Tennis Prose




Mar/20

28

You Tube Forgotten Classics

Remember One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest when Nurse Ratchet refused the loonies to watch the World Series and Jack McMurphy pretended to watch the game on a turned off set? I’m doing that with tennis now.

Hey it’s 1997 and Marcelo Rios is battling Leander Paes in Davis Cup. Paes is outraged by a call late in the fourth set and hurls his racquet at his chair. Both players look exhausted, drums are banging, it must be 110 degrees. Rios survives in the fourth set breaker and falls to his knees in joy relief. 11 minutes worth watching.

2001, Rios vs Lleyton Hewitt in Scottsdale with a very young Mohamed Lahyani in the ump chair. Rios and Hewitt, the greatest talent and great fighter of all time under six foot tall. Both Nike Yonex players, two contrasting styles and personalities, Hewitt takes it in two sets with two CMONS. Two of my favorite players of all time at their near best.

I still can’t get enough of watching Rios. Smoothest and most elegant artist we ever saw wield a racquet. He didn’t have to win major titles. His game was better than a major title. Only one man could play tennis and look like he creating art at the same time. Marcelo Rios.

Next up is Fernando Gonzalez vs Hewitt 2007 AO. Arguably the biggest forehand of all time vs the all time best fighter. Forehand prevails this time.

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10 comments

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 28, 2020 at 7:30 pm

    Feel free to add your forgotten classics highlights here.

  • Jeanius · March 28, 2020 at 10:14 pm

    Federer roddick Wimbledon 2009. Not a forgotten match. It was riveting. Scoop please fill in..

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 29, 2020 at 8:47 am

    Jean I never saw that Wimbledon final classic a I was on the court at the exact same time playing a USTA open final in Montclair NJ against a lefty wall who was beating me 3 love which took about a half hour to play three long games. Then I served the fourth game and had to change it up because he was beating me at my own game. So I serve and volleyed the first two points of that game and won both points and then held that game 1-3 and eventually won the match 75 75. One of my best wins. I played the same guy four years ago and won 60 61. Figured it out. The harder I hit the better he played, so I slow ball and looped him into errors. So I never saw that Fed vs Roddick epic, only the highlights and tape of the last set. Roddick was the better player that day but the better player does not always win.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 29, 2020 at 8:54 am

    Speaking of Roddick, I saw him make his debut as a Tennis Channel commentator and Tennis Channel Live and he is fantastic. He can become the best TV analyst, his analysis of the games of Agassi, Fed, Pete, Rafa is fascinating to listen to. He said Federer is the best simultaneous offensive/defensive player in the game when he played. It was very refreshing to hear an expert from his era reveal his insights about Fed Rafa Djok and Murray. But his top ten list of all time greats intentionally omitted Margaret Court which was a blatant form of pandering to the people who own Tennis Channel. They are trying to run Court out of the history of the sport which is horrible. Roddick admitted Court has won the most majors but defended his shunning Court by weakly claiming she won 9 AO titles in the era AO was a less prestigious slam than it is now. Roddick is clearly pandering to the political agenda of the media by snubbing the greatest woman player of all time Margaret Court. Roddick profusely apologized about snubbing Bjorn Borg from his all time top ten but was cold and cruel to Court. I will defend and protect the honor of Margaret Court every chance I get. As of now until Serena gets one more major, Margaret Court is the greatest female player of all time.

  • catherine · March 29, 2020 at 9:56 am

    I wouldn’t worry about Margaret Court being left off anyone’s list Scoop. Lists are pretty silly anyway. I don’t agree with many of Margaret’s views but in tennis she’s only the 3rd woman ever to win a GS – something which Serena Williams had for the asking but signally failed to achieve because at the last moment she succumbed to poor preparation and nerves.

    Maureen Connolly, Court and Steffi Graf were the best of their eras. That’s as much as you can say. The AO didn’t have the prestige it has now but plenty of players went to Australia or had the chance to play there if they had ambitions. It’s a dumb argument.

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 29, 2020 at 1:03 pm

    Right Catherine. Margaret Court is the goat no matter who Roddick has to pander to for his new job which will add an excellent fresh new element to TC. And Pete Rose is the greatest hitter in MLB history. No matter what his betting habits were as a manager.

  • catherine · March 30, 2020 at 5:01 am

    Wimbledon has been cancelled. Only possible move the way things are here.

  • catherine · March 30, 2020 at 2:13 pm

  • jeanius · March 30, 2020 at 9:41 pm

    I love all things Roddick and he is terrific on tennis channel, which has needed new blood. Please forgive me for this petty comment. What’s up with his hair?! One day it looked like a dyed black toupe. Next day bald. John Isner– do you have a baseball cap you can lend Andy in exchange for a more dimensional game?

  • Scoop Malinowski · March 31, 2020 at 6:43 am

    Roddick is excellent as an analyst and anecdote dispenser but he needs McEnroes hair specialist. That toupee he had on was maybe the worst in tv history worse than Sam Donaldson and Frank Sinatra.

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