Tennis Prose




Jul/22

18

Close Encounters With Jimmy Arias

By Scoop Malinowski

Jimmy Arias won a Grand Slam title (mixed doubles with Andrea Jaeger at 1981 Roland Garros), was ranked no. 6 in the world at age 19 in 1983, and he won five career ATP singles titles. He’s also the head of tennis at IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL and one of the best TV analysts in the business today for Tennis Channel and ESPN International.

To celebrate one of the most popular figures in pro tennis today, here is this unique feature about the one and only Jimmy Arias…

Rick Glaser (International boxing agent, broker, consultant): I played Jimmy in 1970 when I was twelve and I believe he was six. He beat me 60 60 and I think I scored two points total, one each in both sets. It was bad. I never played in a tournament again. I was so embarrassed. It was at the Buffalo Public Tennis Courts, a city tournament. I remember that he was super fast on his feet, he had me running back and forth, all over the place. His serve wasn’t that good because he was so short, he couldn’t yet get the angle to shoot it down, if you know what I mean? The rest of his game was great.

The funny part was I had a friend, when you’re twelve you don’t really have a girlfriend, just female friends, and she wanted to watch me play. I said, No, you’ll get me nervous… After the match she asked me, ‘How’d you do?’ I said, ‘I’m glad you didn’t show up. I got whupped by a six-year-old.’

Question: Had you heard of the legend of Jimmy Arias before this match?

Rick Glaser: No, no. Not internet back then. The TV news only talked about the Bills, Sabres and Braves of the NBA.

Question: Did Jimmy win the tournament?

Rick Glaser: He was in two divisions – open class and 12 and unders. He won the 12 and unders but I don’t think he won the open division. If I remember correctly he lost in the final of the open to a guy they used to call ‘The Reverend’ his name was Bob Hetherington. Jimmy was six years old playing in the open. He was a prodigy.

Andrea Jaeger: The best I ever felt on a tennis court was in the finals of French Open, mixed doubles with Jimmy Arias (1981). We were both so young and it was a great time to be able to appreciate just having fun. It was kind of the purity of tennis. So a lot of people think, Oh, you’re in the zone, you’re playing great…that was more, you grow up playing for fun and then you’re out on Court Central French Open. And then we won the match (76 64). But that was probably the purest joy in playing that I’ve ever encountered. And I think that was something I tried to achieve in every one of my matches. Because when you go out it might be a line call that might frustrate you, or you might not be playing your best, or you’re trying to get a certain ranking …but that was just for the purest love of playing with someone you really respect and have fun with. It didn’t even matter if we won or lost. It was the love of the game, the whole match was. We played Betty Stove and I forgot his name (Fred McNair) – they were about three-feet taller cause we were about 16 years old. Jimmy didn’t care if I hit a winner or I made a mistake, he was just very supportive. And so it was one of those moments where it couldn’t have been better in terms of the support and purity and the love of the game, and it all came together. And then we won the match which was kind of a bonus, and the tournament. I think we were the youngest champions since John McEnroe and Mary Carillo.

Tom Lapenna: Everybody loved Jimmy in Buffalo. He would play with all the guys at the club and go out to dinner with us, ten adult guys and 12 year old Jimmy at the restaurant and the 12 year old would often dominate the conversation.

John Titcomb: I played in a doubles tournament against Jimmy in Buffalo when he was nine years old. His head barely came over the net. He was so small but he could belt the ball. Jimmy played with Michael Albano, who played Division 1 college tennis at Middle Tennessee. He was an excellent lefty player. I was a head pro in Buffalo at the time. I remember one point, Jimmy was at net. And we smashed three balls at him to test his volley. The first one he got back and fell on the ground, the second one he got back and fell down again, then the third one he put away for a volley winner. We were like, Wow. We lost that doubles match. A few years after that we arranged to play a singles match, when Jimmy was 12, just before he went down to Bollettieri’s in Florida. A bunch of guys bet me $100 on Jimmy. So I had all the pressure. I won the first set 64 and was at 44 in the second set it started raining and we never finished the match. And I was glad about that.

Ray Collins (Former ABC News Anchor, Current top realtor in Sarasota, FL): In the early 1970s, I played tennis indoors at the Buffalo Tennis Center, an old warehouse repurposed as a tennis club.  A dozen rubbery courts, doubles and singles side by side going back all the way.  It was not glamorous. 
There was always a little dark-haired kid who seemed very self-satisfied, playing chess in the 2nd floor lobby near the railing that overlooked the courts.  He was waiting for an open court to jump on to play. 
Rumor was he was quite good.  I was 9 and he was 8–and I was mortified when he was chosen over me to fill-in with my father’s doubles group.  I certainly wasn’t good enough, so how could this younger person be better than me? 
When he was 12 and I was 13, he was the best player in Buffalo–child OR adult. That boggled the mind. 
Around 1977, the headline in the paper was that Jimmy Arias was leaving Buffalo to start training with someone named Nick Bollettieri on Longboat Key? It seemed like a reckless move.  The only other celebrity we had left was O.J. Simpson. 
In 1983, I was interning at the local CBS affiliate when Jimmy had won the tournament in Indianapolis.  He came in for an interview and Van Miller, the legendary voice of the Buffalo Bills and the reason I pursued a career in broadcasting, told me to take Jimmy into an edit bay and show him the video of the finals. 
We sat there, side by side, watching the tape–him offering me play by play, “There’s where I got stung by a bee!” and me speechless that I was sharing this small room with the kid I had been aware of for years–who never even knew I existed. 
After a couple hours, we shook hands, made the obligatory gesture to try to ‘stay in touch’ and off he went. I thought I had a new friend in a high place.  
In 1985, I was at the US Open with a new girlfriend and saw Jimmy walking in our direction with an entourage.  I wanted to impress her and told her that he and I were friends. 
“Hey Jimmy–Ray Collins from Buffalo–” but he never slowed down, looked at me but kept on walking.  I was mortified.  
Fast forward nearly twenty years to 2004, we wound up sitting side by side on a flight to Sarasota where he lived–and I was moving.  We talked for hours.  I asked him if he recalled watching his Indianapolis win  in the edit bay way back when.  I can still recall him saying, “I’m not sure.”That was such a non-answer to me! What do you mean you “aren’t sure!”   I think he was trying to let me down gracefully. 
When I lived in Sarasota and was called upon to be a master of ceremonies for tennis charities and events on a regular basis, Jimmy eventually learned my name which only took 40+ years.  I knew his schtick and would often set him up for gags which he appreciated. 
I see him around town and we talk, I’ll text him tennis questions and he’ll usually respond. 
Twelve hundred miles and a world away from where “we” first began in a crummy old tennis club in the dead of winter. 

Ray Collins with Nick Bollettieri and Jimmy Arias at Sarasota Open ATP Challenger.

Jose Antonio Fernandez (Former ATP Pro and Chilean Davis Cup team member): I remember Jimmy when I started playing because Jimmy is my age. For us he wasa phenomenon. I mean, the guy was so good. He wasn’t even big. You say, Okay, this guy is so physical, so good… He was very quick. His forehand was from a different planet. But Jimmy was a nice guy, man. He was good friends with Pablo Arraya, so that’s how I met him. And he was a very humble guy. At the time I met him he was climbing the ladder like crazy. He would behave and talk with anybody, very normal. I saw him a couple years ago at the Eddie Herr tournament at IMG Academy and he was very nice. I saw him at Miami Open too. He was fun. With funny stories.

Mark Naylon: I used to buy Jimmy’s used racquets, and Sergio Tacchini clothing – as a 14 year old – from his brother Kevin who Jimmy must have been unloading his old gear to. Donnay Pro Cynetics – the grip was 4 5/8ths and there was a ton of lead tape hidden under the grommets. Needless to say I cracked several of them while serving due to the top heavy frame and the grip being too large, but hey nothing like playing with a pro racquet that has seen the ATP Tour when you’re a 14 year old kid.

Bill Fleming: Still has that big Jimmy smile as he had back on the clay courts of Buffalo Racquet Club back in the 1970s. Us old guys playing on a court next to him couldn’t believe how hard he hit the ball but always polite and friendly to us old guys.

Bunner Smith (Tennis Coach NBTA): He was being a big cocky at the DePalmer- Bollettieri club … when he was 14, I told him I could beat him without a racquet … I would catch the ball and throw it … easy money … but, he still owes me $100.

Question: How is that possible to beat Jimmy like that? At age 12 he nearly beat Rod Laver in Buffalo…

Bunner Smith: I could catch the ball and fire it up the line – while looking cross court – I had a great arm … it’s an easy hustle … the key was to throw the ball hard and accurately. Serving was tricky, I had to put lots of spin on it and if he hit a forehand I was in trouble, but I won a lot of bets doing that con…I was a pitcher in high school … haha… ask him about it!

I trained him during the first years of the NBTA program. We played in 1978 in Treasure Island at Paradise Island tennis club in the quarters. I hit chips, drop shots, lobs. It went three sets and I was up in the third. I knew he was frustrated as a 14 year old as he never had to play against that kind of tennis. And I knew him well, I let up a little and lost 6-4 in the third… Nick wasn’t happy about what I did to him with the junk shots … but it was fun pissing Jimmy off … He won the event and he rest is history. 

Rob Blackburn: I was coached by Jimmy. He coached my high school tennis team. He coached the team for fun, he didn’t want to be paid. Then he started coaching me. I guess he saw something in me. He helped my forehand. My forehand was my worst shot. I was a serve and volleyer. He changed the take-back, instead of going all around he simplified it, just take it back and swing. I beat Jack Sock when I was sixteen at a level 3 tournament at IMG. Jimmy was an amazing coach but he worked me so hard. He’d yell, Watch my golden retriever, he’s going to chase 50 balls in a row, I’d go side to side for 50 balls in a row. He worked me very hard. I had my best results with Jimmy. Even when I felt I did something great, it was never enough for him. He always felt I could do better. I played at Wake Forest. He’s the perfect guy for the job at IMG tennis. He has a talent for coaching and developing juniors. He has so much knowledge. It’s surprising he’s never coached any pro players. He did coach Monica Seles for a short time, but it was just for fun. He worked with Emma Raducanu at IMG after she won US Open, for a short time, he tried to fix her volleys, he had somebody hitting big forehands and she was at net catching the shots with a baseball mitt. They ended up not working together because Jimmy didn’t like her attitude, he said she was entitled.

Bill Lloyd: I played him in the final of a tournament in upstate Buffalo, New York in about 1975, he was about 13. I remember thinking that this kid was going places. I managed a win too. I think the score was 64 61. The local paper ran a story about the match. At the time I was the pro at the Concord Hotel. He had great groundstrokes, I had too much power. Needless to say the crowd was on his side, I was relieved when it was over.

Larry Denyes (Former NBTA Coach): Jimmy was the best kid. Funny, cocky, talented, extremely nice, great with coaches, the other players, the teachers. Most of all he represented the Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy very well. Jimmy was the gasoline that allowed Nick’s vision to explode. Jimmy was the face of the NBTA even before it was called NBTA. It’s wonderful that the legacy continues as he runs the IMG program today.

David Macpherson (Former ATP no. 11 in doubles and coach of Bryan Brothers and John Isner): Jimmy is my best friend. We first met in 1989, if we track it back. We spend a little quality time in Brazil 1989, he was with his wife and I was with my girlfriend. We bonded there, figured out we both lived in Sarasota. Best friends ever since.

Question: Do you have a lasting memory of Jimmy?

David Macpherson: Well. Well… I was a doubles specialist (won 16 ATP doubles titles). I didn’t even win an ATP main tour main draw singles match in my career (0-13). In Orlando in 1990 I qualified for the main draw and had to play Jimmy in the first round. Maybe he was passed his best at that time. I go up a break in the third set 4-3, 40-30. And Jimmy came up with a spectacular backhand pass to save break point. Later he said, ‘I knew then I was going to win…’ He won 6-4 in the third. So it’s funny. My best friend ended my chance to win my first ATP main draw match. One of a billion memories, hard to recall them all.

Question: Your first memory of Jimmy?

David Macpherson: Wow. Before I knew him, I knew of him. Super good kid with amazing forehand, out of Buffalo and then Florida. I heard of his reputation quite early. Hanging out in Brazil… he was so funny, gregarious, fun to be around. Then, to this day, a guy I can spend time with and enjoy conversation with more than anyone else I know. He’s doing a great job at IMG, taking over for Nick (Bollettieri). There’s a great vibe there now. All these coaches like him. I think he’s the best TV commentator today, he has quirky takes, sees the tactics, he makes me laugh too. He’s a good trash talker. At the academy, checking around the groups, everybody gets a little accelerated heartbeats when he comes on the court. He can be a tough critic, he’s a straight-shooter. But he knows how to speak different approaches to help different players, different personalities.

He’s one of the sharpest tennis minds in our game actually. He understands psychology, how to phrase comments for different people. He’s a master coach.

Question: Still hit with Jimmy?

David Macpherson: Occasionally hit. We prefer to play golf than tennis.

TJ Barwick: I’ve never heard a bad word about him. He accomplished plenty, and I believe he was well respected on tour. But I’m not sure he’s ever gotten his full due from the fans. Remarkable story.

Marko Vuckovic: An off court tournament memory… I’m in the locker room of the Montreal site of the Canadian Open because I have a player’s pass thanks to my University of South Florida teammate, Fred Perrin. Anyways, I’m hanging out and a Trivial Pursuit game is being played by some of the players. It was a team of a few players against the other team. So, I’m watching and under my breath saying the answers and then Jimmy says to me to help his team because the game was a Canadian version [laughs]! There was Jimmy, Heinz Gunthardt, Sammy Giammalva , and some others. Lots of fun to see that competitive side of Jimmy and the other players in a board game!

Richard Pagliaro (Tennis Journalist): The anecdote Jimmy told about his “Magic Racquet” the other day was classic. It was a long story, basically he had a magic racquet he felt unbeatable with, the problem was it was so old and warping and he couldn’t practice or hit with it, he could only use it for match play. A few months ago Jimmy told a great story how Pistol Pete Sampras trash-talked him in locker room, Wayne Ferreira heard Pistol’s braggadoccio and promptly gave Jimmy strategy to beat Pistol on Senior Tour (which, by the way, is included in my book “Facing Sampras”). Jimmy Arias’s sense of humor is summed up by time he played Jimmy Connors at US Open. Fans were screaming, “Let’s go Jimmy!” So Arias raised his arms even though he knew it was for Connors. So some fans started chanting. “Not You! Not You!” Arias is the shrewdest smart aleck to crack the ATP top 10.”

William Tyner: Watched Jimmy up close in Washington DC playing Andres Gomez. Had him very frustrated by putting the ball in play and letting him make mistakes. Jimmy won the match (75 63). I believe it was in quarterfinals in 1983.

Rita Ritz:  I have rare photos of Jimmy Arias that I shot decades ago. Jimmy stopped at my booth/tent in Indianapolis when he was doing color TV commentary for the ATP tournament. He liked my display of art gallery photos.

Brad Council: I saw Jimmy play Cassio Motta on his 19th birthday at Cincinnati. Won in straight sets (61 64). He played with Donnay wood. His arm swing made my shoulder hurt. Especially on backhand.

Tuncay Yenilmez: I trained a few times with Jimmy at Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy. A super nice guy, very positive, very friendly. While I was in college in order for me to get ready for the Nationals my college sent me to Nick Bollettieri Tennis Academy where I played many practice matches and I beat all their players so they said now you are going to play Jimmy and he kicked my butt 6-1 but a few years later in 1995 I almost got the revenge. At that time Jimmy decided to go back to the wood rackets – he played Wilson Pro Staff or Donnay Borg Pro. I played a very tough set with him but he beat me 7-6. Three or four months later with the same racquet he played a set against Michael Stich, who was top 10 at the time, and Jimmy lost 7-6. Then I did not feel that bad. Jimmy is one of the coolest persons I have met. He commentates for the Tennis Chanel and for ESPN. To me he is one of the best commentators alongside with John and Patrick Mc Enroe, Brad Gilbert, Jim Courier and Mats Wilander. When we played, he told me some of his funny moments while he was playing on the Tour. Also I trained a few times with his brother Kevin at the academy. Kevin was a modern version of Jimmy.

Question: Can you share one of those funny moments Jimmy told you?

Tuncay Yenilmez: Sorry, I can’t. They were confidential. Because it was other players.

Marc Azria: He played Wilson Pro Staff or Wilson Advantage then he went to Belgium at the beginning of 1983 and came back with the mid Borg pro, I was at the NBTA at that time.

Bobby Blair: Confidence with class and relatability. Jimmy is terrific. When we were kids as elite tennis teenagers and you wanted to ask yourself how good could you really be… Jimmy was the bar.

Mark Sanders: I talked to him when he was doing an exhibition at Lake Mohawk in Sparta, NJ with Mikael Pernfors about six years ago. He was having a tough day with injuries and we were comparing remedies to keep from cramping. It was odd. He was sitting on the deck waiting to play and nobody else was talking with him. I don’t remember what his cramp remedies were but I do remember we were sharing all our different tennis injuries, shoulder, elbow, calf…

Steve Silverman: I went to the Academy in 1987. One of the standout memories was watching Jimmy play a set with David Kass in 1987. At the time Arias was 50 in the world, Kass was still a junior, 18, if he had a world ranking it wasn’t very good. I didn’t go to watch many other players play that often but this was one time I was really interested to watch. The standout memory was seeing Arias being thrown around the court by Kass. Arias was top 50 in the world. That’s how good David Kass was. Kass beating up on Arias was interesting to see. Kass was controlling the baseline every point. I never heard of Kass before I got there. He was really something.

Juan Agostini: One time he was at a lobby of a very fancy resort in the Caribbean awaiting for his drive to the airport to catch up his returning flight…when suddenly while boarding the vehicle another courier driver hits the passenger door where he was gonna sit..wrecking the door unable to close it again…Jimmy in a hurry decided to wrap the seat belt around the broken door to keep it from opening and sat in the back seat…This is where it gets really wicked… as we depart from the resort with a broken wrap on a seat belt door…due to leaving so late because of the incident…the traffic got really worse…The driver then decides to take off on the shoulder and suddenly are stopped by police.

Knowing the odds of making the flight are doomed both the driver and passenger decides to tell the police that he was an important celebrity that was gonna miss an important event. The police kind of nodded their head in disbelief and allowed them to go on. Jimmy made it on time for his flight to Sarasota. In other remote places it could’ve been some jail time.

Murray Hough: Jimmy is very nice guy. I helped him film a TV commercial at the Sonesta Beach Hotel in Key Biscayne. It was a commercial mainly promoting tennis. I was basically feeding him tennis balls because the camera crew we’re horrible at it so I did it. He was very normal and pleasant and a very good tennis commentator on TV.

Jeff Appel: Great guy as we are still friends. We played 48 years ago in Eastern 12s Clay Courts. I remember the score but I won’t share it as he has beat us all up.

Dave “Koz” Kozlowski: I have been fortunate to know Jimmy Arias for 32 years.  His passion of the game and life earn him a top world ranking of no. 1 in character and personality. 

At the 1991 US Open, my family and I approached the Will-Call booth for our IMG provided day tickets.  The tickets had not been delivered yet.  We were shipwrecked without tickets.  Jimmy saw us at the will-call. He walked over and said, “Koz, do you, Carolyn and the kids need some tickets?”  Wow, he reached in his back pocket and pulled out five tickets.  It was a terrific Jimmy All-America match as Arias was opposing Jim Courier.   For the Koz family that became an indelible reference of what kind of caring guy the Buffalo native was.   

In 1995 I was getting into TV tennis broadcasting. Jimmy Arias’ big-heartedness carried-on as he became the third guest on my start-up TV show in Sarasota, Florida. The thirty-minute live program, which featured one guest for the show duration, kicked off with nine-time Grand Slam champion Monica Seles, followed by tennis encyclopedia Bud Collins and then Arias.  Jimmy had just three hours of sleep in three days after his wife Gina gave birth to their son Spencer. It was Jimmy’s first TV appearance ever and he set the stage for his superb tennis broadcast career. My broadcast coach, Ingrid Russell, who grew up with her father’s early years of CBS live TV, marveled at Jimmy’s on-camera charisma and the rest was history.

It was the beginning of a life-long partnership with Jimmy and I providing a myriad of on-going interviews. It 1999 we were able to assemble Jimmy and his coach tennis Hall of Famer Nick Bollettieri doing the “color commentary” as I provided the “play-by-play” for the 1999 Eddie Herr International Championship at the IMG Academy. The Tropicana-sponsored Sunshine Network tournament production featured future, soon-to-be crowned 2003 US Open men’s singles champion Andy Roddick. The eighteen-year-old Nebraska native launched his career that day with his win over Todor Enev of Bulgaria.  It was as enjoyable as it could get on air with Nick and Jimmy.  Bollettieri said, “What do we call this kid Andrew or Andy? I know one thing that he needs to find a coach who will clean up his on-court behavior.”  

The Arias broadcast contributions continued. In 2002 Jimmy helped The Koz with a 30-minute instructional video Master Your Tennis Motor Memory. It included numerous drills and exercises that one could do at home, in office, in a hotel. Take a look at Master Your Tennis Motor Memory    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aw6z3LkHw4 

Beyond our TV relations, Jimmy provided us with dozens of exhibitions for the Laurel Oak Country Club. Golf playing privileges were bartered for Jimmy… with the country club coming out ahead on the deal. He would spend hours playing and working with my son, Davidson.  Monica Seles was the touring professional, and I was the director of tennis at Laurel Oak. Jimmy became Monica’s favorite on-court coach, and they established a genuine mutual respect for each other.  There was much to learn from Arias, as he, Monica’s brother Zoltan, an ATP player himself, Monica’s father/coach Karolj, along with my son as a sparring partner. I ascertained considerable training information from their workouts and the team’s work ethics.         

Here some of my most memorable Q & A sessions that I have shared with Jimmy… 

Koz:  You and Jimmy Connors brought much to the game. You both are entertainers and crowd-pleasers.   How much fun was it to play Connors on the ATP tour and later on the Jimmy Connors Champions Senior Tour?

Jimmy: At the 1982 US Open, I was playing Connors in the round of 32. Not like now, in those days, the players entered the court together walking side-by-side.  As we were walking out close together, the crowd began to shout, “Come on Jimmy!”  I knew that the chant was for Connors… but I thought that I would have some fun with it. So, I began to shout back, “Thank you, I am ready!”  The crowd roared with laughter. It was a good way to loosen up, but I still lost in four sets.  Connors’ Senior Champion Tour was just what we all needed. The fans and spectators were of a generation that knew our names and followed us on the ATP Tour.  On the senior tour, things were more relaxed.  We had time to visit and get to know the fans and share some stories.  The laughed more at our jokes on this tour!      

Koz:  Jimmy, here we are at Arthur Ashe Stadium. Looking back, what is you most memorable moment?

Jimmy: It was at the quarterfinals of the US Open playing against the no. 4 seed Yannick Noah of France. We were in the fifth and final set. I was up 6-5 with Yannick serving.  I had never been to the US Open semifinals. I was nervous and eager. I needed to compose myself and settle down. I kept thinking and saying, “Play the percentages, be safe, hit down the middle. As Noah was ready to serve, I couldn’t breathe. I could not inhale or exhale. I could barely see. I was still telling myself to hit down the middle. The ball was coming, and I got way ahead of the ball and miss-hit it. The ball landed on the singles sideline, and for the first time, I was in the semifinals of the US Open. Someone in the stands yelled out, “Arias, that took guts to go for the line on match point!”  I smiled and waved back.      

Koz: We all know that you have healthy attitude about hitting with players of all levels. Where did you acquire that?

Jimmy: I grew up in the cold indoor tennis winter climate of Buffalo.  There were few courts to use doing the winters. I would hang around the club with the indoor courts.  I would hope that one of the 3.0 or 3.5 level women wouldn’t show for the court.  I would run down and hop in to play.  It was better than not hitting that day.

Koz:  Jimmy what was the biggest turning point that you had in your career?

Jimmy: It is kind of odd, but my father arranged it.  My dad would drive to the club drop me off and have me play all day.   He arranged for me to play with a fifteen year old super athlete basketball player who played little tennis but was stronger and quicker.  He would beat me every day in the beginning.  Next week the matches got closer. Then I started to beat him. I learned so much from that experience about perseverance and hanging tough. I think that summer was a major breakthrough in my tennis.  Koz, I bet that you thought that it was going to be a memory of when I turned pro at age fifteen (in 1980). 

Koz: Jimmy, have there been any mistakes which you have made that you can share with us?

Jimmy:  Well, it was when I had just started a small tennis academy for some talented kids in Sarasota. There were several higher ranked 12 and 14 and over aged kids.  They had talent and were successful but needed to commit to working harder.  I thought that if I showed that they haven’t reached their age potential yet that they would work harder and benefit more.  So, I played them with my non-dominant hand.  Because of my court experience and strength, I was able to beat them.  Looking back, I realized that may have been a mistake. I never did that again. 

Ned Caswell: I’ll never forget traveling with Jimmy to play Washington,DC and I was pretty excited because it was my first year ranked high enough to play. I was only 24 years old and six months older than Jimmy. And he told me in the airport, “This is my tenth straight year playing Washington.” That blew my mind! I always tell people when they ask me about my time trying to play professional tennis that the nicest guy out of all the so-called ‘stars’ of the game was Jimmy. Jimmy always treated the other players nice no matter what their ranking was, which was definitely rare!

Gilad Bloom: Jimmy is a great guy, we hit a lot on the Tour and even played doubles once in Acapulco, a class act and what a forehand! Great career. I remember Jimmy hit a forehand strait in my face in New Zealand in practice. It was a bad bounce, not a shank, a clean Jimmy Arias forehand in my face from very close range, I was lucky it hit my jaw, it was like a knockout punch.

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