Tennis Random, Random (On Court)

[JazzNU]

I can't believe that's Stefan. I had figured it out based on clues from Kevin and the year of the guide, but I keep staring at him and keep not seeing it.

Mats Wilander? Know him of course, knew he looked familiar, but absolutely couldn't land on who that was.

Emilio Sanchez? I can see the resemblance now, absolutely not before.

I believe, but can't promise, that I'd do a it better with a similar guide from probably just a few years later, like 1990.


I think those of you that are older and have been watching tennis for years and years and just know all these players from having watched them, would likely be a bit surprised how much good players, even GS winners, are not mentioned much past the time they played. Very, very few names here are recognizable to me. And I remember before when we were doing best matches voting on TAT 1.0 there were a few mentions of a female GS winner, apparently a multi-slam winner, that I had never heard. I think she was winning in the 80s, so hardly ancient, but many names just become answers to trivia questions more often than you'd think.

[meganfernandez]

I can't believe that's Stefan. I had figured it out based on clues from Kevin and the year of the guide, but I keep staring at him and keep not seeing it.

Mats Wilander? Know him of course, knew he looked familiar, but absolutely couldn't land on who that was.

Emilio Sanchez? I can see the resemblance now, absolutely not before.

I believe, but can't promise, that I'd do a it better with a similar guide from probably just a few years later, like 1990.


I think those of you that are older and have been watching tennis for years and years and just know all these players from having watched them, would likely be a bit surprised how much good players, even GS winners, are not mentioned much past the time they played. Very, very few names here are recognizable to me. And I remember before when we were doing best matches voting on TAT 1.0 there were a few mentions of a female GS winner, apparently a multi-slam winner, that I had never heard. I think she was winning in the 80s, so hardly ancient, but many names just become answers to trivia questions more often than you'd think.

Hana Mandlikova?

Wilander was my first favorite player. I was around 14. My older brother liked him, so I decided to, and he won 3 Grand Slams that year (1988), so that sealed it. I accosted him at the US Open a couple years ago for a photo. So that's how I know him. I guess these days, people hear his name and might hear his voice more than see his face.

I would never have gotten Sanchez. Never watched him.

[JazzNU]

I think Mats Wilander's name is fairly well known by current tennis fans because he's still in the public eye, but also how he won and his age. His name was mentioned a lot back when Rafa was first winning the French if you recall.

Pretty sure Hana is the right player. If she's won like 3 or 4 GS titles in the 80s I believe, then that's correct. Seriously, no clue who that is. You wouldn't think a multi-slam winner could disappear from the conversation even as a reference point so quickly, but I'm telling you, never heard of her once before those polls we were doing. I was looking her up like who? When was this?

I've seen a mention or two of Andres Gomez from people on here in the past, but never once can I recall hearing it during a broadcast. Another player I just don't know despite the GS title.

[meganfernandez]

I think Mats Wilander's name is fairly well known by current tennis fans because he's still in the public eye, but also how he won and his age. His name was mentioned a lot back when Rafa was first winning the French if you recall.

Pretty sure Hana is the right player. If she's won like 3 or 4 GS titles in the 80s I believe, then that's correct. Seriously, no clue who that is. You wouldn't think a multi-slam winner could disappear from the conversation even as a reference point so quickly, but I'm telling you, never heard of her once before those polls we were doing. I was looking her up like who? When was this?

I've seen a mention or two of Andres Gomez from people on here in the past, but never once can I recall hearing it during a broadcast. Another player I just don't know despite the GS title.

You never hear Michael Stich, either. He won Wimbledon in 1991.


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[Deuce]

The only reason anyone hears Petr Korda's name today is because of his kids...
Thomas Johansson, anyone?

[JazzNU]

You never hear Michael Stich, either. He won Wimbledon in 1991.

Yes, a great example. I remember Michael well, but make me 10 years younger and I doubt I'd know who he was.

[ponchi101]

...

Hana Mandlikova?

Wilander was my first favorite player. I was around 14. My older brother liked him, so I decided to, and he won 3 Grand Slams that year (1988), so that sealed it. I accosted him at the US Open a couple years ago for a photo. So that's how I know him. I guess these days, people hear his name and might hear his voice more than see his face.

I would never have gotten Sanchez. Never watched him.

Yes, Mandlikova. Only slam missing was Wimby, and she was a clear cut #3 behind Chris and Martina. Personally, the greatest forehand volley of all times, male or female. It was a put-away shot 90% of the time. The serve and volley was only one notch below Martina's.

[ponchi101]

You never hear Michael Stich, either. He won Wimbledon in 1991.

Yes, a great example. I remember Michael well, but make me 10 years younger and I doubt I'd know who he was.

The obscure ones: Stich, Krajicek, Costa. Just examples. And by the way: Stich and Krajicek were truly complete players. They just had the bad luck of having to face Sampras and Agassi over and over (Stich) or being injured all the time (Krajicek). If you think players like Delpo are frequently injured, you just don't know Krajicek's story. He was out at least 9 times for lengthy periods due to injuries.

[JazzNU]

Yes, Mandlikova. Only slam missing was Wimby, and she was a clear cut #3 behind Chris and Martina.

That's what is more surprising about not having heard a thing about her. I figured as a multi-slam winner, this wasn't just two good weeks, she was an excellent, highly ranked player for many years. I do understand Ostapenko and Gaudio likely being more forgotten as the years pass (though I will likely always remember Gaudio's backhand).

In terms of Stich, I figure we should hear about him as much if not more than Ivanisevic (in a non-coaching context I mean), but we don't. But to be fair, we don't hear a ton about Patrick Rafter recently either. Could be he starts to be one of the more forgotten ones too.

[dmforever]

While we are on the subject of Hana Mandlikova, I thought I'd share this separated at birth. If any of you are Indigo Girls fans, you'll recognize Amy Ray. I posted this on a FB Indigo Girls fan page and everyone thought Hana was Amy, or vice versa.

[mmmm8]

The only reason anyone hears Petr Korda's name today is because of his kids...
Thomas Johansson, anyone?

Johansson has started on a solid coaching career (Sakkari, Krajinovic, Goffin), so still a bit in the public eye.

Sidenote - incredibly polite guy, from my experiences back in my media life, and he and Jonas Bjorkmans were true BFFs

[meganfernandez]

While we are on the subject of Hana Mandlikova, I thought I'd share this separated at birth. If any of you are Indigo Girls fans, you'll recognize Amy Ray. I posted this on a FB Indigo Girls fan page and everyone thought Hana was Amy, or vice versa.

Good one!

[meganfernandez]

You never hear Michael Stich, either. He won Wimbledon in 1991.

Yes, a great example. I remember Michael well, but make me 10 years younger and I doubt I'd know who he was.

The obscure ones: Stich, Krajicek, Costa. Just examples. And by the way: Stich and Krajicek were truly complete players. They just had the bad luck of having to face Sampras and Agassi over and over (Stich) or being injured all the time (Krajicek). If you think players like Delpo are frequently injured, you just don't know Krajicek's story. He was out at least 9 times for lengthy periods due to injuries.

My enduring image of Krajicek. He and Mal Washington were delighted.

Wimbledon-streaker-001.jpg

Wimbledon-streaker2.png

[Deuce]

The only reason anyone hears Petr Korda's name today is because of his kids...
Thomas Johansson, anyone?

Johansson has started on a solid coaching career (Sakkari, Krajinovic, Goffin), so still a bit in the public eye.

Sidenote - incredibly polite guy, from my experiences back in my media life, and he and Jonas Bjorkmans were true BFFs

Yes, I've spoken with Johansson a few times - he was always very down to Earth. I joked around with him a couple of times, including once where he said that he had won a certain tournament in a certain year, and I told him that he actually won it the year after he stated. He was unconvinced that I was correct. When I found a sort of banner on a practice court listing all of the winners of the tournament - and the year they won, I pointed it out to, saying that I was right and he was wrong, and we laughed about it.
Then I asked him when he won the Aussie Open, and he immediately said "'02". I said "Correct. This time. Apparently, you only remember the big ones..."

I think he began his coaching at the pro level with Coric.
I saw him alone on a practice court right after playing a 'floor hockey' game on one of the courts (where current and former tennis players take on current and former NHL players in a friendly game). The tennis players won the game, so I congratulated him on the win. He laughed. Then I said "And we really appreciate you coming all this way just to play the hockey game. Not many people would do that."
He didn't seem to realize I was kidding, and told me that he was actually there coaching a young kid named Coric. I told him I was disappointed that he didn't come just for the hockey game.

[ti-amie]