'A GREAT PLAYER, AN EVEN GREATER MAN,' SAY HIS PEERS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, February 11, 1993                   TAG: 9302110071
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: PAUL WHITE LANDMARK NEWS SERVICE
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium
'A GREAT PLAYER, AN EVEN GREATER MAN,' SAY HIS PEERS
Amid all the praise and tribute Wednesday to the civil rights and humanitarian causes championed by Arthur Ashe, it was almost easy to forget the exploits that made him famous in the first place.
Unless you played against him.
"The most intelligent player, I think, who ever lived," said Stan Smith, a former top-ranked player in the world and current director of the United States Tennis Association's junior development program. "He was a brilliant shotmaker, and I can remember many of those brilliant shots as they whizzed past me."
Smith was an honorary pallbearer at Wednesday's funeral, along with former U.S. Davis Cup teammate Bob Lutz. The active pallbearers included Charles Pasarell, another Davis Cup veteran and Ashe's roommate during their days at UCLA, and 1984 French Open champion Yannick Noah, who flew in from Paris.
"A great player, and an even greater man," Pasarell said.
Ashe, who won three Grand Slam singles titles in his career, is probably best remembered as a player for his four-set upset of the seemingly invincible Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. Ashe finished that year No. 1 in the world.
"He was a finalist for [Sports Illustrated's] Sportsman of the Year that year, and I think it was something he really wanted," said former Davis Cup captain Donald Dell, who managed Ashe's business affairs. "But he didn't get it, and I don't remember him talking much about it after that."
Ironically, last December, roughly 12 years after Ashe had retired from tennis, Sports Illustrated recognized Ashe with its highest honor.
"You could tell it really meant a lot to him," Dell said.
In addition to his Wimbledon title, Ashe won the first U.S. Open. It was 1968, the first year professionals were allowed to play in this country's national championship. Ashe, still an amateur, defeated Tom Okker of the Netherlands in the final. But because Ashe elected to retain his amateur standing, Okker pocketed the first-place prize money.
Ashe also won the Australian Open in 1970. In doubles, he teamed with Tony Roche to win the Australian Open in 1977, and joined American Marty Riessen in winning the French Open in 1971.
After his playing days were over, Ashe became only the second Davis Cup captain in 30 years to lead the United States to consecutive victories (1981-82).
Other tennis veterans on hand for the service included current Davis Cup captain Tom Gorman, 1990 Wimbledon women's finalist Zina Garrison-Jackson, two-time Grand Slam winner Rod Laver, Butch Bucholtz, Pancho Segura and Brian Gottfried.
Of that group, only Garrison-Jackson is still on the tour. In fact, none of today's tennis stars were spotted among the more than 5,000 in attendance at the Arthur Ashe Jr. Athletic Center.
According to Dell, several current tennis pros will attend a reception honoring Ashe on Friday in New York. The group is chartering a plane for the trip from the Association of Tennis Professionals' tour stop in Memphis, Tenn.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB