Bill Simons
Starting Friday the New York Yankees will play the LA Dodgers in the World Series. And unless you’re a rabid Lakers-Celtic fan, this is the greatest rivalry in team sports.
As for tennis fans, it brings to mind the sport’s most notable matchup: Martina Navratilova vs. Chris Evert. In the end, Martina prevailed, with a 43-37 record.
None other than Billie Jean King is a part owner of the Dodgers. Often, when someone’s a singular pioneer in a sport, they’re called the Jackie Robinson of their game. Althea Gibson is frequently described as the Jackie Robinson of tennis.
But Arthur Ashe commented, “Let me quickly go through the similarities between Jackie Robinson and me. Both born in the south [Georgia and Virginia]. Both went to California to make our mark. Both went to UCLA. Both were Army officers. Both turned pro at the same age. Both had the same number of years as pro athletes [20]. Both had debilitating diseases at an age in life when you really wouldn’t expect it.” Ashe died when he was 49. Robinson passed at 53.
But our favorite and lengthiest comparison between the Yankees, the Dodgers and tennis is all about the Yankee legend, Yogi Berra. It’s not so much that Yogi’s granddaughter was briefly a tennis writer. And it’s not so much that he kicked butt in baseball’s annual Fall Classic.
The post-season savant appeared in 21 World Series as a player, coach and manager. He won a record 10 World Series rings as a player and was in 75 World Series games (including Don Larsen’s perfect game against the Dodgers in 1956).
But what was most fun for us was relating all his quirky sayings, his “Yogi-isms,” to tennis.
His quips were knuckleballs that provided hilarious takes on life. His mind-boggling sayings were in the best tradition of Mark Twain, Will Rogers, and, dare we say, Rafa Nadal. His Yogi-isms were sage non-sequiturs on steroids – terse, ironic and whimsical. Here are some of Yogi’s immortal sayings and how they relate to tennis.
“Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.”
Rafa confided, “I’m not gonna lie if it’s not 100% necessary.”
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
While reflecting on Grigor Dimitrov’s career, Mary Carillo quipped, “As my great Uncle Frank used to say, ‘What’s holding up the delay?’” Wimbledon broadcaster Bill Threlfall commented, “Miss Virginia Ruzici was absolutely committed to going one way or the other.”
“It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
Wimbledon announcer Harry Carpenter noted, “We’ve had no more rain since it stopped raining.”…John Isner’s 70-68 marathon Wimbledon over Nicolas Mahut prompted a David Letterman Top Ten List that included these items:
“We’ve been playing for so long I’ve forgotten – am I Isner or Mahut?”
“Remember when I said I was exhausted? That was eight hours ago!”
“I’m going to lay back until 51-50, then I’ll make my move.”
“I don’t know [if they were men or women fans running naked across the field]. They had bags over their heads.”
After Melissa Johnson joyfully streaked across Wimbledon’s hallowed Centre Court before the 1996 Wimbledon men’s final, a headline read, “Streaker Puts Some Bounce into Stodgy Old Wimbledon.” Johnson, then a 23-year-old pizza waitress, noted the obvious, saying, “I am a bit of a naughty girl and I definitely have a wild streak.”
“I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”
Sloane Stephens said, “I got the college experience without going to college. When my friends are like, ‘I’m going to class,’ I’m like, ‘I’m going to take a nap.’”…Wimbledon linesperson Dorothy Cavis-Brown fell asleep on match point during a 1964 Clark Graebner-Abe Segal match. Segal joked that his game was boring and, “People always fall asleep when I play.” Cavis-Brown never officiated at Wimbledon again.
“If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
A 2009 Israeli Davis Cup match was played in a virtually vacant Swedish stadium because officials feared violence.
“The future ain’t what it used to be.”
During the opening round of a long-ago French Open, broadcaster Pat McEnroe predicted that Amelie Mauresmo would win the tourney. His brother John promptly informed him that the Frenchwoman had already lost on a back court.
“If you don’t know where you’re going, you might wind up someplace else.”
Once when the young Ivan Lendl was trying to catch a plane to Oakland, California, he almost ended up going to Auckland, New Zealand…Bojana Jovanovski, was just 19, but a veteran traveler. So she was perplexed when no one from the Mercury Insurance Open met her at the Carlsbad, New Mexico airport. She soon realized that the tournament was 910 miles away in Carlsbad, California.
“It gets late early out here.”
In 2022 Alexander Zverev and Jensen Brooksby played until 4:54 AM in Acapulco.
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
In 2020, Federer and Nadal drew over 50,000 fans to Roger’s fundraiser in Cape Town…Writer Flip Bundy once said that Ashe Stadium was so big that fans could get a better view from Russia’s Soyuz-2 satellite.
“A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
One of Bethanie Mattek-Sands’s outfits was described as having a “dimestore-cowgirl-meets-soccer-player” look.
In a speech to fans on Yogi Berra Night at Yankee Stadium, Yogi said, ”I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.”
In his farewell speech, Andre Agassi told the US Open crowd, “You have given me your shoulders to stand on, to reach for my dreams, dreams I could never have reached without you…I will take you and the memory of you with me for the rest of my life.”
“Little things are big.”
Inch for inch, was 5’ 5-3/4″ Justine Henin the best woman player in history? Others argue for 5’ 5” Maureen Connolly or 5’ 3” Rosie Casals. Ken Rosewall, Bill Johnston, Pancho Segura and Bobby Riggs were all 5’ 7” or under. David Ferrer and Diego Schwartzman are the best short players in recent ATP history.
“You should always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”
After his coach Tim Gullikson died, Pete Sampras brought his first Wimbledon trophy to the funeral, and it was buried with his beloved mentor. Wimbledon sent Sampras a replacement trophy, because, “We all felt he’d made such a noble gesture.”
“I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”
Jon Wertheim contended that tennis was “less appealing to the USTA’s broadcast partner ESPN than Little League baseball games.”
When Yogi was asked what he would like to have as his epitaph, he replied, “That’s easy: ‘It’s over.’”
After South Carolina’s Ed Vantright played tennis for 146 hours and 15 minutes straight to enter the Guinness Book of World Records, his wife Ann said, “I’m glad it’s over, and if he does [it again], he’ll be doing it as a bachelor.”
– Also reporting Vinay Venkatesh
