Wimbledon 1975

I was near center court with its glittering grass surface mown in strips where the twenty-two-year-old Jimmy Connors would play Arthur Ashe, thirty-two and six-foot two in the final. Connors was the odds-on favorite, having won Wimbledon in 1974. Ashe had won the US and Australian Open singles before. I noticed Connors bounced the ball a lot before his practice serves. Connors, a left-hander, hit his ground shots from the baseline, as did Ashe, so there were long rallies and frequent volleys. Ashe soon took the lead through his big serve- and- volley, while continually breaking Connors less powerful service. Connors hit the ball on the rise to speed up the game: For Ashe, ahead 6-1,6-1, slowing it down was the name of the game. Connors did not look too flustered to me and, using his two-handed backhand more, won the third set 7-5. Impassive, like 'Ice-Borg, ' Ashe won the fourth set and the match. Arthur Ashe now has a stadium named after him at Flushing Meadows. Jimmy Connors won eight Grand Slams in a glittering career, and is one of the highest peaks in the whole range. - Feb.,2013.