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March 2005
On March 4, the world’s grandest tennis competition, the Davis Cup, will return to California for the first time in five years when the U.S. team, led by Andy Roddick and Andre Agassi, will face a not-to-be-underestimated Croatian team of heavy hitters. Then, just a day after the Davis Cup concludes, “Wimbledon West” — America’s finest tennis tournament this side of the Appalachians, the Pacific Life Open — will begin to draw over 400,000 fans to Indian Wells. It’s true that every summer there’s the Mercedez-Benz Cup in L.A., plus the WTA’s back-to-back-to-back Palo Alto-Carson-San Diego summer swing. But the upcoming Davis Cup tie and Pacific Life Open tandem, over three action-packed weeks, might just be the best back-to-back tennis events ever staged in California. But this is nothing new for a sport that has a penchant for back-to-back happenings. Here’s a brief overview of the wackiest, weirdest and best of tennis back-to-backs. Best Back-To-Back Slams: Two of tennis’ three finest jewels — the French Open on red dirt and Wimbledon on treacherous grass — dovetail each other within a splendid two-week corridor each summer. Best Back-To-Back
Performance: Incredibly, Bjorn Borg, despite his sweeping strokes,
won back-to-back French Opens and Wimbledons, with their vastly different
requirements, three straight times. How astounding was Borg’s
feat? Except for Ivan Lendl’s close-but-no-cigar run in ‘85
and ‘86, no man has even sniffed at Borg’s mind-boggling
triple double. Best Back-To-Back Left-Handed Triumphs: Southpaws (McEnroe, Connors, Vilas, Orantes) won the U.S. Open 11 straight times. Worst Back-To-Back Losses: Vince Spadea lost 21 straight matches. Best Back-To-Back Sequence: The serve-and-volley sequence is a complex, demanding progression of power, control and instinct. In a way, it’s tennis’ answer to the double play. But sadly, this do-or-die explosion of athleticism is increasingly rare. Is it on tennis’ endangered species list? Let’s hope not. After all, there might be some nimble Stefan Edberg-like 14-year-old out there who’s about to burst onto the scene who’ll revive the sublime charge ‘n stab progression purists relish so dearly. Most Dramatic Back-To-Back Shots: An era was fading. The game’s great icon, Jimmy Connors, was on the defensive as he retrieved five increasingly timid overheads from the young, unknown Paul Haarhuis before delivering a backhand winner past the stunned Dutchman. It was not only a sublime defense-to-offense sequence, it was an unmistakable metaphor for tennis’ most compelling “run,” the ancient Jimbo’s “don’t bury me yet” romp to the ‘91 U.S Open semis. After all, Jimmy, a 39-year-old saddled with a triple-digit ranking, had been dismissed as a creaky relic who’d been passed over by the quickness and power of a new generation who could care less about some has-been legend. But Connors’ tenacious retrievals and ferocious winner displayed his patented mix of fight, gnarly savvy, macho shotmaking and “I-did-it-my-way” fan appeal. One of Flushing Meadow’s most unforgettable Hollywood moments was cause for pure glee among the drunken courtside yuppies and prompted the media to swoon. They enshrined Jimbo as the lovable lout who defied time. Best Back-To-Back Brothers: Mike and Bob Bryan (born just two minutes apart) are unquestionably the best identical twins in the game today. While Tom and the late Tim Gulikson were not nearly as potent a doubles tandem as the Bryans, they fared better in singles. Still, the best-to-back brothers have to be John and Pat McEnroe. Best Back-To-Back Sisters: Incredibly, both Venus and Serena (born just 15 months apart) became, as predicted, No.1 and between them have collected 11 majors. Boldest Back-To-Back Fashion Statement: Serena (who else). First she shocked seen-it-all U.S. Open fans with her black catsuit, then she offered her black boots and biker look. Best Back-To-Back Image: Tennis magazine dolled up archrivals Borg and McEnroe in frilly 18th-century shirts, handed them dueling pistols and placed them back-to-back to produce one of the best covers in the annals of tennis. Best Players to Emerge Back-To-Back Out of the Same Bedroom: Okay, Connors and his fiancee Evert probably were roomies when they both won Wimbledon. And let’s not even talk about the ‘99 French Open champs — Graf and Agassi. We were actually thinking of the stellar Helen Jacobs who moved into Helen Wills Moody’s former Berkeley bedroom before emerging onto the international scene. And yeah, Federer each year rents the same London house where Sampras always stayed during his Wimbledon glory years. Best (‘I’ve Had It And I Ain’t Gonna Take It Anymore’) Commentary On Back-To-Back Losses: After losing 16 straight times to Connors, Vitas Gerulaitis roared “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.” Best Back-To-Back Put-Downs (Which Went On To Become Infamous Cries of Protest): At the ‘81 Wimbledon, McEnroe accosted an ump, saying, “You’re the pits of the world,” then went on to coin his signature cry, “You cannot be serious.” Best Back-To-Back Meltdowns By One Couple: After Jeff Tarango was booted out of Wimbledon by French ref Bruno Rebuh, his French wife Benedicte slapped Rebuh in the press room. Most Mind-Boggling Back-To-Back Jobs Held After Leaving Tennis: After being a singles, doubles and Davis Cup stalwart, McEnroe went on to be a wannabe rock star, art gallery dilettante, dominant senior player, best-selling author, adept tennis commentator and less-than-adept reality show host (The Chair) and talk show host (McEnroe). Best Back-To-Back Series of Tournaments: The trio of California hard court summer tournaments — Palo Alto, San Diego and Carson — is cool. (Incredibly, Lindsay Davenport won all three in ‘98 and ‘04.) Plus, we like the new U.S. Open Series of North American tourneys. But nothing beats the grand collection of slow-red-clay European tournaments that lead up to the French Open. Best Back-To-Back Coaching Performance (Team Division): Harry Hopman led Australia to four straight Davis Cup triumphs three times between ‘39 and ‘67. Best Back-To-Back Coaching Performance (Individual Division): Brad Gilbert led the faltering Agassi to No. 1, then guided Roddick to the top. Best Back-To-Back Coaching Performance (College Division): Dick Gould won four straight NCAA championships (‘95-’98) and 17 total in his 38-year career. Best Back-To-Back Celeb Wives: Onetime FOB (Friend of Barbra Streisand) Andre Agassi went on to marry Brooke Shields and then Steffi Graf. Worst Open Era Back-To-Back Injustices (Female Division): Monica Seles was stabbed in the back, then her assailant got off scot-free. Worst Open Era Back-To-Back Injustices (Male Division): Arthur Ashe suffered multiple heart attacks and a brain aneurysm and ultimately died of AIDS. Best Back-To-Back Performance By One Person/Different Gender: Richard Raskind played the U.S. Nationals as a guy from ‘55 to ‘60 and as a gal (Renee Richards) from ‘77 to ‘81. Best Back-To-Back Initials: Arguably “AA” (Arthur Ashe and Andre Agassi) and “BB” (Bjorn Borg and Boris Becker) are the best initials in the game (unless you’re partial to “JC” — Jimmy Connors, Jim Courier, Jennifer Capriati — or “MS” — Monica Seles, Maria Sharapova, Marat Safin, Manolo Santana. © 2005
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