What was the exact moment you became a fan of tennis?

Djokovic at the USO in 2010
Watched some of the Troicki match in a waiting room
Then tuned in to him vs Federer and Nadal because it intrigued me and I admired his mental strength and liked his style of play
 
As a really little kid Wimbledon was always on and I remember rooting for Conors. I think I just thought Connors looked more like Superman than Mac.

I followed lightly all life, and I knew Fed was ridiculously good ... and then Nadal and Novak.

But in 2012 I got really really hooked for some reason. Federer slipped away from the top and was being thoroughly dethroned by these great champions. The question of whether he could come back became a really compelling story.

By Wimbledon I was glued. Could not believe he beat Nole in the SF.

In the final Murray took him solidly out in set 1. Fed kind of stole set 2, Murray was strong.

Then in set 3 there was some 19 minute game or something around 3-all where Fed broke Murray. Tons of tension. I was a deep-fan-newbie and I could barely watch cause I was tense thinking Fed was “too old” to come back (sounds so funny now) and this had to be Murray’s time finally.

I have been glued ever since.
 
Some of my earliest tennis memories include watching the Williams sisters playing each other in the early 2000s; Lleyton Hewitt; and Marat Safin beating Sampras at the 2000 US Open. All great memories.

I always liked the sport but I didn't become a diehard tennis fan until the 2004 Wimbledon which was the first tournament I ever watched from start to finish.
 
I had an old CRT TV in my basement, and in January 2008 I was bored and decided to turn it on. I flipped through channels, until I found Australian Open tennis. I didn't know much about tennis, but it looked cool (blue Australian Open courts at night, you know the feeling) so I stuck around. Federer and Djokovic had just started playing. About midway through the 1st set I started rooting for Djokovic, and watched 3 exhilarating sets of tennis, until Djoker won. That was when I became a tennis fan, and a Djokovic fan in particular. I was introduced to Nadal in the clay season when he destroyed Fedr at RG, which is when I became an admirer of Nadal's as well.
 
My elementary school had 4 tennis courts so during recess some time after my friends and I decided to borrow our parent's racquets and hit some balls.
 
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The summer of 2007 - I was laying on the couch, switching between TV channels. Somehow I ended up watching a tennis match and was very impressed with the Hawk-Eye system(which apparently was introduced just recently), and the way this Serbian player seemed so accurate when using it.

It turns out I was watching the USO 2007 final.
 
When I was flipping through the channels in January 2007 (looking for the cricket) I saw tennis. Watched for a bit and this Federer guy was demolishing some guy named Roddick. I barely knew the rules but he was making it look easy. I was hooked.
 
TheGhostOfAgassi said:
Since I've watched tennis my whole life I remember more first time I saw Rafa play. Hasnt been a young player like that since him. Very fascinating. That he was so cute and and nice person made him sort of the full package. It's rare.
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Yep I am glad I started following him since he hadn't won a single slam and was just emerging .Have kind of grown up watching him play, which makes it even more special
 
I am 45 and the first match I recall watching was McEnroe v. Connors at Wimbledon in late 1970s or early 1980s. I’m guessing it was their match in ‘77 when I was 5. My older brother was watching the match early on a Saturday morning and I sort of became interested because he was cheering the points madly. Plus it was more about how the players were behaving that attracted my interest. The next vacation we took we borrowed some wooden racquets and hit the public hardcourts. I knocked almost every ball I made contact with over the fence, but made sure to pout and scream like McEnroe in the process.

Always followed McEnroe’s career from there but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I truly became obsessed with tennis around time of 1989 French Open. Was painting my bedroom and tv was on the Chang v. Lendl match. The rest is history. I taught myself the game having almost no one else to hit against just hitting a bucket of balls and got a college scholarship to play tennis. Afterwards, pro tennis has been my favorite sport to watch. I have lived and died following the matches of my favorite players: McEnroe, Lendl, Edberg, Agassi and Federer. Tennis is the greatest discovery I’ve made in my lifetime. I am now trying to pass it along to my two small children.
 
I was watching the French Open on TV in the mid-80s. Lendl was playing and I remember somehow understanding the strategy at play. I was captivated. I began playing, not very well...just off and on...I was in the USAF and stationed in England, just about a half hour north of London, and I went to Wimbledon in 1989. That’s when the Hooks sank in deep.
 
Rattler said:
I was watching the French Open on TV in the mid-80s. Lendl was playing and I remember somehow understanding the strategy at play. I was captivated. I began playing, not very well...just off and on...I was in the USAF and stationed in England, just about a half hour north of London, and I went to Wimbledon in 1989. That’s when the Hooks sank in deep.
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Going to Wimbledon will do that to you. I went in 1971. Got Rod Laver to sign a picture for me after his doubles match. It’s still one of my prized possessions.
 
EllieK said:
Going to Wimbledon will do that to you. I went in 1971. Got Rod Laver to sign a picture for me after his doubles match. It’s still one of my prized possessions.
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I got to play doubles with him...against Johnny Mac and some other corporate hack....25 Years Ago
 
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