Just Watched a Pancho Gonzalez Documentary! Wow!

Dubpoet · Jun 30, 2007

I'm 39 and never saw him play and only knew his name because I had my dad's Pancho Gonzalez tennis racket as a kid. This man was special and I am very glad to have seen this. From schooling Arthur Ashe to a young Connors, it was a pleasure to learn something and enjoy it. He played for 25 + years and really fought hard to keep his game when he got older. Died almost forgoten in 1995 I think.

It was on pbs.

Dubpoet · Jun 30, 2007

No Old-Timers care to comment on this Star from way back?

I guess its true that they said when he died it was like no one remembered him. Only a couple of guys went to the funeral.

Railbird · Jul 1, 2007

Gonzales's views of other players as of 1995

Pete Sampras: "I rate him potentially with anybody, including Lew Hoad."
Andre Agassi: "He was a natural but when he turned pro at 15, he couldn't cover the court."
Björn Borg: "He was tough. I played him when he was 18 and I was 42... and beat him 6-1, 6-1. My best game against his best game, he would be one of the toughest. One of the all-time greats." <SUP class=reference id=_ref-17>[18]</SUP>
Jimmy Connors: "My wide serve would've been effective against his two-handed return."
John McEnroe: "He's right up there behind Hoad, except that he didn't hit the ball quite as hard."
Rod Laver: "At his best, I think I might've had too much court coverage for him. He was a great athlete, but he didn't have the thinking part."
Ken Rosewall: "With the exception of me and Frank Sedgman, he could handle everybody else... but he had a forehand weakness and a serve weakness."
Lew Hoad: "He was the only guy who, if I was playing my best tennis, could still beat me. I think his game was the best game ever. Better than mine."
Don Budge: "Even now, I think he had the best backhand ever developed... His ball off the backhand was the heaviest ball I can remember."

<DL><DD>All quotations are from a New York Times article of 12 March 1995. Gonzales died four months later of cancer in Las Vegas. </DD></DL>Gonzales was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame at Newport, Rhode Island in 1968.