When did you start watching tennis??who is your all time favorite player??

tusharlovesrafa

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I want to know when did you guys start watching tennis??As every member on this board is a tennis fan..So i thought i should a thread different from other threads..
You can share any information like what year was that when u start watching tennis and why did u watch it initially??who is your all time favorite player??
 
I remeber it clearly it was summers in 2005 when i was only 15 yrs old....I was surfing My t.v and accidently i put Star Sports which was broadcasting(Rolland garros) Rafael Nadal watch with Roger federer..I just loved the look of rafa..the way he was running was amazing....And it was not until 2008-09 that i started following rafa on a consistent basis...
 
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I, like many hopeful, naive British kids, was captured by Tim and the Wimbledon dream :( I was 9 when he reached his first SF, "come on Tim" already a phrase etched into my brain.
 
End of 98', got into it cause I saw my uncle watching Agassi versus someone I can't remember. Didn't follow it as religiously as today(coverage was poor on TV in my country and I had no internet) but I knew the major stars of the game. When I did get to see tennis I watched it with great interest.

I liked Agassi,Lleyton and now Rafa.
 
Started watching as a youngster in the late 70s when Borg was boss (at Wimbledon, at least). Grew into it in the 80s when I was not a fan of JMac (but I'm a big fan now) and Becker's success in 1985 captivated me and I started playing aged 13. Loved him and Stefan Edberg, and when I stopped playing after age 20 in 1992 I really couldn't be bothered to watch the sport. Picked my racket up after a 10 year hiatus just before Federer era was about to begin, but to this day I watch very little tennis outside the slams as I rely on terrestrial TV (I don't subscribe to satellite TV).
 
I remeber it clearly it was summers in 1969 when i was only 16 yrs old....I was playing my first real 6-string and accidently i put MTV which was broadcasting Vince Spadea watch with Jay-Z..I just loved the look of the spade..the way he was rappin was amazing....And it was not until 2008-09 that i started listening MC Spade on a consistent basis...
 
I, like many hopeful, naive British kids, was captured by Tim and the Wimbledon dream :( I was 9 when he reached his first SF, "come on Tim" already a phrase etched into my brain.


I remember once watching Henman-Grosjean on TV, a match that included tons of controversy, bad line calls etc.

After Grosjean won and both went to the net to shake hands, Henman hesitated for a sec with a look of "I don't know if should I congratulate you for that!". That, along with watching some Agassi matches in the late 90's are probably my first memories...

Anyone has the footage of then Henman incindent?
 
In the late 80's...I was enamored with Andre Agassi. Those were the days when Lendl, Chang, Becker, Courier, Sampras were playing on the men's side.

Agassi remains one of my all-time favorites. On the women's side, I loved Gabriela Sabatini and Monica Seles. Gabriela is still one of my favorites as well as Clijsters.
 
In the 90's. My favorite players were Sergi Bruguera, Pete Sampras, Agassi and Courier. In that order.
 
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Since seeing Krajicek win wimbledon in 1996. He's my all time favourite, together with Federer. Schalken probably comes third because he's dutch too.
 
As a child I read a lovely description of a lawn tennis match in Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" and immediately felt that I wanted to be part of this world and game.

This is the passage, verbatim:

"After dinner they sat on the terrace, then they proceeded to play
lawn tennis. The players, divided into two parties, stood on
opposite sides of a tightly drawn net with gilt poles on the
carefully leveled and rolled croquet-ground. Darya Alexandrovna
made an attempt to play, but it was a long time before she could
understand the game, and by the time she did understand it, she
was so tired that she sat down with Princess Varvara and simply
looked on at the players. Her partner, Tushkevitch, gave up
playing too, but the others kept the game up for a long time.
Sviazhsky and Vronsky both played very well and seriously. They
kept a sharp lookout on the balls served to them, and without
haste or getting in each other's way, they ran adroitly up to
them, waited for the rebound, and neatly and accurately returned
them over the net. Veslovsky played worse than the others. He
was too eager, but he kept the players lively with his high
spirits. His laughter and outcries never paused. Like the other
men of the party, with the ladies' permission, he took off his
coat, and his solid, comely figure in his white shirt-sleeves,
with his red perspiring face and his impulsive movements, made a
picture that imprinted itself vividly on the memory."
 
Started to watch and play tennis in the early 80's. My favorite player that time was John "D' Serve and Volley" McEnroe!
 
Started watching Tennis when I was 5 yrs old in 1995-97, then 2001-02, then 04-till now! My Favourite PLayer that time was Agassi. Now it is Federer!
 
As a child I read a lovely description of a lawn tennis match in Tolstoy's "Anna Karenina" and immediately felt that I wanted to be part of this world and game.

This is the passage, verbatim:

"After dinner they sat on the terrace, then they proceeded to play
lawn tennis. The players, divided into two parties, stood on
opposite sides of a tightly drawn net with gilt poles on the
carefully leveled and rolled croquet-ground. Darya Alexandrovna
made an attempt to play, but it was a long time before she could
understand the game, and by the time she did understand it, she
was so tired that she sat down with Princess Varvara and simply
looked on at the players. Her partner, Tushkevitch, gave up
playing too, but the others kept the game up for a long time.
Sviazhsky and Vronsky both played very well and seriously. They
kept a sharp lookout on the balls served to them, and without
haste or getting in each other's way, they ran adroitly up to
them, waited for the rebound, and neatly and accurately returned
them over the net. Veslovsky played worse than the others. He
was too eager, but he kept the players lively with his high
spirits. His laughter and outcries never paused. Like the other
men of the party, with the ladies' permission, he took off his
coat, and his solid, comely figure in his white shirt-sleeves,
with his red perspiring face and his impulsive movements, made a
picture that imprinted itself vividly on the memory."

Awesome.

(10)
 
I started watching shortly after picking up the game. I think I was 8 or 9 at the time, so that would make it '93 or '94.

My favorite players were Becker and Edberg (even though I only got to watch them for a couple of years before they called it quits), Sampras, and Federer.
 
Started to watch in the early 90`s especially the Wimbledon tourney.
Guys like Sampras or Ivanisevic were my favourite players back in the day.Didn`t get a lot of coverage of the French,Australian or Us Open then.
One of the earliest matches i`ve seen was i think in the Grand Slam cup when Larsson beat Sampras in 94.I still think i got that match on a VCR tape somewhere.
 
In the 80s. Stefan Edberg is my favorite player ever. His game was elegance personified. The way he used to serve, rush the net, volley and put the ball away, he used to make it look so simple. I didn't know at that time that I was watching one of the best volleyers ever.
 
I started watching in 06, and my favorite player WAS Roddick. I really disliked Federer after watch Roddick lose so many times.
 
Began following the game and playing in '96 as the result of my country's success in Davis Cup (94, 95 finals for Russia) and Kafelnikov's victory at Roland Garros. The process was catalysed by the launch of satellite TV in our town as it included eurosport channel in english - didn't understand a word and didn't know the rules of the game but watched all day long until learned both. In '95 our family moved to different apartaments that had a tennis court and a wall near the building, which also helped. Played for 2 years against the wall before first went to tennis lessons. My first 2 'rackets' were self-made of wood and had no strings. Followed tennis closely and played regularly 'til 2000. In 2006 began following closely again as the result of emerging Fedal rivalry and Fed's assault on Sampras' record and CYGS. Favourite players: Edberg, Courier, Muster, Каfel, Sampras, Mantilla, Safin, Fed, Nadal, Davy, Djokovic, DelPo.
 
Started playing tennis in 1993, when I was 9 years old. My parents were both tennis players. We used to watch tennis all the time, so I'm guessing I started watching tennis around 1988-1991?

My favourite player was Goran Ivanisevic, though I was quite fond with Sampras, Becker, Rafter and Edberg.

I can say for sure 1994 was the year I was hooked up with pro tennis, and started following it closely. I remember because Goran made his 2nd wimby final that year.
 
1985, I was a child. Gabriela Sabatini was my favourite player, I loved Mats Wilander too. Sabatini/Nadal/Wilander are my 3 all time favourite players.
 
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Wimbledon '72

I spent summer/fall '72 in Earl's Court London, about 5 stops from Wimby on the Tube. A young American was playing that fortnight, just 6 weeks older than me. Damn, I was jealous of that squirt from Illinois. Been hooked since! Thanks Jimbo!

Fave players: 70's...BorgVilas; 80's...Wilander; 90's...Sampras; Current...the GOAT!
 
Started watching in the early 1980's, then it was off and on until 2006. I'd have to say Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario and Boris Becker are my all time favorites. :)
 
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