By Scoop Malinowski
Sometimes emotions can boil over in the heat of battle on a tennis court. Sometimes the will to win can produce an astonishing, heroic result. Sometimes things happen which simply can’t be explained. Here are some unscripted moments that have actually happened on a tennis court…
Two members of a NJ group have quietly feuded over the years and finally the clash of egos erupted when one guy, a jokester who is often misunderstood, brought a chair on court for reasons unknown. His rival, considered to a benevolent type, objected and fired a ball that barely missed his head. His defense was he aimed at his torso. The two had to be separated and the attacker was deleted from the chat. Two weeks later, they met on court and the attacker apologized and they shook hands.
On a southern California court near Indian Wells, a close doubles set ended with an error and one of the losing team members fired a ball angrily at the net however his aim was off and he accidentally nailed the opponent in the chest. A big argument ensued and the guilty player adamantly apologized insisting it was unintentional. His partner, a black guy, stood in defense of his partner’s potentially lethal error. It all ended up peacefully and the troublemaker, an intense competitor with a good heart said appreciatively, “My partner is such a good friend, he had my back even though I was wrong.”
At a NJ red clay state tournament, two combatants in an open division match were bickering over some match details. One of the players, a teenager, had a coach with him, who decided to get involved in the altercation and entered the court. The opposing players began striking him with his racquet repeatedly. A witness described the chaotic scene as “he looked like the Terminator walking through the blows.” The dispute came to a sudden conclusion when a player on the adjacent court, playing in a senior 35s division match, pulled out a gun from his tennis bag and ordered a stop to the madness. Everyone obeyed and action eventually resumed and there was no further trouble. It turned out the man with the gun was a retired FBI agent.
One of the players at Overpeck Park in Leonia NJ is a professional singer named Warren Brady and he often brings his microphone and amplifier and routinely sings classic R&B songs such as Stevie Wonder’s My Cherie Amour, while six courts of matches are being played during the free concerts.
Jose Antonio Fernandez: I saw a fight after a match. With almost a knockout. That was when I was 18 or 19 at a Satellite in the US.
Harry Cicma: I used to make up languages on the court during matches. I used to make up words… Venga Mashnikas… it was amazing, people thought it was like Greek or something. I literally made up words and would yell them.
A player from Lexington, KY Jeff “Sonny” Collins has an eccentric way of dealing with the frustrations of a poor performance in a practice match… he will take off both of his shoe and throw them over the fence.
Jeff has another story: One regarding my ex wife when we were still married. It was a USTA mixed doubles match being played in Lexington at the university of Kentucky – she was a former college player at SF Austin in Texas and state finalist in high school in Versailles in Woodford County. It was for the state championship to go on to Southerns if my memory serves me correctly. The team from Louisville had a guy who would foot fault on every serve by a full step. I brought it to her attention so our team began to call him out on it. Well things definitely began to get heated. My wife and this guy ended up face to face at the net arguing. I remember her smacking the net with her racquet as this guy got right up in her grill like he was going to fight. I told the Louisville folks calmly she will whip his ass. I said it to the crowd several times. She can whip his ass and that he wanted no part of her. The thing is she really could whip his ass!! Most men would not want to tangle with her. She is what you would call a true redneck by heart but a beautiful one! By this time play had stopped on all courts to watch what was going down. Finally the guy backed off humiliated for sure. He was so rattled that his team I don’t think won another game and that poor guy’s serve fell to pieces without the advantage of his extra step into the court.
Some tennis players have a tendency to be arrogant. One member of a group from NJ took a group trip together to Florida for a weekend of tennis and male bonding but one certain cheapskate did not bring his wallet or any cash, fully expecting everyone else to pay his way.
A former world no. 1 player, not known for his politeness with fans or other players, was practicing on a court in his native South American country and instead of walking to the restroom he took a piss on the court by the netpost – in front of about a dozen witnesses.
In a USTA women’s 4.0 double league match at Payne Park in Sarasota, FL, the team was winning by a set and 5-love and 40-30. On match point the losing team hit a very good drop shot that Tie McCullough and her Head Radical MP chased for but could not play, she proceeded to fall, injuring her right arm and left arm and buttock to the degree she could not continue the match. The winning team which just had match point, had to default.
Ron Gendron: “I once coached a player down 9-1 in the third set super breaker, came back and won the match… I’ve seen a player down 1-4 in the third set, complete body cramp, hopping around to find a way to win the match… I also saw a player down 2-5 in the third set and rallied back and started to cramp, then both players were cramping. The other player punched the ground and broke his hand. So my player won by default.”
Ray Collins, long time tournament announcer at Sarasota Open ATP Challenger:
*My shot on Djokovic was pretty crazy. link here
*Mansour Bahrami’s antics. link here
*Watching 9-year old Jimmy Arias hitting balls with the racquet as high as his waist.
*Watching the serve and two-handed abilities of Brian Battistone with his double-handled grip. link here
*Profiling the 12-year old Bryan brothers and seeing them explode to best ever.
Richard Pagliaro, tennis journalist www.tennisnow.com: I was at the US Open the night a drone crashed into the stands. I believe it was the Flavia Pennetta match. I wasn’t in that stadium but was on grounds when it crashed into the seats. It was a night match but late so fortunately no fans got hit. I believe it was Pennetta but could be wrong. Todd Martin going all out gladiator and smashing his racquet vs. Moya and then running around the stadium high-fiving every fan. I wasn’t there personally that night but saw it on TV. When Guillermo Coria, upset by his error, turned and flung his Prince racquet at the back wall and nailed a ball kid at French Open. Could have and likely should have been DQed but was so mortified, he immediately apologized, took off his shirt, gave it to the kid and then let him play. When the crazy, clownish fan ran onto court at French Open to see Federer up close, that was a weird one and the guy that tried glueing himself to the court/net in protest. Also Dan C. Weil and I were at the match at 2000 US Open where Safin ran out of clothes. It was a five-setter vs. Grosjean, rain delayed, Safin had to borrow clothes just to play and wound up winning a thriller in five sets, then won the title. That same day Dan C. Weil and I watched Juan Carlos Ferrero defeat young Roger Federer on Armstrong, as we’re walking out I heard an older fan say to his friend, “People hyping Federer, this kid Ferrero is the REAL player…” Guy totally thought Fed was overrated. Also, Dan C Weil and I were at the famed Hewitt v. James Blake match where Blake threw up twice on court, prompting Dan C. Weil to start proclaiming, “The Harvard Hurler has hurled again!” Then this guy sitting right next to us got pissed off and said, “That’s not funny” but at the end of the match a guy and his kid told Dan he thought he was funny with his running commentary. Also at the Open with Dan, we were in player lounge. Dan Weil walks up and changes the channel from a women’s match to a men’s match. All of a sudden we hear a voice yelling at Dan, “Hey! Change that back I was watching that match!” Turns out it was Jennifer Capriati laying on a sofa – we hadn’t even seen her. Dan says, “The Jennerator just yelled at us….” Then he changed the channel back to women’s match.
I covered Connors Senior Tour in 1992 or 1993, I believe it was Mac’s first senior tour tournament and Clerc beat Mac in the final. He was so pissed off losing that match everyone assumed he would blow off the press conference but he did not. He came into press wearing an Oasis t-shirt, a jean jacket and a Jets cap. I remember asking him: How do you find the balance between being the fiery competitor you are and just enjoying tennis having fun on court as a senior player? Mac replied: “That’s the million dollar question. I don’t have an answer as of yet.” At least he was honest.
