The most gracious champion on, & off, court

PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
Please forgive me if this question has already been answered, but who would you consider to be the most gracious champion (holder of at least one of the slam titles) in the open era?
Off the top of my head, Evert, Mauresmo, clijsters, Federer, Borg & Edberg spring to mind.
Cheers
Paul
 
hoodjem

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
If gracious could mean modest, humble, or self-effacing, then I'd vote for Edberg.

Before the full Open Era, I'd say Laver. He always preferred to praise his opponent than to talk about himself. Invariably, he was full of genuine compliments for the guy he'd just defeated.

Neither talked about the greatness of "my talent."
 
PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
hoodjem said:
If gracious could mean modest, humble, or self-effacing, then I'd vote for Edberg.

Before the full Open Era, I'd say Laver. He always preferred to praise his opponent than to talk about himself. Invariably, he was full of genuine compliments for the guy he'd just defeated.

Neither talked about the greatness of "my talent."
Click to expand...

Thank you Hoodjem- my first reply to my first question! You always remember your first!
Re Laver: a friend off mine, older than me, was a very close friend of Lew Hoad's and would agree with you.
 
B

BTURNER

Legend
I am going to pick the sweet tempered Australian, Evonne Goolagong. The difference between Evert and Evonne, is that somehow underneath ,you could see what strain and discipline that constant civility and grace required of Evert. Evonne did the same thing just as consistently, but it always seemed as though her blood pressure stayed lower while she did it.
 
boredone3456

boredone3456

G.O.A.T.
Hmmmm its kinda tough. The reputation of Edberg speaks for itself, he was the definition of class...the fact that he has an award named for him on this subject I think says volumes. True class.

For the ladies, Clijsters is just a sweetheart. She for so long had the dubious honor "to nice to win a major". She never really argued or said much if anything negative about anybody. Another name I think of is Davenport. She was always mild mannered and upbeat in regards to her opponents. She was another who never really made a fuss about anything on court with the officials or opponents, unless she really thought the officials screwed up. Wimbledon 2005, as heartbreaking as it had to be for her, she still was just really graceful about her loss. Obviously disappointed but still gave venus all her due. I would definitely give Lindsay a nod.
 
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PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
BTURNER said:
I am going to pick the sweet tempered Australian, Evonne Goolagong. The difference between Evert and Evonne, is that somehow underneath ,you could see what strain and discipline that constant civility and grace required of Evert. Evonne did the same thing just as consistently, but it always seemed as though her blood pressure stayed lower while she did it.
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I can't believe I didn't think of Cawley immediately! A complete oversight. You're absolutely right. A charming player/personality. I saw her play live, as a schoolboy, at the Edgebaston tournament. It was at the end of her career: she lost, but played, in flashes, some breath-taking tennis. There really was an aura of something special about her. She moves to the top of my list!
All other players mentioned are also worthy candidates.
If opened up to pre 1968 I would include Hoad, purely because I have heard many wonderful anecdotes about him from a friend who was a very close friend of his.
Davenport (along with evert, courier & shriver) would also be highly rated, for me, for her sense of humour. Very dry wit.
 
D

Dan Lobb

G.O.A.T.
PDJ said:
I can't believe I didn't think of Cawley immediately! A complete oversight. You're absolutely right. A charming player/personality. I saw her play live, as a schoolboy, at the Edgebaston tournament. It was at the end of her career: she lost, but played, in flashes, some breath-taking tennis. There really was an aura of something special about her. She moves to the top of my list!
All other players mentioned are also worthy candidates.
If opened up to pre 1968 I would include Hoad, purely because I have heard many wonderful anecdotes about him from a friend who was a very close friend of his.
Davenport (along with evert, courier & shriver) would also be highly rated, for me, for her sense of humour. Very dry wit.
Click to expand...

Hoad was a very generous sportsman, but like many players, he could sometimes get riled at a bad line call (the London Times reports this from Wembley in 1967, Wimbledon in 1970).
But these incidents just show his competitive zeal, which some people have incorrectly questioned.
Von Cramm has to be #1. He accepted bad calls, even at the most crucial moments, so as not to embarrass the linesmen.
 
PDJ

PDJ

G.O.A.T.
I knew a little about von cramm, but mostly his run-ins with the nazis, but upon further research I can only concur. A gentleman.
 
B

BTURNER

Legend
jaggy said:
I never felt Borg was that sincere, always seemd kind of scripted, for sure he play good but I play big points better kind of thing
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Sincerity is a very different attribute from what I am trying to get at. Maybe Borg is very sincere in his goal to be gracious for both personal and broader reasons, but like Evert, it is just so hard considering that almost overwhelming drive to win every match and point. Maybe we should applaud the effort even more when the competitive drive in an athlete is so palpable, they sweat it out of their pores as much as salt and potassium. Consistent restraint is, innately, a harder mountain to climb for some tennis players than others, the heightened struggle is what we might see as insincere.
 
Z

Zincubus

Rookie
So peeps. ..

Thoughts on Konta despensing with Wimbledon tradition and just walking off the court rather than waiting for her opponent ( Venus Williams ) ??

I don't recall anyone doing that in the past to be honest . I wondered if she'd just forgotten or something but she said afterwards that it was a concious decision .
 
boredone3456

boredone3456

G.O.A.T.
Zincubus said:
So peeps. ..

Thoughts on Konta despensing with Wimbledon tradition and just walking off the court rather than waiting for her opponent ( Venus Williams ) ??

I don't recall anyone doing that in the past to be honest . I wondered if she'd just forgotten or something but she said afterwards that it was a concious decision .
Click to expand...

I wonder if she was just embarrassed and wanted to get out of there as quickly as possible. There was so much pressure on her, as a Brit, to win. Everyone was on her about being the first British lady in like 40 years in the SF and trying to be the first to win since Wade. She might not have wanted to face the fans after the loss, a loss where she honestly played pretty poorly. Holding the hopes of the entire country on you is tough, and I don't think Konta wanted to face that after the loss.

It doesn't make what she did ok, but it would make sense
 
mightyrick

mightyrick

Legend
Zincubus said:
So peeps. ..

Thoughts on Konta despensing with Wimbledon tradition and just walking off the court rather than waiting for her opponent ( Venus Williams ) ??

I don't recall anyone doing that in the past to be honest . I wondered if she'd just forgotten or something but she said afterwards that it was a concious decision .
Click to expand...

IMHO, if anybody dispenses with Wimbledon tradition... good on them. Wimbledon's traditions are generally drivel. The only tradition they should have kept was the maintaining the grass composition used before 2003.
 
Z

Zincubus

Rookie
mightyrick said:
IMHO, if anybody dispenses with Wimbledon tradition... good on them. Wimbledon's traditions are generally drivel. The only tradition they should have kept was the maintaining the grass composition used before 2003.
Click to expand...

I don't mind the traditions really apart from them all wearing white which just makes it harder to tell them apart for us casual observers .

Improvements to my mind would be to put green dye on the warm away grass patches - so it looks nice :)

Also get the BBC to change their flamin useless camera angles - the footage / coverage simply doesn't do the players justice - the action / angles are so much better on the other competitions shown by on the other channels ( EuroSport ) .
 
Mazz Retic

Mazz Retic

Hall of Fame
There is a thread in the pro player discussion about Konta. She was overcome with emotions and didn't want to make it about her after the match so she left so that Venus could enjoy her moment. I think that is fair enough and I agree with the poster above, some traditions in Wimbledon aren't as sacred as others.
 
T

thrust

Legend
BTURNER said:
I am going to pick the sweet tempered Australian, Evonne Goolagong. The difference between Evert and Evonne, is that somehow underneath ,you could see what strain and discipline that constant civility and grace required of Evert. Evonne did the same thing just as consistently, but it always seemed as though her blood pressure stayed lower while she did it.
Click to expand...
Goolagong was naturally and sincerely gracious. Evert was mostly pretending to be gracious.
 
T

thrust

Legend
Fedinkum said:
Big fan of Rafter...I was destroyed when he lost to Goran in that epic Wimbie final...still gracious in defeat...
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I was rooting for both-LOL! Against anyone else I would have rooted for Rafter, but felt Goran deserved at least One Wimbledon Title. Rafter and Edberg were probably two of the nicest guys on the tour.
 
B

BobbyOne

G.O.A.T.
thrust said:
I was rooting for both-LOL! Against anyone else I would have rooted for Rafter, but felt Goran deserved at least One Wimbledon Title. Rafter and Edberg were probably two of the nicest guys on the tour.
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thrust, I always had great respect for Patrick Rafter. I know that he gave much of his prize money for charity projects. Others who are much richer don't...
 
T

thrust

Legend
BobbyOne said:
thrust, I always had great respect for Patrick Rafter. I know that he gave much of his prize money for charity projects. Others who are much richer don't...
Click to expand...
Which makes him even more likable. I did not know that. I met him a an autograph signing event at the Miami Masters. He was very nice and pleasant with everyone who wanted his autograph and take a pic with him. The ladies, of all ages, loved him-LOL! What was most surprising to me is that he seemed so tall and thinner than he did on TV.
Limpinhitter said:
I completely disagree. Evert was the most focused athlete of any sport, male or female, I've ever seen. What you saw on the court, complete mental immersion in the task at hand, was exactly who she was.
Click to expand...
On court- Yes. Off court- NO, IMHO
 
L

Limpinhitter

G.O.A.T.
thrust said:
Which makes him even more likable. I did not know that. I met him a an autograph signing event at the Miami Masters. He was very nice and pleasant with everyone who wanted his autograph and take a pic with him. The ladies, of all ages, loved him-LOL! What was most surprising to me is that he seemed so tall and thinner than he did on TV.

On court- Yes. Off court- NO, IMHO
Click to expand...

I still don't know what you're getting at. Examples?
 
Z

Zincubus

Rookie
[ QUOTE="Rod Laver, post: 11438399, member: 750360"]There is a thread in the pro player discussion about Konta. She was overcome with emotions and didn't want to make it about her after the match so she left so that Venus could enjoy her moment. I think that is fair enough and I agree with the poster above, some traditions in Wimbledon aren't as sacred as others.[/QUOTE]
I thought that 'excuse' has been debunked ??
Wasn't that just a bit of poppycock info put out there by one of her supporters ??
 
Mazz Retic

Mazz Retic

Hall of Fame
Zincubus said:
[ QUOTE="Rod Laver, post: 11438399, member: 750360"]There is a thread in the pro player discussion about Konta. She was overcome with emotions and didn't want to make it about her after the match so she left so that Venus could enjoy her moment. I think that is fair enough and I agree with the poster above, some traditions in Wimbledon aren't as sacred as others.
Click to expand...
I thought that 'excuse' has been debunked ??
Wasn't that just a bit of poppycock info put out there by one of her supporters ??[/QUOTE]
Oh really?
Dang. I should have known it sounded too good to be true haha
 
ronnie

ronnie

New User
Met Sampras once at queens club nobody around took the time to talk to us and was a very nice guy,could've easily walked off but instead showed us what a fantastic person he is. So impressed that day.
 
hoodjem

hoodjem

G.O.A.T.
PDJ said:
Thank you Hoodjem- my first reply to my first question! You always remember your first!
Re Laver: a friend off mine, older than me, was a very close friend of Lew Hoad's and would agree with you.
Click to expand...
If you listen to Laver's speech after winning the USO (and the GS) in 1969, he talks a lot more about Roche than himself.
 
lud

lud

Hall of Fame
Edberg
Moya
Federer
Kuerten
Djokovic ( just kidding :eek:)
Bruguera
Costa
Ferrero

Non GS winners:
Blake
Ljubicic
Enqvist
Henman
Srichaphan
Nishikori
 
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