What year did you start watching tennis?

Moose Malloy said:
I remember. I have my drawsheet for that day, you had guys like Edberg, Sampras, Stich, Goran, Lendl, playing matches on outer courts(where I was) while good old Bates got Center Court. And a ton of people were watching his match on the big screen (later called Henman Hill) instead of watching tennis on outer courts. It was a surreal sight.
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Enough to make us all blush, I'd say :oops:
 
I'm 22...First match I can remember 'being around when it was on' was when Sampras lost to Krajicek in Wimbledon quarters '96. I did actually play tennis at that age but didn't know anything about it really, but understood that at that time that was a pretty major result. I remember Krajicek going on to win too.

I actually lived in Greece at the time (I live in England now) and I don't recall ever seeing tennis on tv over there so maybe that's why I didn't get into it any younger. Somehow I seemed to know about pro tennis though because I knew about Agassi, he was the first name I learnt. The first memory I have is from hearing his name from a coach.

After that '96 memory, I suppose watching '01 Wimbledon all the way through is my next main memory. Watched it every year since, all day every day when I can (which has been quite often because I always made sure :D). Ofcourse watching Queens from then also.

Must have been early '01 when I started gettin ACE tennis magazine also. Safin was on the front cover of the first one I got. I got rid of all magazines a couple of years ago now, must have been a pile of about 80 or so!

The next big viewing phase was when I got SkySports and Eurosport, which I made sure was installed in time for RG '06. From then on I've watched hundreds of hours probably :), partly due to my health which means I'm home alot more and more the last few years.

It's strange though when I think that I've only really been 'watching' religously since 06, because for around 5 years before that I followed religiously, literally watching matches through the ATP's live score program. I remember watching an Agassi score on there in Rome one year, I think he was due to play Henman in the next round or so, so I was following the match quite closely. Tennis really was already my life before I got satellite TV in 06 anyway and I was just watching Wimbledon and Queens once a year. I still knew every result, every day of the year.

And going back further than my first memories of '96, since tennis has become my life I've learnt a lot about the history, and feel like I did actually see a lot of the former great (Becker, Borg, Mac etc etc), although it's actually just that I've learnt about it all.

To be honest it's actually been hard to separate what I saw live and what I've watched since. I mentioned Wimbledon 01, but I'm pretty certain I saw Pete win in 00 too, although I'm finding it hard to work out whether I actually saw that live or I just know about it as fact now. I'm pretty certain I saw that final, don't remember much of the the rest of the tournament though, which is surprising since I would have been around 11 years old, but I' sure I will have watched it, but my memory just isnt that great, strange. I definitely feel like I've been watching tennis for all this last decade, whereas it's actually only been since 06
 
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1998, it was Wim. I did not even watch it on purpose, my father had the TV on really loud since it was a Sunday. He like to listen to sports while he does other stuff. I awoke to the strange twanging/pinging sound, it was the theme some of Wim. LOL
 
My dad was a huge tennis nut and a great player. I started watching matches around 1979-80 (I was 11 or 12). Mandlikova was my favorite player :)
 
Who'd be a British tennis fan...lol? Each decade we fasten on to some average to fairly good player and build him up to be our next best hope for Wimby glory,the one who will finally end the decades long drought since Fred Perry back in the 1930s! In the late 60s and early 70s,it was Roger Taylor.In the late 70s and early 80s it was John Lloyd (gave up trying to be a Wimby winner and married one instead).In the late 80s,early 90s it was Jeremy 'Jezza' Bates.In the late 90s,early 2000s we had the luxury of two, 'Tiger' Tim Henman and Canadian import Greg Rusedski.Now in the late 2000s,early 2010s its Andy 'Muzza' Murray although Muzza is a definite step up in class from his predecessors.T'will be ever thus until the curse of Perry is finally lifted from our shoulders!


I started seriously watching around the mid 70s when Borg came to prominence at Wimbledon.I thought he was fantastic (still do) and exulted each year he won.I was gutted when he finally lost to McEnroe.After Borg,my next real hero was Federer.There's something about ice-cool,tennis geniuses that have always taken my fancy.I never liked noisy,temperamental types.I have always been a Wimbledon fan but until I got Skysports and Eurosport about 10 years ago I was only vaguely aware of the other Slams and major tournaments.Now I can watch them all and appreciate the much greater variety of surfaces and tennis styles out there.It's made me even more of a tennis addict then when I first started to get into it back in the 1970s!
 
I started around 1987, but didn't get to see much, as televising was more selective back then. Did enjoy watching 1988 Edberg, Becker, Navratilova and Graf. Then when Sampras came, I tended to watch more female matches, as I couldn't stand him. Mainly watched Wimbledon and the US Open, but tried to watch tennis when it was on.
 
MichaelNadal said:
Just thought it would be nice for everyone to know where we all come from as far as when we got into tennis. If you started watching at a different time before you followed it RELIGIOUSLY, list both please. For me I started watching in 2002. The first tournament I remember watching start to finish was 2003 Wimbledon, I remember after each round, the commentators kept mentioning "Federer" was still in it, beginning of an era, we had no idea. I started watching religiously in 2006 (Nadal got my interest), though I did watch the AO in 2005 and a few other tournaments in between. What about you?
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1989....the golden age of tennis
 
1999 Wimbledon final Sampras vs Agassi. Hewitt rising to the top is what got me interested in playing and (attempting) to follow the sport since I was still a young kid at the time :)
 
I started watching with Connors matches in the 80s (born in 82) because my brother watched and played. Watched tons of matches on USA in the 90s of majors.

Started following even minor tournaments after getting hooked at the US Open 2009 (first time I went in person to flushing). Nadal became my favorite player. I loved watching Agassi (and Sampras) in the 90s. I also watched tons of wta (hinges) in 1997 or so.

I missed the safin/Hewitt era (didn't have tv in college).

But religiously not till fall 2009...
 
TennisFan3 said:
Been watching tennis, as soon as I started playing it when I was a kid in school - in the late 80's -early 90s.

I became a BIG BIG fan of Pete Sampras. I used to watch tennis, but couldn't imagine having the same passion for any other player. How could there be another player who was truly the people's champion? Someone who was the best talent tennis had ever seen, and yet so humble on and off court? The time when Sampras and Steffi used to play - that to me, was the best time of my tennis watching life. I was a big fan of both.

Then I started to back Fed from 2003 onwards once he won Wimbledon, although not in the same way as Sampras. Then I got into rooting for Nadal especially after watching Spain beat us in the Davis Cup and the baby Nadal fist pumping his way to a win. I used to find clay tennis boring, but Nadal got me into that as well, once he started winning F.Os. It was fascinating to see Nadal fight on court with his Borg like intensity.

Then of course the rest is history, and the way Nadal morphed from a dirt-baller to all-surface player in '08 was very exciting. Even If his style is awkward, his competitiveness, mental strength and humbleness reminds me of Pistol Pete..
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Damn, this pretty much sums it up for me.

Well said. Truly.

Nadal to me is the like the complete polar opposite of Pete's attacking game and propensity to be at net and Nadal's at the baseline, or behind it. (hah).

To me Nadal and Sampras are so opposite yet so similar, it the ways you described and more.
 
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Started watching tennis in 1975 with those World Heavyweight Championship Matches with Connors playing Rod Laver, Newcombe, Orantes, and Nastase. On CBS? Winner take all?
Seriously started watching in 1977 when Vilas had the streak on clay on PBS. Monday night finals.
 
My first (whole) matches were in 2002 Wimbledon. I remember seeing this guy Lleyton Hewitt and thought "wow, this guy is really good", as I saw him advancing through the draw. My interest in tennis has waxed and waned since then, often taking breaks from the sport once in awhile (sometimes to the tune of several months). It really depends.

But right now I'm back full-fledged in the sport again. :)
 
1995. Funny thing is that I was such an objective tennis fan back then. Sampras was my favorite, but I was not that upset when he lost. I cared more about about playing tennis with my friends than Agassi, Sampras, Courier etc. When I got older and started watching Federer play, I became a HUGE fan. I am such a big fan that I actually feel somewhat depressed when he loses a big match. When Federer retires, I am not going to watch pro tennis anymore. I will still play tennis because I just love the sport too much.
 
i STARTED watching tennis since 2005 when i watched rafa play in RG(it was like love at 1st sight with rafa)...when i was 15 yrs old...I love the way he moved and his detemination and willingnesss to run down every ball made me his great fan..
 
Billy Jean King vs Bobby Riggs era. Maybe a few years before that off and on when I was inside instead of playing outside. We only had one TV set so it was hard to be the one to pick the show to watch unless no one else was home.
 
1994 US Open(4 year old agassi ****, don't remember much details)-97 RG,00 Miami-02 US Open, 04 Wimby-now!
 
I remember watching Henri Lonconte on TV in the 80's.
The first time I realised I was totally into it was during the Edberg/Becker Wimbledon finals, and I've been a tennis nut ever since.

I first went to see live tennis at the Sydney indoor tournament where I watched Jim Courier play, and the first slam I went to was Roland Garros in about 1991 where I saw Gabriela Sabatini.
 
I started watching tennis in the early 80's. There were Lendl, Mats, Edberg, Cash, Becker and a few. Likes the sport but did not play after 20 something years later.
 
Bud said:
My dad was a huge tennis nut and a great player. I started watching matches around 1979-80 (I was 11 or 12). Mandlikova was my favorite player :)
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He must be so proud of you...
 
i probably saw pieces of match earlier, but i'd say it "really" begun in 1987, when i joined my grandad watching roland-garros (on TV).
a bit earlier, he had also offered me my first racquet. :)

i remember wondering who would win the QF between becker and connors, as both already seemed to be "big names" for me... that was an exciting issue for me, whereas i think becker was a clear favorite for this match !
(wasn't he ?)
then, the cash-lendl final at wimbledon, again at my grandparents' house......
at the time, i didn't have any favorite yet... edberg would be the first one, a bit later. ;)

it's the only sport i've ever really followed.
 
Started getting into tennis seriously in 2006. The first match i watched was the semi final of Wimbledon 2006 between Nadal and Bagdhatis. I still remember Nadal winning match point via an overhead smash.
 
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