Kevin Curren 1985 Wimbledon

[BGod]

Could almost make a decent doc if only there were people who'd watch it.

Current beat both defending champ McEnroe and 3 years removed champ Connors (and previous year's runner-up) and did so in straights before losing in the final to Becker after a 3rd set tiebreak and 4-6 in the 4th. He also straight set Edberg seeded 14th at the time via two tiebreaks in the 4th round. He recently acquired US citizenship and was being coached by Tony Roche. He would never have anywhere close to such a run but did make the 1990 QF after two marathon matches losing to 18 year old Ivanisevic in a 5 set thriller.

I know there have been discussions about his career in general but what about 1985 Wimbledon specifically? Was he motivated because of new coaching? Because nobody gave him a chance then? I mean he lost to Chris Lewis in a marathon SF a few years before but I guess Chris Lewis beating him didn't land kindly?

 

[2nd Serve Ace]

85 Wimbledon was such a pivotal change in the sport. Its like everything before it was a "deadball" totally different kind of game.
After 85 W, the players all seemed bigger, stronger, more dynamic. There was an explosion in marketing, equipment, tv coverage, prize money..everything.

 

[bluetrain4]

I think Curren has been a US citizen for quite a while. I know he's lived in Texas for a long time.

He also made the AO final in 1984, losing to Wilander. Not as impressive of a run, but not bad - he beat No. 1 seed Lendl along the way. He won a doubles Slam and some mixed Slams. 4 of his 5 tournament wins were on indoor carpet - conditions that were probably great for his game.

He really destroyed Connors and Mac at 1985 Wimbledon, and no sets lost before the final. I remember his low toss, Roscoe Tanner-esque serve.

 

[jrepac]

I think Curren has been a US citizen for quite a while. I know he's lived in Texas for a long time.

He also made the AO final in 1984, losing to Wilander. Not as impressive of a run, but not bad - he beat No. 1 seed Lendl along the way. He won a doubles Slam and some mixed Slams. 4 of his 5 tournament wins were on indoor carpet - conditions that were probably great for his game.

He really destroyed Connors and Mac at 1985 Wimbledon, and no sets lost before the final. I remember his low toss, Roscoe Tanner-esque serve.

His serving was ridiculous that year. He also knocked out top seeded Connors in '83 Wimby. But, '85 he was even more deadly, seeing what he did to Mac and Jimmy. That serve was unreadable....just such a fast action on it. Forgot he took out Edberg as well. But, all in all, he fell short in 2 finals he had a very good chance to win. He did not play great against Becker (not the level of the prior 2 rounds) and he really should have beaten Wilander in that AO. So, something of an underachiever in that sense.

 

[NedStark]

also made the AO final in 1984, losing to Wilander

Note that he still used wooden racquet in that match.

 

[NonP]

He had a whopping 57.6% of his serves unreturned in that '85 Wimby SF - which would be a fantastic rate even now, let alone vs. a returner of Jimbo's caliber, but virtually unheard of in that era. Probably one of the 3-4 greatest serving exhibitions I've come across, along with Pistol's aces-ain't-everything masterclass in the '97 final (59.2%) - notice the extra topspin on that already heavy-AF serve, hence the more pronounced arc - and Goran's video-game showcases (51.8% and 62.2% respectively) in the '95 SF vs. Sampras (didn't lose a single 1st-serve point in the 2nd and 4th sets) and the '01 3rd-rounder vs. Roddick:

P.S. A-Rod's post-match presser still gives me chuckles:

I don't know if that was the key to the match. The key to the match might have been his serving. [Laughs all around.] Maybe I should have concentrated harder on watching them go by me or something, I don't know.

I mean, there's really not much you can do. I mean, it's a pretty helpless feeling. And then I started doing better when I was, basically, when he threw it up I run [sic] from one side to the other.

But I, I, it's true. I got my racket on a couple of all of these [balls], and it was better. But I mean that was just a lesson on how to serve and how to play on grass. Um, he made my serve look like a schmuck serve.

 

[urban]

I think, that Boris won the final by playing football. While Curren was very tight and nervous, the kid Becker looked cool and relaxed, like playing with fellow kids in his backyard. He even played a bit soccer with a loose ball. But also, Becker was the much better player, with an equally sharp serve and a much better return, especially backhand return.

 

[JasonZ]

He had a whopping 57.6% of his serves unreturned in that '85 Wimby SF - which would be a fantastic rate even now, let alone vs. a returner of Jimbo's caliber, but virtually unheard of in that era. Probably one of the 3-4 greatest serving exhibitions I've come across, along with Pistol's aces-ain't-everything masterclass in the '97 final (59.2%) - notice the extra topspin on that already heavy-AF serve, hence the more pronounced arc - and Goran's video-game showcases (51.8% and 62.2% respectively) in the '95 SF vs. Sampras (didn't lose a single 1st-serve point in the 2nd and 4th sets) and the '01 3rd-rounder vs. Roddick:

P.S. A-Rod's post-match presser still gives me chuckles:

ivanisevic 1995 wimbledon is very underrated, his level was much higher that of so many other players who won wimbledon in other years.

 

[NonP]

ivanisevic 1995 wimbledon is very underrated, his level was much higher that of so many other players who won wimbledon in other years.

I'd go easy on the "much higher" cuz his level would no doubt fluctuate even more in the final round, but yeah, you really can't play better grass-court tennis than Good Goran due to that literally unstoppable serve. Thankfully for his opponents those moments would come and go pretty quickly.

P.S. Made a mistake earlier when I said Goran didn't lose a single 1-serve point in the 4th set. He did lose 1 out of 18... and 1 of 4 on 2nd serves. So he won 20/22 overall or 91% for the set while serving 82%, and a crazy 20/20 or 100% in the 2nd with 75% on 1st serves. And this was vs. peakish Pistol who might well have topped his Wimby career-best 26.5% in RGW if not for Goran serving out of his mind.

More on the match here:

Stats for 1995 W SF(Sampras-Ivanisevic)

Sampras d Ivanisevic 7-6(7) 4-6 6-3 4-6 6-3 Stats from the ATP site: 20 aces, 4 doubles for Sampras 36 aces, 9 doubles for Ivanisevic Sampras was at 66% on 1st serves, Goran 64% Sampras won 175 points, Goran 185 Sampras was 3 of 5 on break points, Goran 2 of 8. Match time was...

tt.tennis-warehouse.com

 

[sandy mayer]

I think Curren's demolition of Connors is the best serving performance I have ever seen, given Connors was the best returner in the world at the time. Curren's first serve percentage went down alot against Becker in the final. Becker's better big match temperament saw him through.

 

[fezer]

Certainly the best Wimbledon run without winning the Championship. I simply couldnt believe my eyes what Kev was doing to Mac & Connors. It just seemed like he couldnt miss.
Curren played that ao 84 with a wooden racket while Wilander had switched to a modern one. That gave the Swede the edge.

 

[Dane_is_Finnish_OJ]

Certainly the best Wimbledon run without winning the Championship. I simply couldnt believe my eyes what Kev was doing to Mac & Connors. It just seemed like he couldnt miss.
Curren played that ao 84 with a wooden racket while Wilander had switched to a modern one. That gave the Swede the edge.

Wilander was already playing with the Rossignol F200 in 1982.

 

[Mustard]

Kevin Curren at 1985 Wimbledon is one of the best players not to win a specific event. He made John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors look silly with the standard of serving. Going into the final, you'd expect 17-year-old Boris Becker to be edgy and nervous early on, but Becker started strongly and Curren was the nervous and edgy one at the start. Curren's serving percentage was nowhere near as consistent in the final, but he did recover to take the second set and went a break up in the third set, and seemed to have turned the match, but then Becker showed what he was made of under pressure.

Normal service then seemed to resume in the 1985 summer hardcourts, with McEnroe and Lendl in charge, but the way Curren blitzed McEnroe and Connors at 1985 Wimbledon, and Becker winning it with his power, was the first serious sign of a changing of power level in the tennis world. McEnroe did seem a bit spooked by the Curren match.

Curren has said that he has watched the 1985 Wimbledon final numerous times in full, while Becker says that he himself never has, apart from some points here and there.

 

[Mustard]

ivanisevic 1995 wimbledon is very underrated, his level was much higher that of so many other players who won wimbledon in other years.

His 1992 and 1994 levels also, particularly 1992 vs. Sampras and 1994 vs. Becker. His 1995 and 1998 Wimbledon matches with Sampras were both very winnable, but he blew it.

 

[BorisRogerFan]

Boris outplayed him badly in the final, tbh. Curren's serve handled with no problem by Boris hammering return, unlike Connors and McEnroe.

 

[jrepac]

Boris outplayed him badly in the final, tbh. Curren's serve handled with no problem by Boris hammering return, unlike Connors and McEnroe.

That's simply not the case....Curren was nowhere near the level of the earlier two matches.
Not to take anything away from Boris, but I did not feel Curren played his best that day.
Probably came down from the high of being 1st guy to beat Mac AND Connors in a GS event
I'm sure someone can pull the stats from all 3 matches to compare.

 

[Winners or Errors]

That's simply not the case....Curren was nowhere near the level of the earlier two matches.
Not to take anything away from Boris, but I did not feel Curren played his best that day.
Probably came down from the high of being 1st guy to beat Mac AND Connors in a GS event
I'm sure someone can pull the stats from all 3 matches to compare.

Watched that match. Curren came out very flat. Sad to see him return to Earth after demolishing Mac and Connors. Not the same player in the final.

 

[CyBorg]

Going into the final, you'd expect 17-year-old Boris Becker to be edgy and nervous early on, but Becker started strongly and Curren was the nervous and edgy one at the start.

I think Martina Navratilova said herself that you get more nervous with age.

 

[BorisRogerFan]

That's simply not the case....Curren was nowhere near the level of the earlier two matches.
Not to take anything away from Boris, but I did not feel Curren played his best that day.
Probably came down from the high of being 1st guy to beat Mac AND Connors in a GS event
I'm sure someone can pull the stats from all 3 matches to compare.

Becker, unlike Connors and Mac, handled Curren's service with ease from the get go. That was the key of Curren's meltdown, imho.

 

[Spencer Gore]

Becker, unlike Connors and Mac, handled Curren's service with ease from the get go. That was the key of Curren's meltdown, imho.

Curren wasn't getting the timing of his serve right at all -especially in the first set. He was a completely different player than the guy who blew McEnroe and Connors off the court.

 

[jrepac]

Curren wasn't getting the timing of his serve right at all -especially in the first set. He was a completely different player than the guy who blew McEnroe and Connors off the court.

Exactly! He was not the same player in that match. Nerves, anti-climax, whatever. But the serve was not crackling....not like earlier. Have seen several of his matches and the QF and semi were probably 2 of the best he ever played. He fell short in his AO final as well, another which was very winnable for him.

 

[Spencer Gore]

Exactly! He was not the same player in that match. Nerves, anti-climax, whatever. But the serve was not crackling....not like earlier. Have seen several of his matches and the QF and semi were probably 2 of the best he ever played. He fell short in his AO final as well, another which was very winnable for him.

The wrist snap had gone. His performances against McEnroe and Connors were the two most devastating serving performances I've ever seen.