Vilas: we talked about tennis

The iconic Argentine tennis player is 70 years old and, here, a brief review of just two of my personal experiences with the captivating nature of our sport.

For someone who was a teenager in the ’70s, a sports fan, and started working in the ’80s, it’s impossible not to be pierced by Guillermo Vilas. Not only was it impossible not to cross it, but also, in all the experiences, I would save only one couple.

The first is I saw him play for the first time. It’s hand in hand with my old man, in a series of Davis cup Come in Argentina and Chilein ’73, in doubles with Ricardo Cano. They won a historic game, against Jaime Fillol and Patricio Cornejoa great Chilean couple who in those years reached the finals of Roland Garros. William and Richard, both very young, won an unexpected match. however, the series is lost by Argentina and Guillermo loses to Duck Cornelone of the players who is not good on the circuit but is a heavy player of Davis cup.

Later, I will go to the first work experience I had with him abroad. In the year ’83, the newspaper The country sending me to cover the US Open. At that time, I was 20 years old and 21 older, so I had to travel with my parents’ permission to New York. My old man deposited me in the hands of salad, William Salatino, a great companion and friend. I traveled a day before everyone else Flushing Meadowsso my idea is to travel from Manhattan to Flushing as soon as possible to see the practice.

The Flushing train station, where one imagines having to get off to go to Flushing Meadows, is far from Crown Parkwhere the stadium actually is. I went crazy and had to walk about 20 blocks in the sun in the middle of summer without a GPS and not knowing the place, but as part of one’s tanning adventures. What I remember most about that day is which devoured Vilas’ training with Ion Tiriac. We were alone, the two of them on the secondary court and me in the stands, not even approached as a sign of respect. It caught my attention at the end of training Guillermo had to collect ball by ball, even if some were not on the pitch. Later, I found that out the organizers charge each tube of balls used in training. Vilas some profit can pay, but this is the philosophy of Tiriac: here nothing is given away.

Finally, imagine for someone who until a few years ago had Vilas on one of the posters in his teenage room, what it was like to see that on the third wheel Guillermo was playing against an American junior and college champion named Greg Holmes, a complete unknown, and he lost something like 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.… I admit there is no way to be objective or unbiased. I spent like two hours trying to start writing because I did not understand how that icon, that incredible phenomenon disappeared into a nobody in my first experience as a traveling journalist.

I can only think of two experiences to tell you. There are many experiences to enjoy a lovable nature of Argentine sports with a good story. a unique iconbecause despite the fact that Argentine tennis has more than 100 years of existence and that it was valid even before Guillermo, he made us Argentines buy shoes, rackets, balls, let’s talk about it sliceof top rotationof aceRoland Garros, Wimbledon and many people invest in the courts. This, which continues today, no doubt he was born with Guillermo.