ttwarrior1
Hall of Fame
would he be talked about here more often?
If Kevin Curren won a major?
- Thread starter ttwarrior1
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Mainad
Bionic Poster
Would Becker necessarily count back in 1985? He was only 17 and I don't think anybody expected him to win the title so young (although admittedly he had just won Queen's). Everyone expected Curren to beat him in the final having just got past 3 Slam champions in the run-up. It was a shock for most people that he didn't!
I don't think it would have counted in the moment, but, assuming Becker still won Wimbledon in 1986 and had all of his other glass exploits, I think it would have been viewed that way in retrospect.
Like, when people talk in retrospect about McEnroe beating Lendl/Connors/Borg at the 1980 U.S. Open before Lendl had really broken through yet.
I wanted him to beat Becker in that 1985 Wimbledon final but the better player won on the day, spawning the birth of a champion for years to come.
After Curran beat Edberg, McEnroe and Connors, I thought he would beat the young Becker. When you think back on it, many players don’t even make a slam final, let alone win a Wimbledon final at such a young age. One had to be in awe of Becker’s achievement.
For Curran, he had a great tournament and beat some of the great grass court players on his way to the final.
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I agree and he beat both McEnroe and Connors quite badly in losing a paltry 13 games in two matches.
I think most people felt the final would be a formality.
I have seen this more than once. Its so hard to handle these kinds of victories if you don't experience them often. Its such a roller coaster ride to beat Edberg in one, then turn around and beat two legends in the next two rounds. A player like Curren is actually getting exhausted by all these great victories and attention. Its hard to turn off the brain and fall asleep. Your normal routine is disrupted by the interviews the congratulatory calls etc . Adrenaline and confidence can only take you so far before you come up with a mortal performance.
Very true!
Curran would’ve been floating on air beating just one of those guys, let alone all three of them.
I don't think Edberg had won his first slam tho...that came in Dec '85 (I had to check myself)....but yes, it would have been super impressive, knowing what we know now.
yes, Lendl wasn't quite there yet. But for Mac it was a solid win as Lendl would very soon be problematic for him in the early 80's.
Honestly, I thought Queens was a fluke and Kriek's gushing praise for Becker was just covering his own shortfall. Little did I know at the time!
His play was unreal. I saw the QF and was stunned. Figured, eh, it was his lucky day!
Then was super stunned when he beat Connors even worse...was not able to see that one back then.
Was watching some of the semi match on You Tube recently....he gave Connors no chance. Just crushing.
I figured he was a lock to win after beating the last 2 Wimby champs BADLY
Mustard
Bionic Poster
Although it must be mentioned that Edberg wasn't a major winner at the time. The 1985 Australian Open was from 25 November - 8 December 1985.
Exactly....I had to look that up...can't trust the old memory! Edberg was 'on the rise' reaching QF at French, W and USO, that season
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
I don't remember it that way: Curren was playing superbly well, but there were real expectations for Becker. I would not call him an underdog, and
my pre-match prediction was something like "hell, I don't know; this new kid is good, and bursting w/ energy".
chrischris
G.O.A.T.
What a series of wins he had there... Too bad he lost that final..
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Agreed.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
My mum wasn't at all surprised that Becker won the final against Curren. She expected it. Becker was daring, gutsy and attacking. She had remembered him from the year before when he had badly sprained his ankle against Scanlon.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Oh yes, the ankle the previous year- that *was* bad, and I had completely forgotten.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Becker was getting *so much* work and velocity on his serve at W in '85 and '86.. yowza.
Mainad
Bionic Poster
Funny how Becker came up against 2 South-African born players (both of whom became US citizens) in the finals of both Queen's and Wimbledon that year. I think that both those opponents went in as favourites but both fell to the new 'wunderkind' of tennis! Kriek especially had nothing but gushing praise for young Boris!!
Incidentally, my mum was also a big Becker fan. In her later years she became a big Djokovic fan (never liked to see him lose even when playing against Murray despite her enormous pride in her Scottish heritage)!
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
As a footnote: there must be something good in the water in SA for tennis players.
I saw a very gifted guy named Stefan Kruger from SA playing for SMU once; apparently
a bit of a headcase and only did a little in Pro dubs, but what a natural talent!
Some of the best hands and smoothest strokes I've ever seen, and he was just crushing
PMac like he wasn't even there- broke his FH down completely. I hoped for him to do
better on the Tour, but alas..
Also saw him working out with coach Dennis Ralston, who could definitely still hit the ball then-
great volleyer, which very cool.
I saw a very gifted guy named Stefan Kruger from SA playing for SMU once; apparently
a bit of a headcase and only did a little in Pro dubs, but what a natural talent!
Some of the best hands and smoothest strokes I've ever seen, and he was just crushing
PMac like he wasn't even there- broke his FH down completely. I hoped for him to do
better on the Tour, but alas..
Also saw him working out with coach Dennis Ralston, who could definitely still hit the ball then-
great volleyer, which very cool.
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sandy mayer
Semi-Pro
In Britain going into the semis Becker was the bookies' favourite out of the 4 men left in the competition: Curren, Connors, Becker and Jarryd. Some pundits picked Curren, like Bud Collins, but it was no surprise Becker won once he had made the final.
Curren said he wanted to play Jarryd rather than Becker because he feared Becker's serve. That was a mistake on Curren's part and shows he wasn't confident enough going into the final. Becker had more self belief, which is why he triumphed.
Curren was a very good player, but wasn't mentally strong enough to win a slam. Becker did have the champion's mentality.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
Thanks for this post. I do remember Curren saying after the match that Becker was Champion material, and deserved to win.
Mustard
Bionic Poster
I think most people would have expected, going into the 1985 Wimbledon final, that the 17-year-old Becker would be really nervous, especially at the beginning. Instead, Becker started very strongly and it was Curren who started nervous. Curren did recover enough to win the second set and even go a break up in the third set, but then Becker had to show what he was made of to turn the situation around, and he did.
bigjimbofan
Rookie
What a wicked serve Curren had. IIRC, he didn't toss it too high either and hit it just before it would have reached it's highest point. I thought for sure he would win Wimbledon in 85.
Vincent-C
Hall of Fame
With that toss (similar to Tanner's, IIRC) in conjunction with his compactly deceptive backswing, I can't imagine how one would read that serve.
you really couldn't. If he had served that way in the final, he would have won. The guy who won the QF and SF wasn't there that day
At that time Curren was still playing wood!
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