The epic match between Gonzales and Pasarell in 1969 at Wimbledon is legend! Now I managed to order the entire match on DVD and will be getting it this week! 
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Regards, Phil -
don_budge
Performance Analysthttps://forum.tennisplayer.net/images/smilies/cool.png -
Great match. Make sure you don't schedule anything you for that day. It's gonna be a long one. Although you'll be in the comfort of your own home, you'll be physically and emotionally drained from that match, almost like you were slugging it out with them. Enjoy.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
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Report please after viewing--especially on the will power of Richard G.Comment
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Sampras vs. Becker 1996 Hanover
It's a great site. Lots of great matches.
I have the DVD from 1996 Masters in Hanover of Sampras vs. Becker. Brilliant stuff. Sampras would say after that it was the highest level anyone had ever played against him. And as tennis journalist Steve Tignor pointed out, if it was not the best match ever, it had the best scoreline: 3-6, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (11), 6-4.
Kyle LaCroix USPTA
Boca RatonComment
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Becker and Sampras
I saw Becker and Sampras play at Wimbledon once. I can't remember the year. The first set was a very high standard and went to a tiebreak. Midway through that tiebreak Becker floated a backhand volley just over the baseline. It cost him the set. The standard had been so high it took just that one error to decide matters. Becker couldn't live with Sampras's standard after that. Pete was just a better player.
One thing that first set highlighted to me was if Sampras had a weakness on grass, it was his return. Becker's second serve sat up a number of times but he could never take advantage of it like Agassi could. For a player with such a good forehand, it's a mystery why Pete couldn't return better on that wing.Last edited by stotty; 01-13-2016, 01:30 PM.StottyComment
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I have started watching it... It is like going into a time machine... The chair umpire is very British... Pasarell has a highly stylized serve motion, in contrast, Gonzales is simple, but very elegant and efficient. I can only hope that after watching the full five hours, some of his serve motion will rub off on me... Gonzales moves like a panther, always efficient...Regards, PhilComment
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Boy is this match different from today's matches. No sitting down on the turn-overs, the server gets his two balls (not 5-6), goes to the baseline and serves quickly, no toweling between points. This marathon would have lasted 10 hours if they would have done what today's players do: bouncing, waiting, choosing tennis balls, toweling, etc. When did this all start changing I wonder?Regards, PhilComment
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The Gonzalez serve a thing of beauty: no big knee bend, no extreme torsion, no high toss, no hitch in the serve - just relaxed, smooth and lightning fast.Regards, PhilComment
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I still think it's the best serve ever...and in so many ways.
Willaim Strunk gave this advice to writers::
“Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessay sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell.”
When you think about it, the model of Gonzales's serve to tennis players should be construed precisely the same as William Strunk's advice was to writers.
A good serve is efficient. A serve should contain no unnecessary movements, the body should expend no unnecessary energy....
Last edited by stotty; 01-27-2016, 11:11 AM.StottyComment
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I just finished watching the first set, which Pancho lost 22-24 (after having defended against 12 match balls), and already midway through that set, you see Pancho leaning forward on his racket between points, looking exhausted. The moment a point starts, there is a big transformation as he elegantly glides across the court, showing incredible reflexes.Regards, PhilComment
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