Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

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Ribbons United States of America
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#16

Post by Ribbons »

The first time I attended Memphis was as a volunteer. I lucked out and got to play ball girl when Tomas Berdych and Rendy Lu played a practice match.

Ernests Gulbis and Hernán Gumy were entertaining to watch in practice, and he seemed pretty down-to-earth in our limited interactions. (Didn't want me picking up balls, and it wasn't a "don't touch my things you peasant" vibe.)

When I was press at Cincy, I liked interviewing Madison Keys (thoughtful answers on court speed and other technical things) and watching Marcos Giron and Taylor Townsend on court. Pavlyuchenkova was super-fun to photograph in doubles. When I brought a friend to Rogers Cup -- his first experience watching tennis in person -- we watched Jamie Murray/John Peers vs. Andy Murray/Leander Paes on what felt like a tiny, packed side court, and my friend was both absolutely floored at the power & shotmaking on display (something that also happened when two other friends met up with me in Memphis -- it's one of my favorite things, when friends realize why I'm mesmerized by live tennis) and absolutely charmed by how concerned and sweet all the guys were (especially Paes) when a groundstroke bounced into a kid.
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#17

Post by Deuce »

^ Nice.
That reminds me of one time I was volunteering at a tournament some years ago... As a volunteer, you can access the site hours earlier than the fans with tickets. One morning, I arrived at the site at 7am - just because I could. I walked out to the practice courts, and there were Muster and Ivanisovic blasting shots back and forth in the bright early morning sun.
I was the only person watching them, and they were the only people practicing. It was tennis bliss.

A few years later, it was the first year that the courts were painted purple (anyone remember that phase?). I was around the practice courts early in the day. It had rained overnight, and there were a couple of puddles still on the courts. As a couple of players and coaches arrived on a court (I forget who they were), they were looking at the puddles and wondering how to eliminate them, I said "It's hard to tell if it's water or if someone spilled some grape juice, huh?" They all cracked up laughing.
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#18

Post by ashkor87 »

I had a small, nice experience with Connors - I was watching a NCAA match UCLA vs Stanford..I was standing under a tree a little bit out of sight ..suddenly I felt someone standing next to me..it was Connors..he didn't want to make a dramatic entry so he was standing quietly out of sight until there was a break then went to huddle with his former team-mates
I said hullo to him, he was very nice to me..
Unfortunately Stanford thrashed us so it didn't go well.. Tim Mayotte and Scott Davis were a bit too much for our guys..
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#19

Post by Deuce »

ashkor87 wrote: Thu Feb 24, 2022 8:28 am I had a small, nice experience with Connors - I was watching a NCAA match UCLA vs Stanford..I was standing under a tree a little bit out of sight ..suddenly I felt someone standing next to me..it was Connors..he didn't want to make a dramatic entry so he was standing quietly out of sight until there was a break then went to huddle with his former team-mates
I said hullo to him, he was very nice to me..
Unfortunately Stanford thrashed us so it didn't go well.. Tim Mayotte and Scott Davis were a bit too much for our guys..
^ Nice one.
And nice to dig up this thread after a year!
We need to be careful, though - with us telling of our positive experiences with Connors, he might begin to lose his reputation as an asshole! :lol:

You would have had a better chance of winning if it was Chris Mayotte instead of Tim. :)
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#20

Post by ponchi101 »

Connors, off court, has never been known for any bad issues. Between the lines he did some truly boorish stuff, but outside, he was fine.
Married to the same woman all his life, no extramarital issues of any kind, his kids seemed alright, he has always been very friendly at posts and tennis events. Even when he was inducted in the Arthur Ashe Stadium ring of fame and he was introduced as Jimmy CONNERS (that was the name on the giant screen) he took it in stride.
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#21

Post by JazzNU »

ponchi101 wrote: Thu Feb 24, 2022 3:45 pm Connors, off court, has never been known for any bad issues. Between the lines he did some truly boorish stuff, but outside, he was fine.
Married to the same woman all his life, no extramarital issues of any kind, his kids seemed alright, he has always been very friendly at posts and tennis events. Even when he was inducted in the Arthur Ashe Stadium ring of fame and he was introduced as Jimmy CONNERS (that was the name on the giant screen) he took it in stride.
This got not just a laugh, but a guffaw out of me. Truly hilarious. I think you need to Google ole Jimmy.
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#22

Post by ponchi101 »

I don't have to. I lived that era. Please enlighten me about Connors bad behavior off court.
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Re: Tennis players we like... or have had a positive experience with

#23

Post by Deuce »

When they named the new main stadium in New York after Ashe, Connors was upset, feeling that they should have named it after him.
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