Vilas v Marks 1978 AO Final

[Double bagel]

Vilas' topspin lob is unreal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MCRI5j9oytA

[obsessedtennisfandisorder]

Good Find....really hot and sunny day but the lack of wear at the baseline
meant wrong footed and your movement was screwed....

having said that...that's what happens with so many s@v points.

Didn't realise Vilas came to the net so much...i guess it shows coming to net
in those days of fast and slippery surfaces..was advantageous to stay back.

the other wasn't bad either...decent volleyer but groundies seemed all over
the place....

MUST HAVE HARD PLAYING TENNS WITH PEA SIZED SWEET SPOTS.

[charaseac]

am i the only one who notice the silly hat or its been discussed somewhere else

[vive le beau jeu !]

am i the only one who notice the silly hat or its been discussed somewhere else
i was thinking the same ! ;)
first time i see a pro playing with that kind of "tourist" hat... :rolleyes:
but i still prefer lendl's legionnaire cap !

the point with the tricky net post bounce at 6:55 is really unusual too... cool point !!! :)
does anybody have more clips of such wrong-footing "net post bounces" ?...

[David_86]

Thanks for the link. Vilas' tennis is very attractive.

One question. Were the commentators applauding some of Marks' shots? If they were, I think that's a bit unprofessional.

[pc1]

i was thinking the same ! ;)
first time i see a pro playing with that kind of "tourist" hat... :rolleyes:
but i still prefer lendl's legionnaire cap !

the point with the tricky net post bounce at 6:55 is really unusual too... cool point !!! :)
does anybody have more clips of such wrong-footing "net post bounces" ?...

That was a nice and weird point. I know it's highlights but Vilas volleyed better than I remember.

[gpt]

Vilas served and volleyed the whole tournament. His volleys were very good and he had the best backhand over head smash in tennis at the time.

[pc1]

Vilas served and volleyed the whole tournament. His volleys were very good and he had the best backhand over head smash in tennis at the time.

That backhand overhead was awesome. I forgot about that. Heck the backhand in general was terrific. Vilas had incredible strength.

[Moose Malloy]

first time i see a pro playing with that kind of "tourist" hat...

Laver wore the same hat in '69(hat technology was not as advanced back then...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHaN2h21ANs

this was the infamous match where Laver put wet cabbage under his hat to stay cool(it was over 100 degrees on court that day)

Didn't realise Vilas came to the net so much...i guess it shows coming to net
in those days of fast and slippery surfaces..was advantageous to stay back.


you should check out Lendl's matches at Wimbledon. Guy was consistently serving & volleying on both 1st & 2nd serves there, while he came in like a handful of times the rest of the year.

I'd be curious if there was any player in the 70s that stayed back a lot on grass back then, I doubt it(I have quite a few from that era on tape/dvd)

[scotus]

The picture quality is impressive for a 1978 match.

[vive le beau jeu !]

Laver wore the same hat in '69(hat technology was not as advanced back then...)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wHaN2h21ANs

this was the infamous match where Laver put wet cabbage under his hat to stay cool(it was over 100 degrees on court that day)
ah, hat technology... probably the next big debate on this forum ! ;)
(danhtuhoc will probably be happy to give his precious point of view on the question...)

so... the gran slam with such a hat... and wet cabbage ??? i'm in shock. :)

[charaseac]

ah, hat technology... probably the next big debate on this forum ! ;)
(danhtuhoc will probably be happy to give his precious point of view on the question...)

so... the gran slam with such a hat... and wet cabbage ??? i'm in shock. :)

Ah hat Technology, the next thing you know they will make a hat with built in wet cabbage to keep you cool lol

[galain]

Thank you for posting this. Vilas was my very first tennis hero - it was great to see him playing in my home town there.

[jean pierre]

Jonh Marks beated Arthur Ashe in semi-final, 9/7 in the fifth set, and saved a match point !

[adams_1]

Awesome find. Some awesome play there.

[Tobias Fünke]

Jonh Marks beated Arthur Ashe in semi-final, 9/7 in the fifth set, and saved a match point !

Good for Marks but kind of too bad overall. It would have been pretty interesting to see an Ashe-Vilas final on grass.

[gpt]

I am Australian yet I watched that match so wanting Ashe to win it. The only thing I knew about Marks was that he played doubles with Mark Edmondson. Ashe was well into his 30's and it would have been a great climax to his career. Yes, an Ashe v Vilas final would have been just perfect. Two of my favourite players at the time.

[vive le beau jeu !]

I am Australian yet I watched that match so wanting Ashe to win it. The only thing I knew about Marks was that he played doubles with Mark Edmondson. Ashe was well into his 30's and it would have been a great climax to his career. Yes, an Ashe v Vilas final would have been just perfect. Two of my favourite players at the time.
just an off-topic question... what animal is it on your avatar ? :)
at the beginning i thought the yellow part was a platypus beak but i have some doubt now... (probably comes from my platypus obsession !) ;)

[muddlehead]

thanks for the link. awesome s&v stuff from vilas. who knew?

[BTURNER]

I have not seen enough of Vilas. Its always loosing to connors or Borg. Thee was more to him that that. Loved those lobs.

[jean pierre]

I have not seen enough of Vilas. Its always loosing to connors or Borg. Thee was more to him that that. Loved those lobs.

Vilas won against Connors and Borg many times.

[suwanee4712]

Thats an awesome video! Marks got hot towards the end of that tournament and probably played a bit over his head. But what a great effort for him to reach the final and then make Vilas earn it.

Kudos to Vilas for his Australian titles. I know the fields weren't the best. But this wasn't his best surface and there was little reason for him to trouble himself to go down there other than to win a prestigious title. So good for him on not skipping the event.

I love the end too when the umpire thanks the ball kids and linesmen. I think that was a tradition they maintained until around 1982 or so. It's very Aussie, which is a great thing.

[jean pierre]

It's incredible to see Vilas serving and volleying like that. He worked very hard before the Australian Open to learn grass tennis.

[Rabbit]

am i the only one who notice the silly hat or its been discussed somewhere else

The hat is called an Australian Bucket Hat. It was standard equipment through the 60s. Somewhere along the line, the baseball cap replaced it. However, when you don't have the hair you used to and you want to keep you ears and neck from getting sunburned, it's still my headwear of choice. I recently bought a few more, in one of two models, one all terry cloth and on regular cloth. Again, they are great for preventing too much sun on the neck and ears.

Laver wore them all the time.

Vilas won against Connors and Borg many times.

Well I don't know about many, Vilas was 5 - 17 against Borg and 4 - 5 against Connors. Borg was the PF Flyer version of Vilas, i.e. he could run faster, jump higher, hit harder and last longer than Vilas ;)


It's incredible to see Vilas serving and volleying like that. He worked very hard before the Australian Open to learn grass tennis.

The difference then was you played different games by surface. There was more strategy and variety. Vilas was never considered even a good volleyer when compared to the other players of his day. But, when viewing this video, he seems to be a great volleyer. That is the difference between then and now. Vilas was a complete player from a court perspective especially when compared against today's players who play every surface the same, bashing from the baseline. Most folks see highlights of Vilas on clay. And, on clay, he stayed back and kept the ball deep to the corners. Borg didn't invoke all his power on clay preferring to win through attrition. But, both guys could whale on the ball when the surface speed would reward them.

Note in the clips, the wide volley that Marks hit and Vilas running to the next court to retrieve and hit a clean winner down the line. Vilas and his mates were every bit as competitive and capable as today. Vilas also demonstrated unbelievable speed around the court and sliding ability.

I have a DVD of Vilas playing Nastase from the 75 Masters I believe. In the first set, there are no less than a dozen topspin lobs hit by both players. In one point, Vilas retrieves a topspin lob hit by Nastase with a 'tweener. Yes, the trick shot most folks think was invented by Noah and perfected by the current crop. Vilas did it in '75. This particular attempt hit the top of the net, but it was clear this wasn't Vilas' first time to to this. The big difference was that in '75, Vilas was doing it with a Jack Kramer Autograph. I can also remember John McEnroe hitting swinging volleys with wood racquets and Cliff Drysdale calling it a "bolo" volley.

[gpt]

Rabbit, if that match was on grass it may be the 74 masters final at kooyong

[jean pierre]

Rabbit, if that match was on grass it may be the 74 masters final at kooyong

Yes, it was. But it's played in january 75.

[Rabbit]

74, 75....whatever it takes.... ;)