Jeeze. I came here to watch newcomer's service toss and swing motion and I was not disappointed. This guy would be dropping bombs with modern equipment.
These raquets were so unforgiving. The sweet spot was so small. Newc' was a class act. Smith also and he went onto win the following year against Nastase.
Stan Smith, one of the all-time class guys in the sport. One of the all-time greatest matches... when Stan beat beat Tiriac in Belgrade for the Davis Cup victory for the US. ...the dishonesty of the lines people, etc and Stan was resolute.
No chairs on changeovers. Water from the cooler (and Robinsons if wanted). Wooden rackets. The majority of players didn't need to play double-handed shots. No huge entourage. Yet STILL played thrilling tennis. AND could jump over the net at the end of the match. Shake hands properly. Made 'em tough, but gentlemanly in those days.
I remember when I got the prince pro and not using the wood racquet anymore Couldn’t believe how my game improved And that was just at the recreational level
I started playing tennis in 1975 as an 11-year-old. I stopped basically after 1983 when the newer, modern racquets came in. It became a game of power over touch even at the rec level.
@@Lava1964 I am 62, first played with a wood Donnay, then a Pro Kennex, composite and now play with a Yonex Vcore. You know I evolve with the technology such as RUclips which certainly didn't exist in 1983 yet here you are typing a comment on a computer or smart phone which also didn't exist. The ideological but ever inconsistent "purity" of guys commenting on "classic" videos such as you are always a marvel of lack of self awareness. And I am guessing nobody misses you on the courts either.
Club players could benefit from watching this era of tennis. We all try to do a Federa which we obviously cant. I have watched a lot lately and tried to slow it down and use a bit of guile. Really works. I am of course helped hugely by a modern racket. Next step might be to get an old Dunlop re strung and try to play retro. I was 11 when this match was played. Good tennis everyone. Regards Charles.
@@jeremyd1021 You mean, Smith was more mature than Nastase, who had to resort to childish behaviour and gamesmanship to upset his opponents. Smith was too cool and calm to fall for Nastase's nonsense.
@@ThefightingCelt If tennis had to rely on the dour Stan Smith for box office it would have been consigned to the dustbin of history long ago. Forget about Nastase's antics, of which there were none in the 72 final anyway, and which in his career were for the most part good humoured, and just marvel at his incredible artistry. He didn't need to resort to gamesmanship as his talent was way above anyone else's. He also was the very first player to take tennis out of the boring Aussie short back and sides era and get it on the world stage. Without Nastase and his great friend Horst Dassler tennis would have had another decade of being stuck in some fusty country club played by dullards like Smith, Reissen, Emerson, Ashe, Gorman, and yes sorry to say, that charisma by-pass, Laver too. Tennis needed Nastase, Connors and Borg so badly and thank god they came along to Bruch away the cobwebs.
@@jeremyd1021 Borg? That guy had less "personality" than any of the Aussie guys you named. He got a pass only because he was constantly playing Connors and McEnroe.
@@tnomi1965 Really? tell that to the screaming girls who invaded the centre court after his matches on his debut at Wimbledon in 1973 and in Paris in 1974, Or to the groupies who would hang around his hotel for his entire short-lived career. Or to Arthur Ashe, who famously said "Borg was bigger than tennis itself, he transcended the sport, he was like Elvis or Elizabeth Taylor or something" , Or, to all the sponsors begging to get a piece of him. He was a walking advertising hoarding on court. He played with different makes of rackets and wore different clothing on different continents, no other player ever did that. He was by far IMG's biggest client, a licence to print money. It was well known also that his appearance money was 2 or 3 times as much as Connors and McEnroe, even though it was also well known that for those kind of matches Borg played well within himself, only giving 60-70% most of the time. But don't take it from me, take it from McEnroe who said that after being a ball boy at a Borg match at the US Open, this is what made him want to be a pro, he wanted to be like Borg. .Everything about him was different, even the way he strung his rackets at a tension so high that other players trying to play with that tension could barely hit a ball. In long matches he would go through about 5 or 6 rackets as the frames just cracked under the tension of his strings and the topspin. He totally changed tennis into the way it is played today, the open stance style of play and aggressive topspin was all started by him. Maybe he was a little too European for your taste? A man who says nothing, an enigma, has a far more interesting personality than a brash loudmouth.
Jim Short One guy out of many thousand. He is the one-eyed man in the land of the blind, the only one who has learned the lessons from the past. One guy doesn't change the fact that the overall level on the tour today is embarrassingly poor.
@@davidr2802 Players who only played with wooden racquets would have benefitted playing with modern racquets. The point I'm trying to make is today's players are not better than their predecessors!
Notice how Stan Smith spit out most of the water. He was just wetting his mouth under the misonception in those days of not drinking too much for fear of bloating and slowing you down. Of course, we know better now that as you get dehydrated over the course of long match, the lack of fluids actually slows you down and makes muscle movement less efficient.
I remember that nonsense playing sports as a kid. Amazing more people didn't croak. They told you you'd get a cramp. I guzzle a pitcher of water playing tennis and don't get cramps.
Just watched the first game expecting it to be rubbish. But it was fantastic! Of course, I have to make allowances for shitty old racquets with sweet spots the size of a penny, 'less than perfectly even!' Wimbledon courts and players who probably had a couple of pints the evening before. But, having done that - this is more than excellent play.
Yes,but recently I saw 1995 ATP Masters final between Pete Sampras and Boris Becker,it was 20+ yeas ago and they played incredibly fast and strong,even for today standards.
@BazarovNo,this particular was in 1996 final in Germany,which Pete won in 5 sets,in 1995 Boris won it against Chang.In generally,in 1995-96 Pete and Boris played extremely good,classic matches on old fast carpet and Wimbledon grass.
Only looks slow from bird's eye view. Serves they're hitting are still big, at least 100"s (for how slow 75 to 80 looks on tv, actually fast on court for most amateur players today) & they know hitting it where their opponent isn't is more effective than pure power with wood rackets
The court appears worn even, both on the net and on the baseline, denoting the old serve & net style of play. Today, with better rackets and faster play, it only deteriorates at the point of serve.
@@maxipazz8214 He missed 1972 and 1973, though the later was due to a conflict with ATP. He was in his prime at that time. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newcombe
It’s a whole other era isn’t it?? Some wonderful shot making but Zero for Athletic ability.....almost like Pit a Pat !! Even compared to the late 70’s with Borg & Connors, it’s like an English Tea Party !!
Today I see more coordination in the tennis players. I'm not talking about racquets and strings but of course has some influence. Tall players moves in a most explosive way today
Jeeze. I came here to watch newcomer's service toss and swing motion and I was not disappointed. This guy would be dropping bombs with modern equipment.
What a treat to finally be able to watch these masters. Such game with these poor rackets, wow, they needed a lot of talent.
These raquets were so unforgiving. The sweet spot was so small. Newc' was a class act. Smith also and he went onto win the following year against Nastase.
Grass Court Tennis use to be so much better than today's version.
The great Dan Maskell commentating, I loved his voice.
Love that Stan Smith backhand overhead!
newk was a beast on serve! great times!
John Newcombe always has been my favorite he is the greatest of all time
Greatest what?
agree
@@marcbrandes9682really 🤦🤦
Stan Smith, one of the all-time class guys in the sport. One of the all-time greatest matches... when Stan beat beat Tiriac in Belgrade for the Davis Cup victory for the US. ...the dishonesty of the lines people, etc and Stan was resolute.
Bucharest not Belgrade
No chairs on changeovers. Water from the cooler (and Robinsons if wanted). Wooden rackets. The majority of players didn't need to play double-handed shots. No huge entourage. Yet STILL played thrilling tennis. AND could jump over the net at the end of the match. Shake hands properly. Made 'em tough, but gentlemanly in those days.
I remember when I got the prince pro and not using the wood racquet anymore
Couldn’t believe how my game improved
And that was just at the recreational level
Famous Aussie tennis adage; first to the net, first to the bar. Newcombe, Rosewall, Laver and Roche got to the bars quickly.
Ah. Serve and volley tennis. Changed so much since then. Rafter was an anachronism , played like this. Stan and Newk. Classic players
Not a single groundstroke rally, as far as I see.
Crazy, players did not sit during change over, no place to sit. And they stand right next to each other, getting their drink.
Very first Wimbledon I remember (more because of Goolagong’s breakthrough than these fine gentlemen) I was 9
When tennis was tennis, constructing points.
small sweet spots on those racquets. I've played since 1971 I know.
I started playing tennis in 1975 as an 11-year-old. I stopped basically after 1983 when the newer, modern racquets came in. It became a game of power over touch even at the rec level.
@@Lava1964 I am 62, first played with a wood Donnay, then a Pro Kennex, composite and now play with a Yonex Vcore. You know I evolve with the technology such as RUclips which certainly didn't exist in 1983 yet here you are typing a comment on a computer or smart phone which also didn't exist. The ideological but ever inconsistent "purity" of guys commenting on "classic" videos such as you are always a marvel of lack of self awareness. And I am guessing nobody misses you on the courts either.
These guys used tactics and feel that is not quite the same with the new equipment
Club players could benefit from watching this era of tennis. We all try to do a Federa which we obviously cant. I have watched a lot lately and tried to slow it down and use a bit of guile. Really works. I am of course helped hugely by a modern racket. Next step might be to get an old Dunlop re strung and try to play retro. I was 11 when this match was played.
Good tennis everyone. Regards Charles.
Smith appearance like a British colonel
Or Matthew McConaughey
I think I was the only person among all our friends who rooted for Stan Smith to beat Ille Nastase in the Wimbledon final the following year .
Maybe you were the only person in the whole county. They are practically the same age but Smith seemed to be at least a generation older than Nasty.
@@jeremyd1021 You mean, Smith was more mature than Nastase, who had to resort to childish behaviour and gamesmanship to upset his opponents. Smith was too cool and calm to fall for Nastase's nonsense.
@@ThefightingCelt If tennis had to rely on the dour Stan Smith for box office it would have been consigned to the dustbin of history long ago. Forget about Nastase's antics, of which there were none in the 72 final anyway, and which in his career were for the most part good humoured, and just marvel at his incredible artistry. He didn't need to resort to gamesmanship as his talent was way above anyone else's. He also was the very first player to take tennis out of the boring Aussie short back and sides era and get it on the world stage. Without Nastase and his great friend Horst Dassler tennis would have had another decade of being stuck in some fusty country club played by dullards like Smith, Reissen, Emerson, Ashe, Gorman, and yes sorry to say, that charisma by-pass, Laver too. Tennis needed Nastase, Connors and Borg so badly and thank god they came along to Bruch away the cobwebs.
@@jeremyd1021 Borg? That guy had less "personality" than any of the Aussie guys you named. He got a pass only because he was constantly playing Connors and McEnroe.
@@tnomi1965 Really? tell that to the screaming girls who invaded the centre court after his matches on his debut at Wimbledon in 1973 and in Paris in 1974, Or to the groupies who would hang around his hotel for his entire short-lived career. Or to Arthur Ashe, who famously said "Borg was bigger than tennis itself, he transcended the sport, he was like Elvis or Elizabeth Taylor or something" , Or, to all the sponsors begging to get a piece of him. He was a walking advertising hoarding on court. He played with different makes of rackets and wore different clothing on different continents, no other player ever did that. He was by far IMG's biggest client, a licence to print money. It was well known also that his appearance money was 2 or 3 times as much as Connors and McEnroe, even though it was also well known that for those kind of matches Borg played well within himself, only giving 60-70% most of the time. But don't take it from me, take it from McEnroe who said that after being a ball boy at a Borg match at the US Open, this is what made him want to be a pro, he wanted to be like Borg. .Everything about him was different, even the way he strung his rackets at a tension so high that other players trying to play with that tension could barely hit a ball. In long matches he would go through about 5 or 6 rackets as the frames just cracked under the tension of his strings and the topspin. He totally changed tennis into the way it is played today, the open stance style of play and aggressive topspin was all started by him.
Maybe he was a little too European for your taste? A man who says nothing, an enigma, has a far more interesting personality than a brash loudmouth.
It is a classic match . Real tennis lovers like this.Technology killed tennis classics and they play with power without grace .
Really? Ever hear of a guy named Federer?
Jim Short One guy out of many thousand. He is the one-eyed man in the land of the blind, the only one who has learned the lessons from the past.
One guy doesn't change the fact that the overall level on the tour today is embarrassingly poor.
@@jimshort4677 Yes Fed. But he would be great in any era.
would love to see a tournament today - wood rackets only
Today's players would have a very difficult time playing with wooden racquets!
@@seveglider8406 no they wouldn't if they had played with them since they were kids like these guys.
@@davidr2802 Players who only played with wooden racquets would have benefitted playing with modern racquets. The point I'm trying to make is today's players are not better than their predecessors!
That is not what you said originally so my point stands
@@davidr2802 Your point isn't relevant. My point is correct! Do some research before posting your next comment.
Notice how Stan Smith spit out most of the water. He was just wetting his mouth under the misonception in those days of not drinking too much for fear of bloating and slowing you down. Of course, we know better now that as you get dehydrated over the course of long match, the lack of fluids actually slows you down and makes muscle movement less efficient.
I remember that nonsense playing sports as a kid. Amazing more people didn't croak. They told you you'd get a cramp. I guzzle a pitcher of water playing tennis and don't get cramps.
Probing; prodding; plotting; lobbing; volleying; rallying; thinking/no coaching; woodie-ing.....not the same today.
Well said
They play with the second ball in the hand
Players back then were more elegant than today. I love those one-handed backhands as opposed to the sissy two-handed ones.
Sissy ,😂 u are right👍
… in these days players were supposed to be gentlemen … really changed a lot ...
Extraordinary
Very good match. Smith had such a good first serve. Too bad he couldn't control it more.
They played a gentleman’s game, unwritten rule of only defensive lobs; if you had control, no offensive lobs, it would have been offensive.
Just watched the first game expecting it to be rubbish. But it was fantastic! Of course, I have to make allowances for shitty old racquets with sweet spots the size of a penny, 'less than perfectly even!' Wimbledon courts and players who probably had a couple of pints the evening before. But, having done that - this is more than excellent play.
Crowd quiet, just applauding, no shouting "Stan" or "John" like nowadays.
I swear Newcombe gained 20 years of age between 1970 and 1971 when he acquired that moustache
It became an iconic marketing symbol and it drove the women crazy.
Stan Smith must've been born a man, he absolutely doesn't look 25 here lol
Good match
Good to have these videos to compare the evolution. Tenis 🎾 is definitely in other galaxy. Stronger, higher and faster.
You need to learn more about the "game" of tennis. In a few years new materials will make today's tennis look old.
Can you imagine what these guys' serves in their prime would have been like with modern rackets?
Yes,but recently I saw 1995 ATP Masters final between Pete Sampras and Boris Becker,it was 20+ yeas ago and they played incredibly fast and strong,even for today standards.
@BazarovNo,this particular was in 1996 final in Germany,which Pete won in 5 sets,in 1995 Boris won it against Chang.In generally,in 1995-96 Pete and Boris played extremely good,classic matches on old fast carpet and Wimbledon grass.
Only looks slow from bird's eye view. Serves they're hitting are still big, at least 100"s (for how slow 75 to 80 looks on tv, actually fast on court for most amateur players today) & they know hitting it where their opponent isn't is more effective than pure power with wood rackets
Newk vs. The Leaning Tower of Pasadena.
You can see the big difference in pace and speed of the ball and players
pre-towel tennis ;-)
i wish vids would last longer so i might think the match lasts longer, obvious who wins when vid is almost over
No histrionic. No falling to the ground. No nancy boy handshakes. Just real sportsmen of a bygone era behaving like real men.
Very little topspin and no topspin on the lobs due primarily to the small racquet heads.
I think Laver was the only player from this era who could consistently hit topspin backhand. That made him a formidable opponent.
smith had his shoes and racquet at that time
The court appears worn even, both on the net and on the baseline, denoting the old serve & net style of play. Today, with better rackets and faster play, it only deteriorates at the point of serve.
Newcombe missed 2 years of Wimbledon competition due to it's conflicts with WCT. He probably would have won more than 3.
this was his 4th final in 5 years,but also his last.
What years actual did he miss
@@maxipazz8214 He missed 1972 and 1973, though the later was due to a conflict with ATP. He was in his prime at that time. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Newcombe
Who in todays game could carry a moustache like Newk?
Fed could.
Is it so wrong to sit during changeovers?
Chairs were not on the courts at Wimbledon until 1975, I believe.
Never mess with a Gemini. They always thinking out there.
They seem older than current players, no ?
More mature looking.
I believe Stan Smith was 24 and John Newcombe was 27.
1:28 A surprise guest umpire in the form of Adolf Hitler there
It's a bummer in the modern game with the racquet develpment that the net game is over! Boring to watch baseline all day long! No strategy
McEnroe would make a "picnic"here... With his Dunlop Maxply and his magic wrist of course
Avant, il jouait avec la Wilson pro staff.
Smith and Newcombe didn't like eachother. Think they both found eachother irritating.
Huh?
Beard won beard
These two apparently didn't get on.
What?
Horribles backhands...
Newcombe yes,Smith not at all. He played some good returns and passing shots.
It’s a whole other era isn’t it?? Some wonderful shot making but Zero for Athletic ability.....almost like Pit a Pat !! Even compared to the late 70’s with Borg & Connors, it’s like an English Tea Party !!
Today I see more coordination in the tennis players.
I'm not talking about racquets and strings but of course has some influence.
Tall players moves in a most explosive way today
Grass court, genius.
Horribles backhands? Were you asleep in English class?