Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer: Part 2

[don_budge]

Get ready for Little Pancho is a few months.

Providing a link from the past to the present is one of the most redeeming qualities of tennisplayer.net. The true student of the game knows the history and can connect the dots. Budge, Riggs and Kramer are extremely meaningful dots in the quest to understand the rich story behind the modern facade. Knowing details of the black and white past reveals just how far we have strayed...and erred in making the game into what it is today. A one-dimensional monotone drone.

I loved the part where Riggs is begging for mercy and Kramer in turn mercilessly hands him his ass. "Don't ever ask me to do something like that again (you sniveling motherfucker)." Kramer was true to himself and his amateur roots. No self respecting soldier from the school of hard knocks would have asked for such a favor. Kramer showed that there wasn't going to be any vaudeville on his watch. He may have been a hard ass in some respects but his influence on the game cannot be denied. As a player he is sometimes underestimated in this influence as his later influences overshadowed his performance as a player.

I would have loved to have followed that tour between him and Richard Gonzales. The seasoned Kramer and the "green, wet behind the ears" Gonzales, both ultimately "ultra tough" competitors. Going for each other's throat three or four times a week under marginal conditions...asking for nothing and receiving nothing. Just man to man...neither liking the other more than a begrudging respect for the others game. Kramer may well have been as responsible for Gonzales' greatness as any other influence. That tour taught young Richard everything he was going to need to know going forwards. About tennis and about the reality of the way things are.

Little Pancho? Looking forwards to another classic lesson from this wonderful website. Another superb issue as a matter of fact. I haven't looked at the classic lesson on the slice backhand yet...which I anticipate will be another fundamentally sound eyeopener with a lot of food for thought.

[johnyandell]

Get ready for Little Pancho is a few months.

[don_budge]

"Don't ever ask me to do something like that again."

[klacr]

Worst article in this series...because its the last one!

Really enjoyed reading and learning about these players, personalities and this era. Fun stuff.

Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca Raton

[johnyandell]

Let's discuss Tom LeCompte's article, Bobby Riggs and Jack Kramer: Part 2