May 4, 2011
Commodore History Corner Archive
In December 1968, Vanderbilt’s Memorial Gymnasium was host to the No. 1 ranked player in the world. Not the top basketball player, but the top tennis player. Tennis balls replaced basketballs as the gymnasium hardwood hosted the Dixie Tennis Classic, a professional tournament led by the world’s best player in Rod Laver.
The left-hander from Australia was paired with Andres Gimeno of Spain in one semifinals match. The other semifinals contest had another Australian, Ken Rosewall, going against 40-year old Pancho Gonzales. The Tennessean gave this report on the semi-finals:
“Rod Laver, the world’s top-ranked player, weathered a furious second-set assault to defeat Andrea Gimeno of Spain, 6-4, 11-9, in the semifinals round of the Dixie Tennis Classic played at Vanderbilt last night.
“In the other singles semifinals match saw Australian Ken Rosewall rally from a first set defeat to overcome powerful Pancho Gonzales 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. Laver and Gimeno battled head to head with each demonstrating powerful services and sizzling groundstrokes. Gimeno hung in the second set with beautiful lobs and fantastic saves off Laver’s overhead slams.
“Laver’s vicious southpaw forehand produced sizzling cross-court volleys and beautiful passing shots down the line. Time after time the exchanges were long and exciting. And generally the great shot won the point. Neither player tended to make a mistake.
“Gonzales, showing definite signs of the illness that had kept him confined for more than a week, exhibited flashes of brilliance that have been his hallmark for more than two decades as he scored on aces numerous times and he roared through the first set. Rosewall, also laboring under the beginning signs of the flu, hit the world’s best backhand with authority and lobbed with uncanny precision.”
The finals of the Dixie Tennis Classic between Laver and Rosewall was held on December 10 at 7:30 pm with tickets prices– $2 reserved seating and $1 general admission. While he was in Nashville, Gonzales taught a tennis clinic at Nashville’s East High School. Sponsors for the Dixie Tennis Classic were Third National Bank and the Nashville Tennis Association. An nice collection of Nashville tennis fans were in the Gymnasium to witness the finals as The Tennessean reported:
“Rod Laver, sitting right on top of his game, waded through fellow Australian Ken Rosewall 6-2, 6-3 before almost 6,000 spectators at the Vanderbilt gym last night for the singles championship of the Dixie Tennis Classic, worth $2,400. Laver, who must have the quickest wrists in the history of the game, never let Rosewall have an opening as he blistered his services past the backhand artist on numerous occasions and commanded the court with his overheads both cross-court and down the line.
“Laver left the audience limp, but cheering lustily, as he made beautiful saves and hit amazing angles at the net. He left no doubt in any mind that he is the world’s best player.”
In the battle for third place of the tournament, Gimeno defeated Gonzales in a pro set 10-5. Gimeno took $1, 350 for his third place finish while Gonzales pocketed $1,150. Rosewall earned $1,750 for his runner-up performance. In a doubles competition, Laver and Gimeno downed Rosewall and Gonzales 6-8, 6-1, 7-5. The winners received $300 while the second place duo received $200 each.
Laver was born in 1938 in Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia and was the World’s No. 1 ranked tennis player for seven consecutive years from 1964-70. He is the only tennis player to have won the Grand Slam twice (all four major single titles in the same year.) Laver first accomplished the feat as an amateur in 1962 and again as a professional in 1969.
Laver would leave school as a young boy to pursue tennis as a career, which would last 24 years. He was the U.S. Junior champion in 1957 and the Australian Juniors title holder that same year. Laver’s breakout year arrived two years later when he reached all three finals at Wimbledon. He won the mixed doubles with Darlene Hard, but lost in the men’s final as an unseeded player to Alex Olmedo of Peru.
Nicknamed “The Rocket” Laver would win in his career 11 Majors and eight Pro Slam tournaments. Laver is regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all-time. His slams include six in doubles and two in mixed doubles. His groundstrokes were hit with topspin, an innovation in the 1960s, as was his topspin lob.
Rex Bellamy, longtime tennis journalist, once wrote about Laver, “The strength of that wrist and forearm gave him blazing power without loss of control, even when he was on the run and at full stretch. The combination of speed and strength, especially wrist strength, enabled him to hit ferrous winners when way out of court.”
Laver won four Wimbledon titles (1961, 1962, 1968, 1969), three Australia Opens (1960, 1962, 1969), two French Opens (1962, 1969) as well as two U.S. Open crowns. In his career as a singles player, Laver was 392-99 (79.8%) with 200 tournament championships. He retired from tennis in 1979 and became a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1981. Laver resides in California.
Rosewall was born in Sydney, Australia on November 2, 1934 and turned pro in 1957. He was just 18 years old when he won the singles title at the Australian, French and Pacific Southwest Championships in 1953. He was the top seed at Wimbledon, but lost a quarterfinals match to Kurt Nielson and a semifinals match against Tony Trabert in the U.S. Championships. In 1954, Rosewall lost a semifinals match in five sets at Wimbledon.
Rosewall retired from professional tennis in October 1980 and won career prize money of $1, 600, 300. The right-hander was enshrined into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980. As a singles player, Rosewall won 132 titles including Grand Slam tournaments in the Australia Open (1953, 1955, 1971, 1972), French Open (1953, 1968) and U. S. Open (1956, 1970). He was ranked in the early 1960s as the World’s No. 1 player and resides in Sidney.
Gonzales was born in Los Angeles in 1928. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968 and was ranked as the World’s No. 1 tennis player early in his career. The Hall of Fame states about Gonzales, “developing perhaps the most immaculate service motion tennis has ever seen, Richard “Pancho” Gonzales captured back-to-back U.S, Open Championships in 1948 and 1949 before becoming a major force in professional tennis fro the better part of two decades.
“In that span, he secured no fewer than eight U.S. Pro Championships. A moody but fierce competitor, he remained formidable into his early forties, topping Rod Laver, Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith among other notable victims at the outset of the Open Era in the late 1960s and early 1970s.”
Gonzales died in 1995 and was a Wimbledon doubles champion (1949) and French Open doubles champion (1949).
Gimeno was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1937. His major achievement in tennis was winning the French Open in 1972. He holds the record for being the French Open’s oldest winner at age 34. Gimeno reached the finals of the Australia Open in 1969, but lost in three sets to Laver. Gimeno was selected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009 He resides in Spain.
If you have any comments or suggestions you can contact Bill Traughber via email WLTraughber@aol.com. To read about Nashville baseball history this season check out www.nashvillesounds.com “Looking Back” for more stories by Bill Traughber.
