Persons involved: Arthur Ash
- Arthur Ash. First African-American male player to win a Grand Slam title
Arthur Ashe was born in 1943 in Richmond, Virginia. His father forbade him to play football, so young Arthur began playing tennis on public courts, where his talent was noticed by Richmond’s best black player, Ron Charity, who taught him the basics and later introduced him to Dr. Robert Walter Johnson.
Dr. Johnson was the trainer Althea Gibsonthe first black woman to win a Grand Slam. He not only took Ash’s game to the next level, but also prepared the young man to face and overcome racial segregation. In 1963, Ash became the first African-American player to win a National Junior indoor title and was awarded a tennis scholarship to the University of California, Los Angeles. There he was able to sharpen his game by training with his idol, Pancho Gonzalez, and that same year he became the first black player to be selected to the United States Davis Cup team.
After he finished second to Roy Emerson Australian Open In 1966 (lost in four sets, 6–4, 6–8, 6–2, 6–3) and 1967 (lost in straight sets, 6–4, 6–1, 6–1), he eventually became the first African-American player to claim a Grand Slam title, defeating Tom Okker in the 1966 final. US Open: (14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3). Not only was it a major achievement in his athletic career, but it also gave him an opportunity to advocate for the civil rights movement.
Ashe won two more Grand Slam titles, the 1970 Australian Open (defeating Dick Crail in the final, 6-4, 9-7, 6-2) and the 1975 Wimbledon Championship (defeating Jimmy Connors in the final, 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4). He also finished runner-up at two other Grand Slam tournaments (the Australian Open and Wimbledon), and by the time he retired from professional tennis in 1980, he had won 81 titles.
The factsAsh resents the lack of commitment from leading Americans
Arthur Ashe was named captain of the United States Davis Cup team in 1981, a year after his retirement as a player. His first two campaigns as captain were successful as the United States won the competition in 1981 and 1982. In 1981, Ashe even managed to convince Jimmy Connors, who had not played in a Davis Cup since 1976, to be part of the team for the quarter-final against Czechoslovakia, leading Czechoslovakia. After an early defeat in 1983, Connors fully committed to the Davis Cup for the first and only time in his career, but despite his help, the team lost the 1984 final against Sweden (4-1).
In 1985, Connors announced that he would never compete in the Davis Cup again. Ashe, fed up with the outbursts of world No. 1 John McEnroe, demanded a code of conduct and McEnroe, always committed to the team and already struggling with motivation after a very busy and successful 1984 season, decided not to participate.
In March, Ashe flew to Japan with Elliott Telcher and 18-year-old Aaron Krickstein on the team, and the Americans won 4-1. In August, however, even with a great doubles team (Ken Flach and Robert Seguso), the team was no match for West Germany, which included a young Boris Becker who outplayed everyone else in singles. USA lost the tie 3-2.
After five years as captain of the American team, Ash was tired of being treated by his best players and tired of running after them to participate.
“The hardest part wasn’t always getting the best American players available to compete,” Ash said. “The Davis Cup captain doesn’t have the same prestige as (LA Lakers coach) Pat Riley,” he added. quoted Los Angeles Times. “You can’t drag McEnroe down if he’s behaving badly. You can’t fine them. You can’t keep someone out of a team just because they’re not popular. You just have to make do with what you have. They only play once or twice a year.“
“For the past few weeks, I have been thinking about stepping down. I have decided that it is in the best interest of the team and myself to step down as captain.”
What next?? Arthur Ashe dies at only 49 years old
Ash will be replaced as captain US Davis Cup Team by Tom Gorman. The United States would not win the Davis Cup again until 1990. That year, rising stars Michael Chang and Andre Agassi won the title, defeating Australia in the final.
Ash, who told his brother when he was 12 that he wanted to be the “Jackie Robinson of tennis”, will publish a three-volume book. Hard way to glory. the story of an African American athlete in 1988, which he would consider an even more important achievement than any of his tennis successes. He would die in 1993 of AIDS-related pneumonia at the age of 49 after contracting the disease after a blood transfusion in the 1980s.
Ash was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1985. The main course at Flushing Meadows, home to the US Open, is named Arthur Ashe Stadium after Ashe. The stadium has a capacity of 23,771 spectators, making it the largest in the world.
