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John Newcombe had been drifting along for a few years now. He was known, fairly or not, as a booze hound and skirt chaser who enjoyed all the benefits of international celebrity. That wasn't his only problem. The swashbuckling, mustachioed Aussie was the best grass-court player of his generation, the winner of three Wimbledons and two U.S. titles. But he owned just one trophy from his own country's championships, even though few top American and European players bothered to make the trip Down Under during the holidays. The reason for his poor performance at home: Newcombe was always a little too in awe of his legendary Australian elders. He couldn't win the big ones against the aging Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. Newk did not have the same respect for the bratty young American who now owned the Australian title. Early in December, as the start of the Oz Open loomed, he even gave up the "tasty brown stuff" -- beer, that is -- so he could completely focus on toppling Connors. He came into the tournament fitter than he had been in years. So did the tall, athletic Australian best the feisty 5'10" American with good, old-fashioned serve-and-volley power? Not exactly. He certainly rifled in his serve when he needed to. And he definitely hit a lot of stout volleys that jumped, rabbit-like, toward the first row.
But he had studied his opponent and worked out a more nuanced strategy. He would provide his friend Ashe with a detailed blueprint for success later at Wimbledon. "You have to know how to serve to beat Connors," Newcombe said after the match. "Serving to Jimmy is like pitching to Hank Aaron. If you don't mix up your stuff he'll hit it out of the ball park. He's strong from the service line, but he's got certain weaknesses in his volley. He doesn't disguise his shots, except for his lob. He relies on his power stroke and the brute strength of his forehand. And on his second serve he likes to stay back because he's not sure of it."
The tennis world was now primed for a rivalry between Connors and Newcombe, the young buck and the old master, but it wouldn't happen.
Newcombe had done what he'd set out to do: proven he was still the king by putting the upstart prince in his place. That was enough for him. He wanted to partake of the tasty brown stuff again. He eased toward semi-retirement, concentrating more on doubles. For his part, Connors would take a long time to recover. He'd lose five of his next six major finals -- and then go four years before reaching another one. He'd never play the Australian Open again.
Note: from a historical perspective, at 3.00 mins, Michael Williams one of the seven network commentators says, that the final was being beamed live to american CBS TV. Could this have been the one and only time, Aussie open was shown on their mainstream TV channels?
But he had studied his opponent and worked out a more nuanced strategy. He would provide his friend Ashe with a detailed blueprint for success later at Wimbledon. "You have to know how to serve to beat Connors," Newcombe said after the match. "Serving to Jimmy is like pitching to Hank Aaron. If you don't mix up your stuff he'll hit it out of the ball park. He's strong from the service line, but he's got certain weaknesses in his volley. He doesn't disguise his shots, except for his lob. He relies on his power stroke and the brute strength of his forehand. And on his second serve he likes to stay back because he's not sure of it."
The tennis world was now primed for a rivalry between Connors and Newcombe, the young buck and the old master, but it wouldn't happen.
Newcombe had done what he'd set out to do: proven he was still the king by putting the upstart prince in his place. That was enough for him. He wanted to partake of the tasty brown stuff again. He eased toward semi-retirement, concentrating more on doubles. For his part, Connors would take a long time to recover. He'd lose five of his next six major finals -- and then go four years before reaching another one. He'd never play the Australian Open again.
Note: from a historical perspective, at 3.00 mins, Michael Williams one of the seven network commentators says, that the final was being beamed live to american CBS TV. Could this have been the one and only time, Aussie open was shown on their mainstream TV channels?
