Wimbledon scenes
John Stewart Collis
It was really two tournaments. There was a challenge between the players; and there was the challenge against the weather. Thus in the first week when Mottram was playing Jarryd it began to rain after 20 minutes on court. Fourteen men (I counted them) rushed out and hauled the tarpaulin across the grass. Half an hour later the rain ceased and it was hauled back. Applause. After half an hour for the court to dry out the players once more appeared. Applause. But before they could start play it began to rain again, and the tarpaulin was hauled out a second time. Groans. This happened three times without any play between hauling out and drawing back the tarpaulin. On the fourth occasion, just as the men were about to draw it back, they paused. They stood still, transfixed. For suddenly the sun shone. The men went off, and there was no more rain. It was like a new kind of game, with deuce and advantage in a different mode — with the sun as umpire.
The authorities coped with the weather situation with their usual efficiency. But they did not, and never do, endear themselves to the public. They give the im- pression that they have not the blindest bit of interest in the spectators once they have got their money, for not only do they fail to return it when there is no play, they do not hesitate at 7.30, when a match is finished on the Centre Court, to infprm the spectators, thousands of whom have queued for hours to get standing room, that there will be no more matches there that evening. This causes great resentment.
And the awful habit of being ruled by rules and even making new rules has had disastrous effects. The banning of Borg because he plays too well (that is what stick- ing to certain rules amounted to) also caus- ed deep resentment. Then there was the in- troduction of a penalty point for 'abusing the ball or racquet'. Only a committee could have proposed it: no single person could have thought of so fatuous an idea since every player, at one time or another, throws down his racquet or bangs the ball violently in self-disgust.
This new rule led to the worst scenes I have ever witnessed at Wimbledon. A very accomplished player called Kriek, a hulking bruiser of a man, was not scoring quite well enough to subdue McEnroe, so he went up to the umpire to ask him to reduce his op- ponent's score, for McEnroe had just viciously banged a ball in frustration thus qualifying for the reduction of his score if the umpire thought fit. Kriek even insisted that the referee should come out and pass judgment. Luckily the umpire was Bob Jenkins, and the referee wisely left the decision to him — and Kriek was ignored.
Perhaps it is significant that gamesman- ship came into vogue just when sportsman- ship was being abandoned. But Stephen Potter (my oldest and closest friend) was a gentleman. He had experienced the era when a player would forgo a point rather than take unfair advantage of his oppo- nent. His 'gamesmanship' was a joke scarcely touching reality. He would have been horrified beyond measure by Kriek's behaviour.
The women are too prudent to make scenes. They dare not risk it. The ferocity of their competition is too deadly. Over the years we see sunny-natured smiling faces getting drawn and soured. The scene has been changing of late. For many years there were about six good girls, the rest poor by Wimbledon standards. The good girls always beat the bad girls 6-1, 6-0. Thus there were no surprises and little entertain- ment until well into the second week.
This has changed now. There are far more good girls and close matches and early surprises. Thus, this year Miss Mandlikova, a favourite, was knocked out in the first round — a setback which she will eventual- ly come to see as the best thing that could have happened to her. Sue Barker, our first seed, also fell in the first round (but she will rise again). Virginia Wade, always absurdly underrated, displayed her marvellous reper- toire of shots to splendid advantage. The endless reference to Billy-Jean King's age was very putting off. I wonder why com- mentators and writers talk in this instance like characters in a Jane Austen novel where a woman of 30 put on a lace cap and accepted old age. Mrs King is in the prime of life and can perfectly well be expected to take anyone on, and though I don't per- sonally like watching her on account of her expression, I hope she continues to come. This year she was tremendously lucky to have been beaten by Chris Lloyd in an ex- citing semi-final and going out in glory. It would never have done for her to have been faced with Martina Navratilova, another and stronger volley and net player, and to have gone out in shame.
It was interesting to see the Titans at work from the first day — Tanner, War- wick, Alexander, Pfister, Kriek, not to mention Teacher who when he serves ex- changes his racquet for a rifle and takes long and careful aim at his opponent who one expects to run for cover.
While watching these men, so violent in serve and volley, and also in command of delicate shots, I continually thought of McEnroe. One would imagine that such men could not be subdued. But the com- paratively frail figure of McEnroe steps for- ward to render them harmless: by his so po- tent art he can cancel and tear to pieces their oak-cleaving thunderbolts. His character is awful indeed; but I am surpris- ed that so distinguished a player as Taki should, as he did in last week's Spectator, disparage so great an artist; for if we are to judge artists by their characters, where will that lead us?
But I did not think McEnroe would win this year. In an article for last week's Spec- tator (which arrived just too late for press day!) I wrote these words: 'Yet his gifts will avail him nothing this year. For Connors stands in his way. He is not as resourceful as McEnroe, but he will bend him to his will. His mind and character will overpower McEnroe. Watch him forever fingering his racquet between rallies, then bending over it like a scholar examining a corrupt text: it is clear that he is in command of the situa- tion however black it may seem at times. This year he will overcome McEnroe as he did Alexander and regain the title.'
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