I found this interesting - like Nadal missing Paris now
In 1966, he skipped the French to give himself five weeks of proper Wimbledon prep. He needed every minute of it. It took a lucky break and two narrow escapes, but Santana ultimately proved that the grass wasnt just for cows. It was prime grazing land for Spanish dirtballers, too.
I dont have my list with me and cant remember where I rated him but think this place from Jeff feels about right!
We have player no. 67 and it is Mary Pierce. She could be brilliant on her day and was the last French woman to win the French championships in 2000. She was on my list.
So Mary was never near my list at all! I always thought her game was a bit too flaky for me and all the life drama sort of put me off, despite that being her mad dad Jim!
But as a person when I heard her on radio five commentaries a few years back, she came across as nice and intelligent. But never near my top 50 list.
So Lacoste was definitely on my list, indeed I had him in 40th place overall
You just to see what he did in a few short years, 7 slams out of 17 played and near 90% win loss record, winning record over Bill Tilden etc etc and you see he was a great player.
So of my top 50 players of all time, 4 of them (3 men and 1 woman) have appeared outside the top half of this list. Hopefully the other 46 will all appear in the top half and I will get a pretty close match overall!
So Lacoste was definitely on my list, indeed I had him in 40th place overall
You just to see what he did in a few short years, 7 slams out of 17 played and near 90% win loss record, winning record over Bill Tilden etc etc and you see he was a great player.
So of my top 50 players of all time, 4 of them (3 men and 1 woman) have appeared outside the top half of this list. Hopefully the other 46 will all appear in the top half and I will get a pretty close match overall!
Yes, Laconte was really good.
Overall, if you ( or anyone ) were to get 46 out of the top 50 I'd be really shocked and ruddy impressed!
So Lacoste was definitely on my list, indeed I had him in 40th place overall
You just to see what he did in a few short years, 7 slams out of 17 played and near 90% win loss record, winning record over Bill Tilden etc etc and you see he was a great player.
So of my top 50 players of all time, 4 of them (3 men and 1 woman) have appeared outside the top half of this list. Hopefully the other 46 will all appear in the top half and I will get a pretty close match overall!
Yes, Laconte was really good.
Overall, if you ( or anyone ) were to get 46 out of the top 50 I'd be really shocked and ruddy impressed!
I would be blooming amazed!! If I can get 2/3rds to tally I will be happy, over 40/50, I would be delighted, 45 or more, I will retire and take the winnings!
PS Lacoste not to be confused with the enigmatic, brilliant (mercurial is the word we associate with French players, isn't it, CD?) Henri Leconte - sadly, he would never get near this list but probably should have got closer if he had made the most of his talent!
Riggs is a player whos got one massive public event that overshadows his career - I find it hard to place him in the pantheon of greats tbh, he was certainly outside my top 50 but not sure where Id have placed him relative to the top 100 as I didnt try! But suspect he would have been outside it.
Interesting character though, a sort of marmite player.