bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

JULY 5, 1975

There is no love lost between Americans Jimmy Connors and Arthur Ashe when they meet on Centre Court for the Wimbledon men's final.

Two weeks earlier, Connors announced a US$5 million libel suit against Ashe for having criticised Connors' refusal to join the US Davis Cup team. He has also filed three other suits against the Association of Tennis Professionals, of which Ashe is president.

Just in case Connors has forgotten about the Davis Cup controversy, Ashe is wearing a blue warmup jacket with a large 'USA' in red letters on the chest.

The two are a study in contrasts - Connors brash, abrasive and often uncouth; Ashe a gentleman on and off the court.

Connors, 22, the game's undisputed king and defending champion, is a heavy odds-on favourite having charged through the draw without dropping a set.

Ashe, the sixth seed and Connors' senior by nine years, has a reputation for faltering on the big occasion and few give him a realistic chance.

But after Connors holds his first service game to love, Ashe turns logic on its head by taking 12 of the next 13 games. He takes the first set in just 19 minutes and secures a second 6-1 rout almost as quickly.

Ashe has a well thought out strategy. Connors thrives on pace and his opponent gives him 'junk' - chips, dinks and lobs, which have the top seed scrambling. It is death by a thousand cuts.

At the changeovers Ashe is immune to Connors' notorious intimidatory tactics. He sits with his back to his opponent with a towel over his head, or staring into space in an apparent trance.

The pressure on Connors begins to show as he angrily throws his towel under the umpire's chair and releases a chain of expletives.

At one point a spectator yells 'come on Jimbo'. 'I'm trying for Chrissakes!' is Connors' reply.

Tension mounts in the third set as the champion finds his rhythm and recovers a 6-5 lead - after trailing 3-1 - before winning the set.

Ashe keeps his cool and breaks Connors' serve in the ninth game of the fourth set. He then reaches 40-15 in his next service game, punches home a winning volley off a weak return and the Wimbledon title is his in one of the greatest shocks in the tournament's history.

Connors admits: 'I couldn't find an opening. Whether I served wide balls or kicks he was there. Everything he did was good: fine returns, short and long, and hard serves and volleys.'

Ashe, whose 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 victory makes him the first, and so far only, black man to win Wimbledon, says: 'I always thought I would win because I was playing so well and was so confident.'

Ashe puts one more dagger into his adversary, pointing out how Connors put about 70 per cent of his errors 'into the middle of the net. He hardly ever put the ball beyond the baseline - that's a sign of choking'.

Ouch!



Frozen in Time