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Tennis > General Tennis > The Greats

New york , NY

June 16, 2009, 12:37 PM

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Yes, Federer is a formidable opponent in tennis and worthy of all the talk about him lately, but I feel like no one even mentions the greats anymore. Personally, I???m a fan of Connors and Borg. With Borg???s intense five-set victories over Vitas Gerulaitis in the semi-finals and Connors in the finals at Wimbledon and Connors??? almost miraculous comeback after surgery to his semifinal finish (his 14th) at the U.S. Open, it???s hard to dispute their greatness. Anyone else have any old tennis favorites?

Also, for anyone who is interested in classic tennis matches, I hear that tomorrow, 6/17, MSG Network is airing a special episode of MSG???s Vault at 10 pm with some matches from the 1970s and 1980s. They???ll definitely include footage of my favorites, Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and most likely a few others such as John McEnroe, Arthur Ashe, and Vitas Gerulaitis. If you want to check it out, here is the link to the MSG Summer Block Party website that has all the info for their programming: http://www.msg.com/summer/

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August 1, 2010 09:45 PM ET

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Everyone mentioned has contributed many hours of artistry and athleticism to the sport. I am hesitant to mention more since it means leaving others equally deserving aside. The people who made modern tennis, Laver-Sedgman-Roche-Rosewall-Hoad, Kramer-Gonzalez-Trabert-Olmedo and Osuna-Santana were colorful, masterful and they all used wood raquets. In my less than spectacular history, I transitioned from a Davis wood to a Head aluminum and beyond. The one thing I can attest to is that the wood made you supply your own power and finesse - no gimmes!

Robert, the linesman

Laredo, TX

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August 3, 2010 11:39 AM ET

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How about Boris Becker? He was a formidable player and i think deserves to be amongst the greats!

JamesBo

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August 6, 2010 03:55 PM ET

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QUOTE(#3):

Originally posted 11:39 AM ET 08.03 by JamesBo

How about Boris Becker? He was a formidable player and i think deserves to be amongst the greats!

But he never won a title on clay, so I don't think he can be included in this conversation. Pete Sampras won the Italian open on clay as well as a Davis Cup tie in Moscow, so even he won some on the slow stuff.

Mr D 1956

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August 12, 2010 04:03 PM ET

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What happened to the Blake brothers? Were they overshadowed by the Jonas brothers?

westcren

Los Angeles , CA

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March 7, 2011 10:19 PM ET

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Evert vs. Navratilova has be considered as one of if not the greatest rivalry of all time in tennis.

purecountry

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March 9, 2011 10:50 PM ET

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QUOTE(#10):

Originally posted 11:38 AM ET 03.09 by JRM74

Navratilova versus [insert name of any opponent here] got way too lopsided for way too long to be considered a longstanding rivalry. For the better part of a decade, she went thru everyone else like a knife thru butter................ Has anyone heard any recent updates on her condition?

Surprising enough , she only had a 43-37 edge in head to head matches with Evert. Last I heard, Martina tested cancer free after treatment for breast cancer. But this was a couple months ago.

purecountry

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March 13, 2011 10:33 AM ET

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QUOTE(#13):

Originally posted 01:59 PM ET 03.10 by JRM74

Dang, Chrissie must have piled up a bunch of wins early on. I seem to recall about a three year period where the question going into most tournaments was whether Martina would drop a freakin' set.Glad to hear she's doing well health-wise. Thanks!

Chris dominated Martina early then Martina dominated for a while, winning 13 or 14 straight against Cris. After Chris beat her at the French, the rivalry was close to even for the last couple of years until Evert retired.