h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Hehe... yep, I couldn't resist, here comes a few that I like...

Borg v McEnroe, Wimbledon 1980

With what shall forever be known as 'The Tiebreak'. 34 points, 5 match points to Borg, 7 set points to McEnroe. The battle between fire and ice, and a clash of styles. Still considered to be the best tennis match ever. But what was quite sublime was the commentary, by John Barrett:

'And that's the greatness of the man; give him a fleeting chance and he's through like a rapier.' on Borg taking a rare half-chance

'The simple refusal to give in.' on McEnroe's particularly nasty angle on a touch volley

'Well surely there's nothing left to happen in this tiebreak; everything has.' On the catharthism of the tiebreak at 11-all

Rafter v Ivanisevic, Wimbledon 2001

The only match to be compared to the previous as being as good as, aguably better than the 1980 final. Two men, desperate to win - having never won it before. Goran, the joker, who epitomised the 'always the runner-up but never the winner' with such tragedy. Rafter, the most gentlemanly player since Borg - on the verge of retiring; he came so close in 2000, yet lost so gallantly.

Pure drama which left you hanging onto every point, swinging fortune both one way, and then so rapidly the next.

And, as befits the eventual winner, what came across was the sheer drama of the match, with a few tantrums thrown in for good measure.

McEnroe, Wimbledon 1981, *That* Tantrum

Mac serves what he thinks is an ace . The linesman and the umpire, though, see it very differently ...

Mac: The ball... chalk came up off of the ball... (walks toward umpire's chair)
Umpire: It was a bit of chalk spead Mr. McEnroe, that was a good call.
Mac: Excuse me?
Umpire: It was a good call...
Mac: You can't be serious man; you CANNOT BE SERIOUS! That ball was on the line! Chalk flew up! (waves his arms to demonstrate) It was *clearly* in! How can you POSSIBLY call *that* out?!? (audience starts to clap - possibly in appreciation for this bit of entertainment) How can you even *miss*?!? Now he's walking over, and everyone knows it's in in this whole stadium - and you call *that* out?!? Explain that to me!

There are porbably more great tennis moments, but I'm too much in a procrastinating mood...

Stay ,
WD

'...tell us why you've chosen this particular classic sporting moment, where you were, and what you were feeling at the time.'

Forgot to tell you why...

For the 1980 match... well, as I was born in 1981, I didn't see it as it happened... so I saw it as a rerun on a washed-out Wimbledon (yeah, yeah, I know, what's new) in 1999, and was simply amazed by the brilliance and inventiveness of the play, and just what we have lost with the age of Sampras - that flaws make for a good match...

Again with the 1981 tantrum - the whole tantrum can be seen on the offical Wimbledon site. Quite funny - but just sealed Mac as both immencely talented, yet highly charged; he's a genius at the net, but blasts from his mouth.

And with the 2001 final; the fact that it was two guys who so desperately wanted to win - and two guys that the public desperately wanted to win with the odds being 50-50 - no one could decide. I remember discussing with CP about who would win, and we suddenly realised that we had no idea at all. What we did know was that it would be a good match, whoever would win.
It was also the only tennis match (apart from Tim Henman's matches), which I have stayed absolutely glued to the TV set - I was loath to even go make a cup of , simply because I *had* to watch. It was compelling viewing, which had you right there in the very thick of the emotions of the court. The crowd no doubt helped in this - Croatians and Australians certainly know how to audience tennis properly, and showed the world just how good it could be without the corporates taking their seats half-way into the match.

And when Goran won, it was a sort of release - we all knew the story, and the wildcard which was his last chance into the tournament. Then we saw Pat Rafter, still with the sense of humour, and the gallant loser - but I shared in his pain too; the disappointment of being part of the most cathartic tennis match of recent times, yet being the runner-up.

Stay ,
WD

I still feel bad for Rafter especially with Australia having lost the Davis Cup final.

As for Henman's matches - I'll not be forgetting that first round match against Kafelnikov at Wimbledon about 4 or 5 years ago - the year when he first became a star. I raced home from school to see it, and then we sat glued to the TV watching it as the match swung back and forth - Henman never fails to inflict agony upon me - whilst dinner got steadily colder...

For extreme Henman tension I doubt much will beat this years Wimbledon semi-final - I was away, and managed to catch the first evening of it on Sky from a pub. I had to keep texting home for the next few days to find out what was happening in the match!

I agree. Even Goran said that to play the match over 3 days meant it was more like cricket, but without the teabreaks...

I honestly thought that Henman had sealed it when he took a set 6-love; I mean, that sort of thing doesn't happen in a Grand Slam semi-final - the score is more embarassing than anything else... Then the rainbreak came... the rest, as they say, is history...

What about when McEnroe gave Connors a straight-sets pasting? That was so funny! And even afterwards, Connors refused to say that McEnroe had played better than him in that match!

WD will probably give more details on that!

Caper Plip

Hiya CP!

Well, that one's more of a Classic Rivalry Moment even a classic Connors moment than a Classic Sporting Moment...

However, the 1982 encounter had a Classic Sporting Moment - dubbed an 'all-American Alley Fight' by some, it lived up to everyone's expectations, and then some - the moment in question was McEnroe arguing with everyone because an ace he served was called out... he asked for the ref, didn't get it, and earned himself a public warning; Connors arrogantly spinning his racquet on his finger whilst he waited for the Brat to finish. In the meantime, he went to have a little chat to the crowd. Then players were ready again, and McEnroe serves a legal ace, wins the game, and returns to the umpire for yet more arguement. Connors then walks up to McEnroe to say, effectively, he's won the point, and it's probably best to leave it now...

For me, that encapsulated the mood of tennis at the time - spiky, feisty and downright entertaining. Certainly made me