1 Response to uo77vilas-connors

1. Voo de Mar says:

   August 18, 2020 at 5:20 pm

   Points won by each set: | 22-30, 27-25, 47-46, 29-15 |
   Points won directly behind the serve:
   24 % Vilas – 29 of 120
   14 % Connors – 17 of 121

   That 3-hour 16-minute duel was concluded in total chaos (players didn’t shake hands because fans stepped onto the court), Connors had a break point leading 4:1 in the 3rd set, three break points at 4:3 & two set points at 5:4* (40/15)… Both players didn’t lose a set en route to the final (14-0). It was the third & last US Open held on green-clay.

   Vilas’ route to his 29th title:
   1 Manuel Santana 6-1, 6-0
   2 Gene Mayer 6-3, 6-0
   3 Victor Amaya 6-3, 6-3
   4 Jose Higueras 6-3, 6-1
   Q Raymond Moore 6-1, 6-1, 6-0
   S Harold Solomon 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-2
   W Jimmy Connors 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(4), 6-0

   ==================================================

   The 25-year-old Argentinian reached the top of the tennis world with that triumph, having won two major titles in 1977, being in the finals of three Grand Slam events (Australian Open with lower status at the time). His 1977 form was unbelievable, he distinctively won more matches & titles than anyone else, he didn’t finish the season as the No. 1 in the world though. It was just fourth year of computing tennis results, there were two major organizations (ATP & WCT) & a lot of mess. Here’s the comparison of three best players in the end of the 1977 season (finished in January ’78):

   1. Jimmy Connors… 68-14 record (82 %); 8 titles (Winner: Masters; runner-up: Wimbledon & US Open; didn’t play in Melbourne & Paris)
   2. Guillermo Vilas… 134-14 record (90 %); 16 titles (Winner: French & US Opens; runner-up: Australian Open; 3R Wimbledon)
   3. Bjorn Borg… 76-7 record (91 %); 11 titles (Winner: Wimbledon; runner-up: Masters; 4R US Open; didn’t play in Melbourne & Paris)

   38 years later the ATP began to reconsider for the second time the No. 1 for Vilas: articles in English & Spanish
   

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