Were the 70s and 80s the best time for tennis; atleast mens tennis

[flutzingitaway]

I guess I should put this in the Former Pro Section but I figure it will get more discussion here. Were the 70s and 80s, particularly say the 74-85 period the best time for mens tennis. Womens tennis maybe too to a degree, but moreso mens. You have all the things you needed- multiple strong leaders and rivalries fans could relate to: Connors vs Borg, Borg vs McEnroe, McEnroe vs Connors, Lendl vs Connors, Lendl vs McEnroe, Lendl vs Wilander, Becker vs Edberg, Becker vs Lendl, Vilas vs Borg, Ashe vs Connors, Newcombe vs Connors, Vilas vs Connors. It wasn't the same 3 people like for 12-15 years like it currently is in mens tennis though, so people got outright bored with the match up(s). You also had a strong supporting cast of secondary players who could pull upsets and contend themselves with the game lacks today.

The 90s did not have this. There were hardly any real rivals for Sampras. Agassi at times but that was unsustained and infrequent. Becker and Sampras were too far apart in age and different eras.

I think this was the best period of all for the mens game.

 

[Tshooter]

Yes. Though the the Big 3 + AM rivalries ain’t too shabby.

But it’s still the wrong forum. And the question is in the regular rotation with opinions across the board.

 

[Olli Jokinen]

Becker vs Edberg, Becker vs Lendl is after '85.

 

[JCat]

I guess I should put this in the Former Pro Section but I figure it will get more discussion here. Were the 70s and 80s, particularly say the 74-85 period the best time for mens tennis. Womens tennis maybe too to a degree, but moreso mens. You have all the things you needed- multiple strong leaders and rivalries fans could relate to: Connors vs Borg, Borg vs McEnroe, McEnroe vs Connors, Lendl vs Connors, Lendl vs McEnroe, Lendl vs Wilander, Becker vs Edberg, Becker vs Lendl, Vilas vs Borg, Ashe vs Connors, Newcombe vs Connors, Vilas vs Connors. It wasn't the same 3 people like for 12-15 years like it currently is in mens tennis though, so people got outright bored with the match up(s). You also had a strong supporting cast of secondary players who could pull upsets and contend themselves with the game lacks today.

The 90s did not have this. There were hardly any real rivals for Sampras. Agassi at times but that was unsustained and infrequent. Becker and Sampras were too far apart in age and different eras.

I think this was the best period of all for the mens game.

I vote yes, it was. You summarized it very well. There were big personalities too which brought controversy and drama which is lacking today. The popularity of tennis was at its peak in the United States. Today there is much less interest in tennis, maybe because we haven’t had a male star here in quite a while. I’ve wondered if I feel this way just because I am older now and the tendency is to look toward our youth as the good old days. That may be part of it, but I am really happy that I was a witness to the time when tennis was really popular. My twenty something kids don’t even remember those days.

 

[buscemi]

1990-1995 was pretty rad.

 

[Tshooter]

I vote yes, it was. You summarized it very well. There were big personalities too which brought controversy and drama which is lacking today. The popularity of tennis was at its peak in the United States. Today there is much less interest in tennis, maybe because we haven’t had a male star here in quite a while. I’ve wondered if I feel this way just because I am older now and the tendency is to look toward our youth as the good old days...

Nope, it’s objectively not as popular in the US. And it’s not because we don’t have a male star. We had Pete and Andre but the popularity of tennis peaked in the 70s and has been declining since the 80s including through their era. I have no hard data instantly available to back up these assertions but this topic has come up many times and you can find support to back it up.

 

[flutzingitaway]

1990-1995 was pretty rad.

Ironically the years that pumped out the least talented future male ATP tennis players in the sports history.

 

[polksio]

How young were you at the time?

 

[flutzingitaway]

How young were you at the time?

I wasn't alive.

 

[jean pierre]

Golden age of tennis. Borg, Connors, McEnroe, Vilas and a few others (like Gerulaitis or Noah or Pecci) were like rock stars. Great players, interesting, men, style oppositions ... The matches Borg-Vilas were maybe boring for some people, but Borg-McEnroe, Borg-Connors, Vilas-Connors, Connors-McEnroe, Borg-Pecci, Vilas-Noah ... fantastic matches

 

[thelimfactor]

Liking all the sentiment of a beautiful era in tennis in the 1980's. But im wondering if it is more a reflection of some/many of us being kids back then?? Eg on the flip side if there are any posters here in their late teens/early 20s do u guys look at say the 'era' of the 2000's as "golden"?

 

[JCat]

Liking all the sentiment of a beautiful era in tennis in the 1980's. But im wondering if it is more a reflection of some/many of us being kids back then?? Eg on the flip side if there are any posters here in their late teens/early 20s do u guys look at say the 'era' of the 2000's as "golden"?

That’s kind of what I was getting at. Don’t we all generally think that the best era was the one we grew up in? Back then we had fewer responsibilities and more time to enjoy idolizing our favorite players. The players seemed like movie stars.