vitas gerulaitis

[PrinceMoron]

Originally Posted by borg number one

That's a great description of him Hoodjem. Kiki, I never realized that he and Lendl were such big rivals back then. I missed that back story.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzF_kqvpw-8 (Gerulaitis vs. Lendl, 1981 Masters)

Read the tee, it tells you everything about Vitas. Good guy all round, never forgetful of his roots.

[ahuimanu]

Originally Posted by PrinceMoron

Is that some kind of slang for substance abuse? Not Ivan, his choice of poison was a pocket full of talc and a suede grip, yes suede. But wild times elsewhere.

No coded language or reference to substance abuse at all...

See video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLRx2TACIKA

[jaggy]

Originally Posted by kiki

There are some interesting " back of the room" stories between Lendl and Gerulaitis...

Cmon spill the gossip

[kiki]

Originally Posted by jaggy

Cmon spill the gossip

Vitas was flamboyant and dressed like a pop star, with those funky clothes and jewels and watches.They had some discussions in the locker room because Lendl was looking upon him and others like he belonged to another planet.Journalists don´tt alk it out because of the code of "omerta" that is a reality in almost all pro sports...

[PrinceMoron]

Originally Posted by ahuimanu

No coded language or reference to substance abuse at all...

See video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLRx2TACIKA

Remember the shot but Had forgotten about that shirt.

[WARPWOODIE]

Originally Posted by hoodjem

He had the kind of game that was perfect for the late wood racquet era, but would not translate well to today's graphite and poly power game.

Gazelle with wood, gut, and flowing locks.

I started playing/follwing tennis as the woodie (hence my screen name) era was migrating over to the newer racquets. Your description is spot on! I'm just trying to recall his stick of choice....the JK Autograph or the Stan Smith? I also remember how he would change the overgrip every so often during the changeovers.

[kiki]

Originally Posted by WARPWOODIE

I started playing/follwing tennis as the woodie (hence my screen name) era was migrating over to the newer racquets. Your description is spot on! I'm just trying to recall his stick of choice....the JK Autograph or the Stan Smith? I also remember how he would change the overgrip every so often during the changeovers.

Snauwert.One of the very few pros who played with it.

[robow7]

I know this doesn't speak to his on court performance but I really enjoyed his US Open night time commentary on the USA network shortly before his death. He knew when and when not to speak and was always humble in his reminiscing, not to mention always had some great inside stories.

[Kaptain Karl]

Originally Posted by MLoutch

He really didn't have any "great" shot ...

His Return of Serve was excellent. (I still remind myself, "Vitas," before returning.) It's taken me *years* to model my Return after his.

Originally Posted by kiki

Snauwert.One of the very few pros who played with it.

But I do think he used the Stan Smith before the Snauwert.

- KK

[Mustard]

Originally Posted by robow7

I know this doesn't speak to his on court performance but I really enjoyed his US Open night time commentary on the USA network shortly before his death. He knew when and when not to speak and was always humble in his reminiscing, not to mention always had some great inside stories.

Yes, I liked his commentary too.

[PrinceMoron]

Originally Posted by kiki

Snauwert.One of the very few pros who played with it.

Snauwaert.

Where was the factory and what other frames came out of it? Quite a few if I recall. Donnay, Lacoste, Dunlop ..........

[kiki]

Originally Posted by Kaptain Karl

His Return of Serve was excellent. (I still remind myself, "Vitas," before returning.) It's taken me *years* to model my Return after his.


But I do think he used the Stan Smith before the Snauwert.

- KK

A wonderful volley, one of the best BH approaches (sliced) but an unconsistent Fh and serve.He was very solid, very fast and had great stamina.he lacked, however, the killer instinct of the true big champions.

[gavna]

Originally Posted by WARPWOODIE

I started playing/follwing tennis as the woodie (hence my screen name) era was migrating over to the newer racquets. Your description is spot on! I'm just trying to recall his stick of choice....the JK Autograph or the Stan Smith? I also remember how he would change the overgrip every so often during the changeovers.

He played with both....he was using the Smith until late 78 then switched to the Kramer Auto....he didn't get the Snauwaert until 1981.

[stringertom]

Vitas was as Aussie as you can get if you're born in New York of Lithuanian immigrants. His tennis mentor was Mr. H. and his game more closely resembled all the Aussie greats Hopman coached than any of the other stars of the late 70's/early 80's. I attended a Hopman camp @ Bardmoor in the mid-80's and you could see the affection the old master had for his protege, who was there to train for the upcoming season.

His biggest strength was movement/court coverage...the USO QF match vs Kriek I saw from a courtside box was the most incredible display of athleticism from two players anyone could wish to see.

Vitas was one of the last to stay with wood and he was a habitual stripper of his gauze overgrip on changeovers. I could see him in current equipment...a prostock Wilson straight beam with a gut/poly hybrid and Tournagrip customized handle. Whether he could have adapted to Western grip topspin technique is a matter we will unfortunately never see. With all the time he spent on court with BFF Bjorn, I think he would have adapted.

[TennisCJC]

Approximately 30 years ago, we had a woman on our mixed doubles team. She said her aunt cleaned rooms at the resort in S Florida where Vitas owned a condo. Her aunt said "Vitas - oh, very wild - panties on the lamp shades". I think that about says it all.

[GS]

On a David Letterman show years ago, he jammed with the band, playing lead guitar. He actually solo-ed pretty good.

[jrepac]

Originally Posted by kiki

A wonderful volley, one of the best BH approaches (sliced) but an unconsistent Fh and serve.He was very solid, very fast and had great stamina.he lacked, however, the killer instinct of the true big champions.

yeah, he was lacking that special something wasn't he? that kill or be killed instinct of a Connors, the icy coolness of a Borg while he sliced you to ribbons, etc....maybe Vitas was just too nice.

[Mustard]

18 years ago today (evening of the 14th September 1994), Vitas Gerulaitis had just injured his back in an exhibition doubles match in Seattle, Washington, where he and Bjorn Borg beat Jimmy Connors and John Lloyd. Gerulaitis injured his back after Lloyd lobbed a ball over his head and Gerulaitis attempted to chase it down. The injury meant that Gerulaitis decided to return to New York early, i.e. the next day (15th September). Gerulaitis would spend 2 nights in New York before his tragic, ultimely death

[kiki]

Originally Posted by jrepac

yeah, he was lacking that special something wasn't he? that kill or be killed instinct of a Connors, the icy coolness of a Borg while he sliced you to ribbons, etc....maybe Vitas was just too nice.

No, it is more a formation thing.Connors had the two handed backhand , Borg his forehand and later on, a better serve, mac that sliced serve...Vitas was very nice to watch and could beat anybody, but missed the big moments too...

[carpedm]

He was this big guy, with a big life and yet he played the most subtle and hard-working game. And ironically, it was that understated style that made him successful and yet prevented him from being better. For example, the simplicity of his backhand allowed him to be as quick as he was; add any more elements ( an extra knee bend into a bigger shoulder turn to result in a more topspin potent drive ) and Vitas might lose the one weapon he had - his speed. The added complexities could make him a step slower and his game just couldn’t have that. He was a big guy who could move and that was the scary thing. His weapons weren’t a stroke, his weapons were his physical constitution.

Vitas was also played smart. He was also always in position and very difficult to wrong-foot, not something tall players always claim. And he was loathed to making dumb errors, something the tour’s current big-guys-who-can-move like Marat Safin/Tsonga could learn from. This is probably why he had such success with lower ranked players - he didn’t lose because of himself, he lost because the other players were better.

He also had heart and was a great competitor. He wasn’t afraid to attack on a 60 mile second serve because he challenged his opponent, and it would work because it was intimidating - he had great reach and he was stupidly fast. Opponents would try to get the ball by him but the math was firmly in his favor. His favorite play was to attack the net up the middle - something you never see today - and cut off the limited angles with this height. I would go so far as to say he was one of the best of not the best at moving up the center. Imagine a good, low and slow moving ball the forces you on your back foot falling away from the baseline and before you is a big guy we could in one balanced step reach to either side and easier cut off whatever passing shot you tried. Another favorite play: running his opponents side to side, making them go from the right court and to the left court to chase down a low, slow moving backhand slice. Then they had to get there and generate the pace to make the shot only to see it go to the forehand corner again and then then have to go back to chase the same backhand. Vitas could literally do that all day. Does either play constitute big hitting, no. Are they effective, very much so.

Other things of note: I would agree that Vitas was one of the better returners. He seemed to get more balls back into play than any except maybe Connors. His return wasn’t aggressive but they weren’t cream-puffs either; he made his opponents play. His mechanics were almost like a volley from the baseline, a good firm wrist with a shoulder turn and the racket head tall. And whether he played Lendl ( who he did quite well against ), McEnroe or Tanner - the biggest servers back then - they all knew the same thing: the ball was coming back.

Other thoughts: Nastase wrote that Vitas consistently had problems with his ball toss and that's why his serve wasn’t as good as it should have been ( which was odd because the Romanian had a lousy record against him ). Also, his wrist on his backhand could have been a little looser for drives. And sometimes he was was prone to making life more difficult than it should've been which apparently was very Vitas. There were many times Vitas could simply put the ball away but somehow didn’t, giving his opponent second chances they didn’t deserve.

Ultimately he was a balanced, flowing player whose had a great foundation to his game. If players moved their feet more, made the players beat themselves if they were prone to and knew how to be opportunistic it they would probably lift their NTPR an entire point. At the very least they would lose to people they shouldn’t be losing to, and that would be tennis player bliss.