Back then, in 1981, the only net in tennis went across the court, not across cyberspace. Back then you might have thought Amazon.com was some sort of petroleum outfit in the Brazilian outback. YouTube might as well have been an obscure stereo component you’d find in a dusty store and Google was merely a mathematical concept.
In 1981, when Inside Tennis was first published, gas was only $1.38 a gallon. There was no fax, just facts. The Berlin Wall remained an imposing divide, apartheid was a given.
Federer was but a dream. Johnny Mac was a nightmare.
Back then, tennis was rather white, rather Western and spoken with a rather American twang. Thirty-seven of the top 100 men were Yanks. Now there are six. Tournaments thrived in Boston, Philly, Chicago, Dallas and Vegas. The women’s game was defined by Americans like Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, Tracy Austin and Andrea Jaeger. Three of the top four charismatic players in the world — McEnroe, Jimmy Connors and Vitas Gerulaitis — were Made-In-America originals.
Back then, our sport was a deliciously entertaining shoot-’em up Wild West show crowded with outrageous, born-to-be wild characters. “You’re the pits of the world!” barked McEnroe, who surpassed Borg atop the men’s game.
Then tennis slowly shifted.
From far behind the Iron Curtain emerged an insecure but brave Czech named Martina, who went underground and defected to America, while another Czech transplant, Ivan Lendl, went over-the-top in his effort to be fit, eat well and approach the game in a conscious manner. The dominance of the dour, expressionless power baseliner signaled the rise of a far more professional game.
Lendl had his fans, including the young Pete Sampras, who practiced with the star. But not everyone applauded. Critics noted he could empty stadiums faster than any other player. Magazine covers claimed he was “The champion that nobody cares about.” Connors said Lendl became No. 1 by default. “Look, Borg quit, I got old and McEnroe went a little brain dead…Somebody had to be No.1.” Yannick Noah was more unsparing. He said of Lendl, “What a monster. I want nothing to do with him. All that money and Lendl never has the time to smile. He gives the game a bad image.”
All the while there was a gathering storm of indicators of a brave new world beyond our shore. In ’85, the emergence of Boris Becker and Steffi Graf signaled a boom in German and European tennis. All four finalists in the ’87 U.S. Open finals —Lendl, Miloslav Mecir, Navratilova and Helena Sukova — were Czechs. After Swedish men won all four majors in ’88, Arthur Ashe said, “I don’t see anyone in McEnroe’s or Connors’ class in the U.S. In the next three years, the bottom is going to fall out at the top of men’s tennis.”
For five years, there wasn’t a No. 1 American man. The sky was falling. Where’s the next American champion? A (“champion by committee”) player development program was cranked up. Hand-wringing became the official pastime of red, white and oh-so-blue tennis buffs.
Tennis would feel the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the Soviet Union, the alluring power of the glitzy Olympic Games in L.A., Barcelona and Beijing, and a mercurial global economy in which emerging cash-rich domains, eager for credibility, gladly paid mega-bucks or petro-dollars for international visibility.
Still, faster than you could say “Advantage America,” — a whole new generation of young Yanks — Sampras, Agassi, Courier, Chang and Martin — emerged and crowded the conversation. Plus, a couple of sassy sisters — Venus and Serena — all but took over with ‘tude and a wink.
Still, the winds of change blew. Young athletic wannabes and deep pocket cash blew in from distant ports. Six-foot-six became the new 5-foot-11. Once-benign rackets morphed into lethal howitzers – light and stiff. New strings offered more pop. Forget serve-and-volley, net charging was more like serve-and-folly. Imposing returns punished, two-handed backhands were all but required. Open-stance groundies became the rage. Dirtmeisters who focused on clay-court play could now compete on all but the fastest surfaces. Equal prize money, co-ed tournaments, female umps, broadcasters, promoters and politicos; hovering coaches, bulky physios and gorgeous gal pals became mainstays.
In a brave new glam ‘n Slam world of $88 million contracts, gleaming tennis palaces, JumboTrons and techno roofs — agents and marketing mavens ruled the roost. All the while, a fussy player code sedated the court.
Quiet, please!
Noah boldly asserted that the code of conduct was “the worst thing that’s happened. You should be allowed to scream and break your racket…The most important thing is to make a whole stadium enjoy themselves.” Boris Becker concurred, saying, “There are too many matches where you don’t see emotions, where you don’t see the ultimate battle…There are too many rules, players can’t do anything. It is important we have boundaries, but now it is too proper, too politically correct. Tennis is unique, very raw. This is what we need to get back.”
But there was no going back.
In a world of lavish guarantees and a troubling “Best of 14” rule, freshly minted metro-hip players — who became brands unto themselves – were to be viewed on live streaming and assorted cable platforms, or from comfy luxury suites. Intimate venues became endangered species.
Plus, there were other challenges — Hawk-Eye challenges.
With big brother watching, there were fewer opportunities for “I’m mad and I’m not going to take it anymore” rants. Increasingly, stadiums echoed — not with rage but with grunts often with accents — from distant lands. Once Soviet Prime Minister Nikita Krushchev was asked why so few Soviet players were at Wimbledon. He replied by asking, “What’s Wimbledon?” In contrast, in 1983 Mikhail Gorbachev‘s wife, Raisa, told Chris Evert that tennis “will bring our people together.” And in ’04, Russians Anastasia Myskina, Maria Sharapova and Svetlana Kuznetsova each won majors. Since then, Russians have reached 12 Slam finals. Okay, Raisa Gorbachev’s vision might have been a pipe dream. But, Serena once quipped, “I don’t know who I’m playing in the next round, but I know her name will end in “ova.” This year’s top 10 featured men from 10 different countries.
Simply put, tennis, together with soccer, has brought more athletes together in every possible setting imaginable.
What would have been difficult to imagine in ’81 was today’s fierce power game with bigger, faster, stronger athletes who are all but impossible to hit through. Explosive 140 mph serves, lightning speed, pivot ‘n blast defense to offense skill-sets and astounding 20-stroke power rallies are now the order of the day: topspin and penetration — POW! This is not your grandfather’s game of deft touch and silky grace.
The Daily Telegraph reflected on today’s players saying, “It would be difficult to experience firsthand these hugely powerful, self-assured, comical characters with vivid egos and violent serves and not come away with the feeling that tennis was no longer a lawn game for vicars.”
However, for all the changes, much remains the same: a simple rectangle, a round ball, an imposing net and the will to win. The great Californian Helen Wills Moody said it all seven decades ago, when she noted ‘I am going to have a game of tennis.’ But what I really mean is, ‘I am going to have a wonderful time under the sky, in the sun. I am going to rush around, feeling the motion of the air and the movement of my body through space…For a while the world will not exist…I shall lose myself in the fun of the game, in competition, which seems real but is not important. I am going to play.’
Tennis still stands on the shoulders of its four, lavishly upgraded Grand Slams, the Davis and Fed Cups and a nomadic men’s and women’s tour. It still lives season to season as it cycles from the Australian Open (now played in January) to the U.S. Open and beyond. Young teens — so wide-eyed, more-than-eager — hope to crack into a ridiculously lucrative sport. Savvy vets cling, sometimes desperately, to fading dreams, hoping for one last hurrah.
All the while, Inside Tennis has continued to report the fun and follies of a game that showcases skill and exposes character. As Oracene Williams observed, “What’s inside a person, always comes out.” And one bad call, one errant backhand, a single let-chord can change everything.
So month-to-month, we tell the stories of a simple, yet deceptively complex sport that reveals so much, from fears and doubt to visions of triumph.
In the eerie quietude of an empty Centre Court in London we’ve sensed the haunting ghosts of Wimbledon. Amidst the pulsing roar of Ashe Stadium we’ve felt the fury of fabulous fighters. We’ve spoken to kids thrilled at winning their first trophy and Princes and pooh-bahs in the Royal Box. Whether it’s Zimbabwe or Spain, from Bali to Bradenton — from McEnroe’s art gallery, to Roddick’s practice court or Boris Becker’s Munich club — across this planet we have seen the family of tennis in passionate play.
All of which begs the question, who would have figured that Inside Tennis’ untamed journey — our dance of the imagination — would have lasted for three decades of tumultuous change.
Not reader Tim Delger, who, when he first saw our inaugural issue 30 years ago, quipped, “That paper won’t last the year.”
MOST ENDURING PERSONALITY: John McEnroe.
ON THAT FINE LINE: Alex O’Brien said, “McEnroe’s great. He’s inspired. He walks that fine line between being clever and being insane. He goes from madman to rational. You never know what you are going to get.”
BEST STROKES: Serena’s serve, Graf’s forehand, Navratilova’s volley, Seles’ backhand and return, Sampras’ serve, Federer’s forehand, Agassi’s and Kuerten’s backhands, Edberg’s volley, Agassi’s and Connors’ returns.
PUREST STROKEMEISTERS: Lindsay Davenport and Roger Federer.
WORST STROKE: Gabriela Sabatini’s second serve all but quacked. Still, it was better than Elena Dementieva’s first serve — a twitchy train wreck that derailed many an opportunity.
BEST RIVALRIES: McEnroe vs. Connors, Sampras vs. Agassi and Federer vs. Nadal have all been astounding. But Evert vs. Navratilova was something else.
BEST INNOVATION: Hawk-Eye.
BEST PLAYERS: Sampras had his sublime run. Rafa is coming on, but Roger still rules the roost…If you don’t want to choose between Graf and Navratilova, just say that Steffi is the best singles player ever and Martina is best player over-all, singles and doubles combined. (Can you spell C-O-P-O-U-T?) Or, for that matter, you could say Navratilova (left-handed), Graf (right-handed), Monica Seles (both hands).
FASHION STATEMENTS: Agassi’s acid-washed denim shorts, Serena’s black Puma catsuit of ’02, Anne White’s banned bodysuit of ’85, Nadal’s pirate pants, Bethanie Mattek-Sands’ socks.
OUR FAVORITE MASCOT: In ’02, it was hard to miss Zimbabwe’s Davis Cup clown JoJo.
BEST HAIR: Vitas Gerulaitis, Bjorn Borg, Yannick Noah, Peter Lundgren, Mary Pierce, Anna Kournikova, Andrea Jaeger.
BEST RUN: The supposedly washed-up Connors’ compelling journey to the U.S. Open semis in ’91. Flushing Meadows has never been the same.
BEST SHOT: On his home court in Basel in ’02, Federer dashes far off court to retrieve a Roddick overhead. Sprinting and with his back to the net, he unleashes a corkscrew overhead smash that whizzes down the line past the astonished Roddick, who flings his racket and walks over to Roger.
BEST POINT: In the ’95 USO final, Sampras capped a thrilling 19-ball exchange with Agassi with a backhand crosscourt winner to take the first set.
MOST HUMBLING SHOT: Novak Djokovic was humbled by Fed’s between-the-legs shot at the ’09 U.S. Open, but that was nothing compared to Ivan Lendl netting an approach shot that followed an under-armed serve from Michael Chang in the ’89 French Open quarters.
BEST GESTURES: Guga Kuerten’s heart in the Roland Garros clay; Agassi’s four-corner kisses; Connors’ fist-pump; Chris Evert’s farewell wave; Mikhail Youzhny’s military-style salute.
MOST BEAUTIFUL PLAYER: Sorry, Gaby (aka Gabriella Sabatini), but we choose Ana Ivanovic.
A MIXED MESSAGE TO MUSE ON: Speaking of Sabatini, after winning the ’90 U.S. Open, the Argentine said, “I didn’t have any doubts, but I wasn’t sure I was going to win.”
REFLECTIONS ON BORDERLINE PSCYCHOTICS AND OTHER SELF-CRITICISMS: Patty Fendick claimed she was a “borderline psychotic”…Navratilova said, “If 1988 were a fish I’d throw it back.” …Hana Mandlikova said, “I’m like an orange without any juice.”…Amelie Mauresmo said the only way to avoid another French Open disaster was “to clear my head and have a brain graft.”…Elena Dementieva confided, “I hate my serve. I don’t know how to serve. What I have to change is my mind. I have to love it.”
BEST AGE-DEFYING CONTRACT: Oil of Olay gave Capriati, a 14-year-old with an acne problem, $6 million to endorse its product, which was designed for older women.
BEST AGE-DEFYING REFLECTIONS: Agassi claimed, “I don’t feel old when I’m out there on court. The only time I feel old is when I’m pulling hairs out of my ears.”…Navratiloa insisted, “The ball doesn’t know I’m 47.”
MOST CELEBRATED PRODIGY: Jennifer Capriati’s first tournament was dubbed “The Virginia Slims of Capriati,” but it doesn’t match the sizzle around the emergence of Venus.
SPOOKIEST COMMENTARY: Sally Jenkins said Seles is “a spooky little kid who turned out to have the game of a rattlesnake.”
MOST OUTSTANDING STAT: Federer’s 16 Slams are extraordinary. That he got to 23 straight Slam semis is mind-bending.
MESSIEST MOMENT: We always enjoyed the late ITF chief Phillipe Chatrier’s assessment: “Tennis is in a healthy mess.” Sampras mirrored Chatrier when he lost his lunch en route to winning the ’96 U.S. Open.
WORST EXCUSES: Zambian Musumba Bwayla said he lost to Lighton Mdewayl because “Mdewayl is a stupid man and … has a huge nose and girls hate him. He beat me because my jockstrap was too tight and because when he serves he farts and that made me lose my concentration.” … After losing to Graf at the French Open, Arantxa Sanchez Vicario sniped, “She was very, very lucky. She [hit] some lines on some important points. I was in control of the match and I played really well but I was not lucky like she was.”
LOOKING IN ALL THE WRONG DIRECTIONS: Dennis Miller claimed that authorities were “hunting for legendary fugitive D. B. Cooper in Sampras chest hairs.”
MOST IMMORTAL COMMENTARY: Mike Lupica contended, “Sampras has done everything but Simonize the top of Agassi’s head. Agassi’s colorful; Pete’s immortal.”
BEST FAN ANALYSIS: An inspired English fan reflected on Agassi, saying, “Oh that Agassino, he’s so scruffy. He needs a hair wash and a bath, but he plays with a good sporting instinct. My old Aunt is just potty about him. I just hope he doesn’t absolutely twitch off.”
BEST SPIRITUAL COMMENTARY: Barbra Streisand said Agassi “plays like a Zen master.”
BEST TO NEVER SLAM: Elena Dementieva, Miloslav Mecir, Andy Murray, Mark Philippoussis.
BEST ONE-SLAM WONDERS: Andy Roddick and Michael Chang.
SADDEST COLLAPSE: Dinara Safina fell from No. 1 to No. 113. Yet nothing can approach Jana Novotna’s collapse against Graf at Wimbledon in ’93. (To her credit, five years later she finally won.)
BEST SEASONS: Graf wins the four majors and the Olympics for a Golden Slam in ’88…In ’84, McEnroe goes 82-3 (.965) with a career-high 13 singles titles, including Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Federer challenges that mark in ’05, going 81-4 (.953) with 11 titles, including Wimbledon and the USO.
RETIRED TOO EARLY: Borg, Rafter, Henin, Hingis, Rios, Vaidisova, Jaeger.
MOST INSIGHTFUL ECONOMIC ANALYSIS: Mark Philippoussis, who then owned four cars and nine motorcycles, said, “There’s too much money in the game nowadays.”
TALKIN’ TURKEY: Richard Williams called Irina Spirlea “a big, fat, white turkey.”
MOST SIGNIFICANT LOSSES: If McEnroe had beaten Lendl in the ’84 French Open final, it would have cast his career in a totally different light … If Chang had beaten Sampras in the ’96 U.S. Open final he would have risen to No. 1.
SINGLE MOST IMPORTANT LETTER: Chris Evert sent Serena a stop-squandering-your-talent wake-up call of a letter.
THREE MOST IMPORTANT LETTERS: O-V-A.
AND THE WINNER IS: Following his classic five-set comeback against James Blake at the ’05 USO, Agassi said, “Tennis won tonight.”
BEST COMEBACKS: Seles, tennis in the Olympics, World TeamTennis, Agassi (from No. 141 to No. 1), South Africa in Davis Cup, tournaments in Russia and Eastern Europe.
BEST RETURNING CELEB: After a 33-year absence, Queen Elizabeth returned to Wimbledon.
SUCH AN ENERGETIC GRANNY: Virginia Wade said, “Wimbledon has the real wisdom and comfort of a grandparent, but the energy of a teenager.”
BIGGEST REVELATION: Smiling streaker Missy Johnson joyfully bolts across Wimbledon’s Centre Court in ’96. The move helps to relax Richard Krajieck, who goes on to crush Mal Washington 6-3, 6-4, 6-3.
WORST INJUSTICE: Gunther Parche, the man who stabbed Seles, got off scot-free.
MOST POIGNANT MOMENTS: Noah wins the French; Navratilova returns to Prague for the ’86 Fed Cup; Seles returns to center stage at the U.S. Open; Goran Ivanisevic carries the Croatian flag for the first time in the ’92 Olympics; Nelson Mandela meets with Arthur Ashe; Novotna weeps on the shoulder of the Duchess of Kent; Graf wins the first-ever East German tennis tournament (three days before German reunification) and breaks down in tears; Sampras cracks at the ’95 Aussie Open when a fan yells out, “Do it for your coach!” (Tim Gullikson was fighting a brain tumor); and the ’81 U.S. Open crowd gives a weepy Navratilova a rousing ovation after she double faulted the championship away to Tracy Austin.
BEST COMMENTARY ON VULGARITY: Italian broadcaster Gianni Clerici said, “The greatest vulgarity is a lack of a sense of humor.”
MOST DRAMATIC MATCHES: The Isner-Mahut marathon; Chang’s win over Lendl at the ’89 French; Sampras’ tear-laden victory over Jim Courier at the ’95 Aussie Open; Yannick Noah’s win at the ’83 French; Agassi over Blake at the ’05 U.S. Open; Henin over Capriati in the ’03 USO semis.
HAPPIEST DAY: Due to rain delays in ’91, Wimbledon authorities opened their gates for free on “Middle Sunday.” The crowd did the wave and Laurie Pignon noted, “Joyful youth sat in the seats normally filled by blue rinses and blue chips…and brought a new sort of sunshine to the oldest lawn tournament in the world.” The riffraff again descended upon Centre Court to watch the rain delayed ’01 Wimbledon final between Ivanisevic and Rafter.
MOST CONTROVERSIAL SLOGAN: The ATP’s “New Balls Please” campaign stirs controversy, but not as much as Agassi’s claim that “Image is Everything.”
BEST AD: Nike’s Sampras vs. Agassi “Guerilla Tennis” spot of ’95 (shot, amidst rush-hour traffic, in San Francisco’s Financial District).
BEST BREAKTHROUGH YEAR: ’85, when Boris Becker and Steffi Graf emerged.
BEST NAME: Gabriella Navratilova, Anna Smashnova, Billy Ball and Martina (Navratilova and Hingis.)
CLOSE BUT NO CIGAR: Roddick just couldn’t get over the top against Federer in the ’09 Wimbledon final, losing 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-7(5), 6-7(8), 9-7.
CELEB DUOS THAT SIZZLED: Agassi-Graf, Roddick-Decker, Sampras-Wilson, Fish-Gardner, McEnroe-Smyth.
CELEB DUOS THAT FIZZLED: McEnroe-O’Neal; Agassi-Streisand; Agassi-Shields; Roddick-Moore; Clijsters-Hewitt; Shriver-Lazenby; Connors-Evert; Evert-Lloyd; Evert-Mill; Evert-Norman; Navratilova-Lieberman; Williams-Arrington; Williams-Common; Gimelstob-Morariu; Ginepri-Driver; Hingis-Garcia; Pierce-Alomar.
BEST ADVICE FROM A SPOUSE: During a wretched slump near the end of his career, Sampras’ wife, Bridgette Wilson, wrote Pete, “Don’t believe this crap that people are saying. Stop on your own terms. Just promise me that.”
MOST IMPORTANT BROADCASTERS: Bud Collins, John McEnroe, Mary Carillo.
WORST BROADCASTER: Howard Cosell.
MOST CROWD-PLEASING SPEECHES: After winning the French, Jim Courier spoke to the adoring crowd in French … After retiring, Agassi offered a Gehrigian “on the shoulder of my fans” speech.
BEST BITE-THE-HAND-THAT-FEEDS-YOU COMMENTARY: After accepting $26,240 from tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds for winning the Salem Open, Pat Cash said, “I would like to thank the sponsors even though I think it is a disgrace to smoke cigarettes.”
SMOKE GETS IN YOUR EYES: At the Virginia Slims Championships, the announcer continually told the Madison Square Garden crowd not to smoke.
BEST PROTEST: Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander protest the 11 a.m. start of their ’87 U.S. Open semi by hiding out in the men’s locker room bathroom.
MOST EXPLOSIVE VENT: Kevin Curren says an A-bomb should be dropped on Flushing Meadows — site of the U.S. Open.
ODDEST (‘WHAT’S THE FREQUENCY, KENNETH?’) WALKOUT: In ’87, Dan Rather walks off the set of the CBS Evening News when a late-running U.S. Open match threatens to delay the start of his program. With Rather gone, viewers are treated to six minutes of dead air.
WORST ARCHITECT: Rossetti Architects constructs ill-conceived, miles-from-the-action stadiums from New York to Indian Wells.
BEST INSIDE TENNIS COVER: Nadal after winning the ’08 Wimbledon Classic.
WORST COVER HEADLINE: “Is Tennis Dying?” — Sports Illustrated
BEST SHOWMAN: Arlen Kantarian transformed the U.S. Open into a must-see, star-studded happening.
WE HAVE A DIFFERENCE OF OPINION HERE: Sports Illustrated’s Curry Kirkpatrick said the Ivan Lendl vs. Mats Wilander ’88 U.S. Open final was a “Tour de Tedium,” while Neil Harman called it “the most sensational match of the year.”
MOST ATHLETIC: Gael Monfils, Yannick Noah.
MOST ARTISTIC: McEnroe had touch. Evonne Goolagong, Elena Dementieva and Stefan Edberg flowed. Miloslav Mecir and Ramesh Krishnan danced with ease. But Federer is feathery grace incarnate.
BEST LITERARY MOMENT: Jim Courier reads Armistead Maupin’s Maybe the Moon during a changeover at the ’93 ATP Championships.
BEST PLAYER-POET: Guillermo Vilas.
MOST BORING COMMENTARY: Noting why few Swedes excelled at Wimbledon in the post-Borg years, Stefan Edberg said, “Grass is an exciting surface, and we’re a boring people.”
COOLEST CROWD: 27,300 Davis Cup zealous Spanish fans in a Seville soccer stadium.
POLITICAL POTPOURRI: President George Bush I was an avid player. David Dinkens is a fixture at the U.S. Open. Bill Clinton’s appeared at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. Russia’s Boris Yeltsin famously gave a 60 Minutes interview on his tennis court and was fond of hanging around with WTA stars.
BEST WAR CRY: Lleyton Hewitt’s “C’mon!”
MOST VIOLENT PRESS CONFERENCE: In ’81, American reporter Charlie Steiner and British scribe Nigel Clark came to blows after a testy McEnroe Wimbledon presser.
MOST SIGNIFICANT PRESS CONFERENCE: Banned from the grounds of the U.S. Open, a group of players moved just outside the gates to announce the formation of the ATP.
BEST HOMETOWN: John Fitzgerald is from Cockaleechie, Australia.
AND NOW A FEW MOMENTS WE’D LIKE TO FORGET: Jeff Tarango’s Wimbledon tantrum; the Connors-McEnroe tag-team meltdown at the ’84 Davis Cup final in Sweden; Connors’ freak-out in Miami; Jennifer Capriati’s arrest; while having visions of God, Stanford dropout Jimmy Gurfein and Skip Strode throwing the Bible, books and rackets out the window of a Nigerian hotel; in a jealous rage, novelist Rita Mae Brown firing a gunshot at her lover, Navratilova; the Lipton bans Michael Mewshaw’s unsparing book; Dubai bans Shahar Peer.
BEST HEAD GEAR: Pat Cash’s checkered wrap, Borg’s headband, Agassi’s ‘do rag, Venus’ and Serena’s beads.
WORST HEAD GEAR: Ivan Lendl’s ear-enveloping French Foreign Legion cap.
BEST FIGHTING WORDS: After Vitas Gerulaitis finally beat Borg in ’81, after 16 futile attempts, he insisted: “Nobody beat Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”
SADNESS: The (“why do the good die young”) deaths of Ashe and Gerulaitus; Seles’ inexplicable stabbing; Serena is booed at Indian Wells; Serena is rushed to the hospital with an embolism.
COOLEST REVERSAL: In ’97, the USTA Board of Directors changes the name of their $262 million U.S. Open center court from USTA Stadium to Arthur Ashe Stadium.
LEST WE FORGET: IT wrote of Arthur Ashe: “We remember a flowing eloquence on court, an impeccable grace off court … We remember a commitment to ideas, to debate, to tennis, to African Americans, to justice…[and] we remember, how, in his too brief years, he inspired us with his mind, his unflinching courage, his singular example.”
TIMELINE: 30 YEARS OF TOP STORIES
1981
John McEnroe beats Bjorn Borg at Wimbledon and U.S. Open
A pigtailed Tracy Austin tops Martina Navratilova to win second U.S. Open
Billie Jean King reveals she’s gay, loses endorsement deals
1982
Jimmy Connors tops McEnroe to win first post-Borg Era Wimbledon; adds U.S. Open
Lendl goes 106-9 without a major title
1983
Yannick Noah wins French Open
Navratilova’s 86-1 record best in Open Era
1984
Navratilova wins 74 straight matches, breaks rival Chris Evert’s streak of 55
McEnroe goes 82-3
Connors, Mac melt down against Sweden in Davis Cup final
1985
Becker, 17, wins Wimbledon.
Navratilova-Pam Shriver duo wins record 109th straight match
1986
Lendl dominant, wins RG and USO
Mac weds Tatum O’Neal
Navratilova fifth straight year at No. 1
1987
Graf, 18, No. 1
Evert’s streak of at least one Slam a year ends
Cash wins Wimbledon, climbs into Centre Court stands
1988
Wilander takes three of four Slams
Graf’s Golden Slam
1989
Berlin Wall comes down; Germans Becker and Graf win Wimbledon
Michael Chang, 17, wins RG amidst Tiananman Square protests, signaling arrival of Fab Four
Lendl reaches eighth straight USO final
1990
Sampras, 19, wins USO
RG titlist Seles, 16, becomes youngest female Slam champ in 103 years
Mac booted out of Aussie Open
1991
39-year-old Connors reaches USO semis
Monica Seles, 17, becomes youngest No. 1 in tennis history
1992
Arthur Ashe’s AIDS diagnosis
Agassi wins first Slam at Wimby
Courier takes AO and French
Capriati claims Olympic gold
U.S. Davis Cup Dream Team (Agassi/Courier/Sampras/Mac) tops Swiss
1993
Ashe dies
Seles stabbed in Hamburg
Ahead 6-7, 6-1, 4-1, 40-15, Jana Novotna chokes away Wimbledon title
Sampras rises to No. 1
1994
Andre Agassi wins USO
Vitas Gerulaitis dies
Jennifer Capriati arrested
1995
Seles returns
Thomas Muster wins French
U.S. wins Davis Cup in Moscow
1996
Sampras guts out USO win
Graf wins three Slams
Davenport wins Olympic title
Spice Girls emerge: Martina Hingis, Venus Williams, Anna Kournikova
1997
USTA names stadium after Ashe
Bump Head ‘Round the World: Venus and Irina Spirlea
Hingis wins three Slams
Agassi sinks to No. 141
1998
Sampras No. 1 for record sixth straight year
Davenport wins first Slam
1999
Agassi completes career Slam in Paris
Graf topples melting Hingis at RG
Serena wins first Slam in New York
2000
Venus wins her first two Slams
Sampras tops Pat Rafter in Wimbledon twilight
Mac falters as Davis Cup captain
RG King Guga Kuerten soars to No. 1
2001
Capriati finally wins first Slam
Goran Ivanisevic tops Rafter at People’s Wimbledon.
Amidst alleged racist remarks, Hewitt wins first Slam at USO
All-Williams USO final a primetime event
2002
Venus, Serena rise to Nos. 1-2, fulfilling dad’s prediction
Sampras caps career with dramatic USO win over rival Andre
2003
Serena Slam
As Sampras bids tearful goodbye, Andy Roddick wins USO
Althea Gibson dies
Justine Henin wins first two Slams of career at RG, USO
2004
Fed emerges, wins three of four Slams
Sharapova, 17, wins Wimbledon
Spain throttles U.S. in front of record crowds
Serena vs. Capriati USO showdown leads to Hawk-Eye
2005
Rafa Nadal wins first RG crown
Agassi vs. Blake USO thriller
ATP threatens to cut doubles
2006
Fed dominant
Agasis retires with Gehrigian grace
Mauresmo Slams twice
2007
U.S. ends 12-year Davis Cup drought in Portland
Henin wins French and USO
2008
Fed-Nadal Wimbledon final called greatest match ever
Venus wins fifth Wimby
Nadal wins French, Wimby, Olympic gold, snaps Fed’s four-year run at No. 1
Serbia emerges — Novak Djokovic, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic
2009
Fed snaps Sampras’ mark of 14 Slams
Agassi speaks of drug use and transformation in bio
Melanie Oudin’s Cinderella run to USO quarters
Serena wins two Slams then melts down in Flushing
Mama Kim Clijsters returns to win another USO
2010
Fed wins Slam No. 16, but record streak of 23 straight semis snapped
Nadal completes career Slam at USO
Isner-Mahut Wimbledon marathon
Serena wins AO and Wimbledon, then sidelined by freak accident
Bryan Bros. set all-time doubles mark of 62 titles
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