Vilas said afterwards that he found Wilander's mid pace shots very hard to deal with. They didn't have enough pace to rebound and weren't soft enough to put away. Some used to say that about Lleyton Hewitt. That he also used to hit at an awkward pace.
What made tennis so great in the 70’s & 80’s was how all those amazing, unique personalities on both the men’s & women’s sides came together to make tennis so popular internationally. It didn’t hurt that we here in the States had colorful players like Connors, McEnroe & Gerulaitis, contrasted with the stoics, like Arthur Ashe, Borg or Vilas or clash with other crazies like Nastase from Romania or the stylish and volatile Panatta from Italy. What was awesome, was that there were so many different, interesting characters and styles of play from all over the world and they were all so competitive. Tennis now on the men’s side has the incomparable big 2 left (though Rafa will retire soon) with Alcaraz making waves and all the rest. But most of the players with a few exceptions tend to have pretty boring personalities (it is too business like) and you now have barely any serve and volleyers. Say what you will about Vilas & Borg; but they were the predecessors to Rafa and Roger. They were the original topspin pioneers and they used to play doubles together when they were just starting out on the pro-tour in the early 70s. Vilas’s one handed backhand was one of the best in tennis history, modeled after Laver’s. Tiriac beat the artist out of him - which may or may not have been to his benefit as a player. If he didn’t have Borg standing over him, Guillermo may have more clearly gotten his due as numero uno (though he technically was twice as the Netflix documentary proved. The ATP never owned up to it of course.). Wilander totally shocked everyone at 17, back in ‘82 at Roland Garros. I think he beat Gerulaitis, Clerc & Lendl in succession, before he shocked Guillermo, who dropped nary a set before reaching the final. As a huge Vilas fan, I was heartbroken when I mixed up the starting times for the match and turned on the TV to see Mats hoisting the trophy over his head after the 4+ hr marathon!? Really glad I finally get to see this grinding match - slow as it was, yet it still shows the dawn of a great champ in Wilander and the wane of the greatest South American player in history, “El Gran Willy”! Guillermo Vilas is still one of the classiest and best regarded champs in tennis history.
@@glenngastonjonsson7954 This was the year after Borg had retired. Guillermo pretty much had a cakewalk to the Finals. I believe Noah beat him the year before and he was the only one to test him in ‘82 @ Roland Garros, though Guillermo won in 4 sets. I’m pretty sure that Ţiriac and Vilas felt that there was no way this skinny kid, Wilander could possibly beat the “Bull of the Pampas” as the late great American Tennis Journalist and raconteur Bud Collins used to call him. “El Gran Willy” was looking as strong as ever. Wilander said in an interview he realized that after the 1st set Vilas wasn’t doing much more than hitting the ball back (perhaps feeling overconfident after handily winning the 1st Set 6-1). Mats said that he was cool with that and when Vilas, pouring with sweat on a very hot day in Paris started yelling @ Ţiriac during the changeovers, it all went downhill from there. It is very rare, almost unheard of to see Guillermo tire out and lose his cool, but that is exactly what happened. Guillermo probably had flashbacks of losing to Wilander’s idol Bjorn Borg, who completely dismantled Guillermo in the ‘78 Roland Garros Final when he was actually the reigning Champ of Roland Garros. Vilas had an astounding year in ‘77 where he won well over 50 matches straight on clay and got to the Finals of the Australian Open, blew everyone off the court at the French and drove Jimmy Connors crazy as he beat him 6-0 in the 4th set at the U.S. Open at Forrest Hills and was carried off the court by a crowd of rabid Argentine fans who streamed onto the court after Connors last shot was called out. It is one of the greatest injustices in tennis history that Vilas wasn’t officially ranked World No.1 especially that year when he dominated everyone and Borg was hurt for a long stretch that year. I always refer back to these older matches to see how they stack up with newer techniques and strategies and wonder how the top 5 players of the ‘70s, ‘80s & ‘90s would fare against the likes of the Big Three (Roger, Rafa and Djoker), had they had the same tools (metrics, training, diets) and materials (racquet and shoe technology.). I think all things being equal, the Old Guard woulda been a lot tougher to beat, because most of them were mentally tough and had more variety in play style. Perhaps the Big Threes Slam wins wouldn’t have been quite so prodigious. As great as tennis is today, I really miss the variety, not just in style but personalities as well - those were the days, Man…
Those were the the days: Wilander had booked a flight back home way early since he was facing Ivan in the round of 16 and regarded himself without possibility to go through.@@thenostalgicnewyorker8183
Vilas fue N°1 por 7 semanas del viejo ranking ATP en un periodo que no se publico entre 1974 y 1975. Está comprobado. Que la ATP no lo haya oficializado es otra cosa. Vilas también fue N°1 en 1977 para los rankings de la revista más famosa del mundo (World Tennis). Elegido "tenista del año" por el anuario oficial de la FIT en 1977 y también N°1 por rankings de eminencias como Michel Sutter, Christian Quidet y Eugene L. Scott, tan o más importantes que el de ATP en aquel momento, que era considerado un sistema de entrada a los torneos organizados por ATP, reconocido por ellos mismos como no definitivo. El ranking ATP toma caracter oficial absoluto a partir de la abolicion del Grand Prix en 1989. Miles y miles de datos aseguran y demuestran que Vilas fue 6 semanas Nº1 en 1975 y 2 semanas en enero del 76. Y la ATP se lo negó 3 veces, sin querer remover los libros y datos del pasado. Algún día se hará justicia
I saw Guilermo in 1986 in Prague on tournament, semifinal with Marian Vajda has lost, but i Will remember it, to have chance to meet player of tenis history 😎💯👍
Vilas in quel momento non lo sapeva ancora, ma non avrebbe MAI PIÙ vinto un set contro Wilander…! Incredibile!!! Anzi avrebbe perso 18 set in 6 partite…! Ho inserito nel conteggio anche il 76 60 64 di quel giorno…!
Interestingly, Vilas said afterwards that he found Wilander's mid pace shots very hard to deal with. They didn't have enough pace to rebound and weren't soft enough to put away. Some used to say that about Lleyton Hewitt. That he also used to hit at an awkward pace.
@@leliondescavernes1747 Je confirme. Il avait balayé tout ses adversaires avant la finale. En avril, il avait gagné le tournoi de Madrid en "balayant Lendl. Son jeu était loin d'être dépassé.
Vilas also swept Lendl in the Monte Carlo Open in Clay, in addition to the Madrid Open. He did it twice in April 1982, before Roland Garros, where Wilander beat Lendl in the 4th round.
Very WRONG. - Vilas had the best record on tour thru the French Open, 39-3 after his loss to Wilander which was his first Grand Prix tournament loss. The first 2 loses were WCT events - Vilas easily had the most success at the most important top tier Super Series tournaments thru the French Open. He had already won 4 Super Series events defeating Connors in 2 finals, Lendl in 2 finals & Wilander also, without losing to any of them. No other player had more than 1 Super Series win by the French Open but Connors with 3 & he faced very weak competition of no one ranked inside the top 10. Vilas then extended his best tour record & performance to a 54-4 record & 2 more wins including a 5th Super Series title thru July 25. - Vilas ended the year tied with Lendl & Mcenroe for the most Super Series wins with 5, performed exactly the same as Mcenroe at the grand slams & better than Lendl. Not bad for a 30 year old you think was finished. -
Vilas said afterwards that he found Wilander's mid pace shots very hard to deal with. They didn't have enough pace to rebound and weren't soft enough to put away. Some used to say that about Lleyton Hewitt. That he also used to hit at an awkward pace.
What made tennis so great in the 70’s & 80’s was how all those amazing, unique personalities on both the men’s & women’s sides came together to make tennis so popular internationally. It didn’t hurt that we here in the States had colorful players like Connors, McEnroe & Gerulaitis, contrasted with the stoics, like Arthur Ashe, Borg or Vilas or clash with other crazies like Nastase from Romania or the stylish and volatile Panatta from Italy. What was awesome, was that there were so many different, interesting characters and styles of play from all over the world and they were all so competitive.
Tennis now on the men’s side has the incomparable big 2 left (though Rafa will retire soon) with Alcaraz making waves and all the rest. But most of the players with a few exceptions tend to have pretty boring personalities (it is too business like) and you now have barely any serve and volleyers.
Say what you will about Vilas & Borg; but they were the predecessors to Rafa and Roger. They were the original topspin pioneers and they used to play doubles together when they were just starting out on the pro-tour in the early 70s. Vilas’s one handed backhand was one of the best in tennis history, modeled after Laver’s. Tiriac beat the artist out of him - which may or may not have been to his benefit as a player. If he didn’t have Borg standing over him, Guillermo may have more clearly gotten his due as numero uno (though he technically was twice as the Netflix documentary proved. The ATP never owned up to it of course.). Wilander totally shocked everyone at 17, back in ‘82 at Roland Garros. I think he beat Gerulaitis, Clerc & Lendl in succession, before he shocked Guillermo, who dropped nary a set before reaching the final. As a huge Vilas fan, I was heartbroken when I mixed up the starting times for the match and turned on the TV to see Mats hoisting the trophy over his head after the 4+ hr marathon!? Really glad I finally get to see this grinding match - slow as it was, yet it still shows the dawn of a great champ in Wilander and the wane of the greatest South American player in history, “El Gran Willy”! Guillermo Vilas is still one of the classiest and best regarded champs in tennis history.
I enjoy every shot. Wilander is playing against Vilas's strengths and Vilas is trying to figure out what the hell he's dealing with. A classic final.
@@glenngastonjonsson7954 This was the year after Borg had retired. Guillermo pretty much had a cakewalk to the Finals. I believe Noah beat him the year before and he was the only one to test him in ‘82 @ Roland Garros, though Guillermo won in 4 sets. I’m pretty sure that Ţiriac and Vilas felt that there was no way this skinny kid, Wilander could possibly beat the “Bull of the Pampas” as the late great American Tennis Journalist and raconteur Bud Collins used to call him. “El Gran Willy” was looking as strong as ever.
Wilander said in an interview he realized that after the 1st set Vilas wasn’t doing much more than hitting the ball back (perhaps feeling overconfident after handily winning the 1st Set 6-1). Mats said that he was cool with that and when Vilas, pouring with sweat on a very hot day in Paris started yelling @ Ţiriac during the changeovers, it all went downhill from there. It is very rare, almost unheard of to see Guillermo tire out and lose his cool, but that is exactly what happened. Guillermo probably had flashbacks of losing to Wilander’s idol Bjorn Borg, who completely dismantled Guillermo in the ‘78 Roland Garros Final when he was actually the reigning Champ of Roland Garros. Vilas had an astounding year in ‘77 where he won well over 50 matches straight on clay and got to the Finals of the Australian Open, blew everyone off the court at the French and drove Jimmy Connors crazy as he beat him 6-0 in the 4th set at the U.S. Open at Forrest Hills and was carried off the court by a crowd of rabid Argentine fans who streamed onto the court after Connors last shot was called out. It is one of the greatest injustices in tennis history that Vilas wasn’t officially ranked World No.1 especially that year when he dominated everyone and Borg was hurt for a long stretch that year.
I always refer back to these older matches to see how they stack up with newer techniques and strategies and wonder how the top 5 players of the ‘70s, ‘80s & ‘90s would fare against the likes of the Big Three (Roger, Rafa and Djoker), had they had the same tools (metrics, training, diets) and materials (racquet and shoe technology.).
I think all things being equal, the Old Guard woulda been a lot tougher to beat, because most of them were mentally tough and had more variety in play style. Perhaps the Big Threes Slam wins wouldn’t have been quite so prodigious.
As great as tennis is today, I really miss the variety, not just in style but personalities as well - those were the days, Man…
Those were the the days: Wilander had booked a flight back home way early since he was facing Ivan in the round of 16 and regarded himself without possibility to go through.@@thenostalgicnewyorker8183
Couldn't agree more !! One of the best tennis eras !!
Vilas fue N°1 por 7 semanas del viejo ranking ATP en un periodo que no se publico entre 1974 y 1975. Está comprobado. Que la ATP no lo haya oficializado es otra cosa.
Vilas también fue N°1 en 1977 para los rankings de la revista más famosa del mundo (World Tennis). Elegido "tenista del año" por el anuario oficial de la FIT en 1977 y también N°1 por rankings de eminencias como Michel Sutter, Christian Quidet y Eugene L. Scott, tan o más importantes que el de ATP en aquel momento, que era considerado un sistema de entrada a los torneos organizados por ATP, reconocido por ellos mismos como no definitivo. El ranking ATP toma caracter oficial absoluto a partir de la abolicion del Grand Prix en 1989. Miles y miles de datos aseguran y demuestran que Vilas fue 6 semanas Nº1 en 1975 y 2 semanas en enero del 76. Y la ATP se lo negó 3 veces, sin querer remover los libros y datos del pasado. Algún día se hará justicia
I saw Guilermo in 1986 in Prague on tournament, semifinal with Marian Vajda has lost, but i Will remember it, to have chance to meet player of tenis history 😎💯👍
Moon ball city. The clay was slow back then.
CBS covered the French Open from 1980-82
I believe Borg commented for cbs. Wonder what he thought about this match..
Vilas in quel momento non lo sapeva ancora, ma non avrebbe MAI PIÙ vinto un set contro Wilander…! Incredibile!!! Anzi avrebbe perso 18 set in 6 partite…! Ho inserito nel conteggio anche il 76 60 64 di quel giorno…!
Gulliermo por favor,change your t-shirt))
At the pace that their hitting looks like they're warming up, the women nowadays hit harder during warm up. Amazing how Tennis is screwed up.
In what way is it screwed up?
Interestingly, Vilas said afterwards that he found Wilander's mid pace shots very hard to deal with. They didn't have enough pace to rebound and weren't soft enough to put away. Some used to say that about Lleyton Hewitt. That he also used to hit at an awkward pace.
Azzo pagavano pure il biglietto per partite del genere 🤣🤣
Il gioco di Vilas era già passato.
Giocatore dei 70's
@@leliondescavernes1747 Je confirme.
Il avait balayé tout ses adversaires avant la finale.
En avril, il avait gagné le tournoi de Madrid en "balayant Lendl.
Son jeu était loin d'être dépassé.
Vilas also swept Lendl in the Monte Carlo Open in Clay, in addition to the Madrid Open. He did it twice in April 1982, before Roland Garros, where Wilander beat Lendl in the 4th round.
Very WRONG.
- Vilas had the best record on tour thru the French Open, 39-3 after his loss to Wilander which was his first Grand Prix tournament loss. The first 2 loses were WCT events
- Vilas easily had the most success at the most important top tier Super Series tournaments thru the French Open. He had already won 4 Super Series events defeating Connors in 2 finals, Lendl in 2 finals & Wilander also, without losing to any of them. No other player had more than 1 Super Series win by the French Open but Connors with 3 & he faced very weak competition of no one ranked inside the top 10. Vilas then extended his best tour record & performance to a 54-4 record & 2 more wins including a 5th Super Series title thru July 25.
- Vilas ended the year tied with Lendl & Mcenroe for the most Super Series wins with 5, performed exactly the same as Mcenroe at the grand slams & better than Lendl. Not bad for a 30 year old you think was finished.
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