Wimbledon 1975 Final: Ashe v. Connors

HIGHLIGHTS

No Official Full Match available

BEEF & LAWSUITS

To say Ashe and Connors did not get along was an understatement. Eventually it got to a point where Connors had two pending lawsuits against Ashe. The entire feud is explained very well by Gary Waleik. But in short:

  • Davis Cup Differences: Davis Cup was tremendously important to Ashe. He was the first African American to be on the team in a time when racism was rampant. Connors refused to join and in Ashe’s mind it made him feel that Connors only cared about money.

  • ATP - WTT Politics

    • This was when ATP was still young and the presence of unified tennis organization was very new. Connors did not want to join the ATP, while Ashe was elected as the president.

    • The WTT filed a $10-million lawsuit against several ATP executives and sponsors for conspiring to bar WTT players from playing in their tournaments.

    • Just hours before Ashe’s election as president of the ATP, Connors and his agent joined that lawsuit.

    • Ashe responding by writing a public letter describing Connors as brash, arrogant and unpatriotic.

    • Two days before Wimbledon, Connors and his agent files a lawsuit against Ashe for libel.

BACKGROUND

1975 was Connor’s prime, and he was absolutely dominating tennis. The prior season he won 3 slams and another 9 titles in the 1975 season. Meanwhile, Ashe at 32 years old, was near the end of his career.

The story goes that when Ashe secured his spot in the final, he had a chance to spectate Connor’s semi-final match against Roscoe Tanner. Tanner, at the time, had the fastest serve in tennis. Yet, Connors was able to handle pace like no one else and it made Ashe realize that if Roscoe couldn’t outhit Connors, then no one really could. At this moment, Ashe realized that his best chance was to do the exact opposite.

Ashe’s goal was to take the pace off the ball by mixing spins with chips and lobs. His strategy payed off as it completely threw Connors out of rhythm. The first two sets weren’t even close and soon enough, Ashe was up two sets 6-1, 6-1. Connors would adapt to play style and fight back to win the third. Once Ashe realized his tactics wasn’t as effective he reverted to his normal playstyle and managed to close out the match.

 
TennisCraft