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Writer's pictureSudhir Bhattathiripad

The Greatest comeback at Wimbledon...

Updated: Jul 27, 2023

Connors creates magic...


Wimbledon the iconic event, has seen many a great moments, this is about one among the best of Wimbledon.


Sport at its best is just not entertaining and thrilling, it mirrors everything that life is about. The highs, the lows, and wonderful memories that it gifts its followers with.


Who doesn't enjoy a thrilling contest, one that goes down to the wire? While any sport in its history would have millions of these moments which are fleeting, and often forgotten, we are in this series, going to have a look at some matches, where sheer willpower, the desire to succeed, and the refusal to accept defeat, gave these matches and its protagonists a place in history.


Wimbledon has witnessed many a battle on its hallowed greens. Laver, Rosewall, Bjorn McEnroe and many legends of Tennis have created magic at Wimbledon. It was the American Jimmy Connors who scripted one of the greatest comebacks at Wimbledon.

The year was 1987. In the now-sunny-now cloudy London, the Wimbledon Championships was a week old. Some of the seeds had been knocked out, some had, had it easy.

The American tennis brigade was not yet a force to reckon with. Andre Agassi, who would go on to become a champion in the later years at Wimbledon, made his maiden appearance and lost in the first round. There were just two Americans in the top 10 seeds.

It was Boris Becker's time, having won his first Wimbledon at 17 in 1985 and defended his title the next year, Becker came to the tournament as the top seed. Ivan Lendl who famously said "Grass was for cows" was seeded second and Mats Wilander, Stefan Edberg, and Miloslav Mecir made up the top 5.

As the tournament reached the fourth round, most of the seeds except Boris Becker and Mecir had survived. One of the matches, lined up 25-year-old Swede Mikel Pernfors and the only surviving American Jimmy Connors, a match that would go on to become a part of Wimbledon folklore.

On a steamy afternoon, Pernfors, a Swede with a clay court style of play was facing Jimmy Connors, well past his prime, but still playing, more for the heck and love of it. Connors had won two Wimbledon titles, the last one a good five years back, which is often a lifetime in tennis.


The young Swede, in his style, stayed on the baseline, drilling back everything, covering the court with ease, and settled into a rhythm, wearing down Connors as he used to do to all his opponents. The now 34 years old Connors, who hadn't won any tournament for three years, was barely a match. The aging body was being sapped of energy by the heat on the court. A bunch of unforced errors against a steady barrage of baseline volleys from his opponent and unusually poor service returns soon saw Connors trailing 1-6,1- 6, 1-4.

Connors Pernfors Tennis Score Board
Wimbledon scoreboard

Connors, always the street fighter on the court looked down and out while his opponent seemed to be on auto mode. The commentators and the press in the media box had half-written the sad tale of age catching up with another legend. Serving at 1-4 down, Connors held serve. Just delaying the inevitable the crammed stands thought. Just an hour and a half into the game, the packed stands were thinning. A beer would do thought many, some were trying to recall the train timings to get to the suburbs. A newspaper had in its evening edition even reported that Connors had lost in the quarterfinals.


And …then it turned, and as it is with these events, it turned ever so slowly.


Connors held serve at 1-4, broke Pernfors, the wheel turned an inch, he held again and broke again. The old muscles were cramping, and there was a hint of a hobble, but the spirit of the old lion was still pushing, clinging on, not yet ready to give up on a life and career built on spilling his guts on these hallowed courts. Pernfors seemed to sense something special was afoot. He could perhaps see that the bloodied gladiator across the net was not one to give up anytime soon.

It seemed Connors had tapped into the last puddle of strength, he served out the set 7-5, reeling off an incredible 14 points in a row. It was all coming back, the passing shots which earlier found the net were now hugging the lines, and the trademark Connors double-handed backhand was cranking up. On some occasions, when, dumping his style, Pernfors crept to the net, the wily fox passed him with a precision born out of countless days on the court.


The fourth set went 6-4, Connors was on a roll, and Pernfors was getting a taste of the whiplash of a trapped, bruised cat's survival instinct. Connors, ever the man with a taste for the theatrical, was soaking it all up, as the crown got behind him yet again.

3 hours and 37minutes after they had entered the court, Connors thumped a trademark double-handed backhand volley past a visibly tired opponent. Game set and Match to Mr. Connors... went the referee, drowned out by a screaming crowd on its feet.


He pumped his fists, spread his hands in the air, jogged to the net, and with a twinkle in his eyes, shook hands with Pernfors. He tapped him on the shoulders as if to thank him for bringing up the scene in the dramatic fairytale drama that had played out. The applause continued, rising to a crescendo, and kept going.


They packed their bags, slung them over their shoulders, and walked away. Just two professionals returning from work and what a hectic day it has been at the office. Both of them paused briefly, did a quick customary bow to the clapping royalty in the box, and disappeared into the change rooms leaving behind a story of one of the most enthralling comebacks in tennis and probably any sport.


PS: Connors would at the age of 39, make the US Open semifinals, and end his career with a record 1274 career wins, which is still unmatched in men's tennis history, with the second being a Swiss gentleman by the name of at 1243


If you want to relive this one... go to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6-i9OByurQ



 

T V Sudhir Bhattathiripad

Be A Sport : Sports Blog

 

Other Interesting reads @ Be A Sport




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Dnyandeep Pazare
24 mar 2023

Thrilling match ever so narrated in a thrilling way.

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nsshingte
05 jun 2022

Truly a well written article that conjurs up images of Jimmy the great in the readers mind with each sentence. I relieved the match through this article. Wonderful initiative that truly takes one back in time to the moments of glory. Look forward to more of these....

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Deepak Sahoo
Deepak Sahoo
28 may 2022

"where sheer willpower, the desire to succeed, and the refusal to accept defeat, gave these matches and its protagonists a place in history: Rightly said" Loved this..

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mundayur1963
mundayur1963
26 may 2022

The brilliance of Jimmy Connors is truly reflected in this article. Loved reading it.

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