Wimbledon enigma: Grass is for cows!

Wimbledon has remained an enigma for many players, who despite their grasscourt prowess, never managed a rendezvous with the Duchess of Kent at the Centre Court, writes Bikash Mohapatra.

Grass is for the cows,” said Ivan Lendl, while deciding to give the Wimbledon a miss in 1982 and go holidaying instead. The phrase has become legendary since and has been repeated time and again by the likes of Marcelo Rios and Gustavo Kuerten — who didn’t mind giving the Wimbledon a miss (it is sheer irony that the man who actually coined the above phrase, Manuel Santana, himself won the Wimbledon crown, in 1966).

In the initial years of his career, whenever Lendl turned up in England he repeated Santana’s famous phrase, often complaining that he hated the softness under his feet. But unlike Rios, Kuerten et al, the Czech-American wasn’t a bad player on the surface. Lendl could very much play on grass — as his Wimbledon junior title indicates. It is just that he never managed to win the Big W. And that is essentially what we are talking about — players who were good on grass courts but could never lay their hands on the Wimbledon trophy. (see box)

The first name on this list has to be that of Ken Rosewall. The inimitable Aussie’s amateur career was highlighted by multiple successes at the Australian and the US Opens but in his maiden Wimbledon final he lost to Czech Jaroslav Drobny — himself a losing cause till that win. In the Open Era, Rosewall, as a professional player, firts made the final in 1970 (lost to John Newcombe) and again reached the final in 1974 only to lose to American Jimmy Connors. Rosewall retired soon after.

“Rosewall was a backcourt player when he came into the pros, but he learned very quickly how to play the net. Eventually, for that matter, he became a master of it, as much out of physical preservation as for any other reason. I guarantee you that Kenny wouldn’t have lasted into his 40s as a world-class player if he hadn’t learned to serve and volley,” wrote Jack Kramer in his 1979 autobiography.

Roscoe Tanner was destined to become a Wimbledon champion. The American southpaw had a big serve, a rarity in the 70s, and was a threat on the fast grass courts. He even won an Australian Open on grass, but at the All England Club, he only had one final appearance — that ended in a five-set loss to Bjorn Borg in 1979.

Ilie Nastase’s 1972 final with American Stan Smith is one of the most memorable matches in Wimbledon history. The temperamental Romanian missed the title by a whisker and never got another opportunity. His second final appearance in 1976 ended in a thrashing at the hands of Borg.

Coming back to Lendl, he had one severe technical problem on grass, his backhand volley of a cross return, something that was exploited in the 1986 and 1987 finals. And never managed to win the Wimbledon title in his otherwise illustrious career. Lendl, to his credit though, came to accept the challenge and overcame his initial indifference to grass. He employed Tony Roche, a grass-court expert, to coach him and had good results — two finals and five semifinals at Wimbledon and two titles at Queen’s Club.

When Lendl thrashed Becker in straight sets in the 1990 Queen’s final, the legendary British commentator, Dan Maskell, said that it was the finest display of grass court tennis that he had ever seen. However, with Roche persuading him to serve and volley at Wimbledon, he stopped playing to his strengths and this probably cost him an All England title. Sweden’s Mats Wilander and Australian Pat Rafter, are further examples of players who never won the coveted title.

Winning the Wimbledon remains the top priority in every player’s list but many often struggle in their attempt to adjust on grass after coming off a long clay-court season. Some successfully make the transition — like Borg, Agassi — while some do manage to win it one-off — like Michael Stich, Richard Krajicek and Goran Ivanisevic. Some win it again and again — like Pete Sampras and Roger Federer.

As Martina Navratilova once famously said, “Wimbledon is like a drug. Once you win it for the first time you feel you’ve just got to do it again and again and again...”

There are others who never get a chance to take this drug. They  make repeated attempts and even get desperate. But they simply miss out. Blame it on their game or sheer bad luck. But the fact of the matter is that there is a coterie of players who have been the eternal bridesmaid at Wimbledon.

Apologies for not having included women here. The reason is simple. Glance at the list of ladies singles champions at Wimbledon and there won’t be many who promised and didn’t deliver. Even Jana Novotna ended up a winner!