his marketability was on the rise and he made the cover of a lot of magazines.
1990 was a confusing year for Agassi. He exploded in the global popular culture. The 19 year old made tons of money through endorsements. He had throngs of fans everywhere he goes. He launched his hot pink lava apparel and reached the finals of the French Open - losing in 4 sets to Andres "Go Go" Gomez. In new neon lime green apparels, he famously beat defending champion Boris Becker in 4 sets at the semifinals of the US Open but goes out like a light in straight sets to Pete Sampras in the finals. He won 3 tournaments in the U.S.A. and also beat Boris Becker & Stefan Edberg back-to-back to win the AT Tour World Championships - raising his ranking to No. 4 from a year ago. In 1991 he made the French Open finals again, only to lose to compatriot Jim Courier in a tough 5 set match, but did virtually nothing much of note for that year and slid down to No. 10.
Agassi underwent an evolution during his career. As a younger player, he was brash and beligerent and was often looked at with disdain by most of the veterans on the tour - both for his attitude and his attire (jealousy perhaps?). Agassi was a chameleon on the court, changing looks, colors and equipments with the season. Below is but a few examples of the Andre Agassi of the "Image is Everything" years:
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| The many colors of Andre Agassi - image (and hair) is everything |
Agassi surprisingly won his first grand slam title in the 1992 Wimbledon, a grand slam tournament he despised because of its (predominantly) white apparel rule and a tournament he has skipped between 1987 to 1991 because he was "allergic to grass", dispatching Boris Becker in 5 sets, John McEnroe in easy straight sets & a hot Goran Ivanisevic in a thrilling see-saw 5 set finals. 1993 was a bad year for Agassi as various injuries, including one to the wrist requiring surgery, wiped out his opportunities to go down to No. 24 in the rankings. 1994-1995 was a bit of a resurgent years for Agassi as he hooked up with Brad Gilbert and rededicate himself to the sport. He also sports the new balding pirate with a goatee look, but winning the US Open in 1994 beating Michael Stitch and the Australian Open in 1995 beating his nemesis in 1995 secured him the No. 2 ranking for the two years, even holding the No. 1 ranking for 30 weeks in 1995.
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| Andre Agassi - the Pirate Look (transition period from long blondie to clean shaven noggin) |
1996 Agassi began romancing Brooke Shields, marrying her in 1997. These two years were the worst years of Agassi's professional tennis career, where his ranking fell to No. 8 (1996) and then sank all the way down to No. 141 - improving by year end to No. 110 (1997), from winning 7 titles in 1995 - down to only winning 3 in 1996 and then winning none in 1997. To be fair to Brooke, Agassi was injured a lot in 1997, but their marriage only lasted until their divorce in April 1999.
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| Andre Agassi - the Older Wiser Version |
1998 until the end of his career in 2006 was when Agassi became the face of the game of tennis (despite the domination of the incredible Pete Sampras) and through all his past trials became a much more thoughtful and philosophical player. His recommited himself to tennis with his coach Brad Gilbert and trainer Gil Reyes. In 1998 he won 5 titles - pushing his ranking all the way up to No. 6 (the largest ever ranking improvement within 1 calendar year in ATP history), but failing to do well in the Slams. Between 1998 to his retirement in 2006, Agassi added 26 more singles titles (including 5 more grand slam titles: 3 Australian Open titles/1 French Open title - completing the career Gland Slam/1 US Open title), a year-end No. 1 ranking in 1999 and winning the hearts of tennis fans everywhere with a more visible humility and appreciation of the game and the fans. Oh, and he married Hall of Famer Steffi Graf in 2001, making a household of a combined 30 singles grand slam championships. Gadyamn!
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