Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, July 11, 1995 TAG: 9507110089
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: WIMBLEDON, ENGLAND LENGTH: Medium
In the end the familiar stars took their bows: Pete Sampras captured his third straight men's title; Steffi Graf won her sixth singles; Martina Navratilova secured her 19th Wimbledon title, taking home a trophy for playing mixed doubles.
On one side of the stage - on the other side of the ocean, actually - there was the towering presence of Monica Seles, who cattily chose the day of the women's final to hold her first news conference in more than two years and announce her return to the tour.
Graf and Arantxa Sanchez Vicario, who waged such a tense final, had led a rebellion at Wimbledon - a play within a play - against giving Seles special ranking considerations. Seles responded that she never asked for any help and doesn't need any.
Navratilova, the WTA Tour president, took the opportunity to lash out in a monologue directed at the top players for being greedy and protecting their turf.
``What's frustrating to me,'' Navratilova said, ``is that the players benefited the most from Monica's absence, because they won more money, they won more Grand Slams, because she wasn't around. And they're not willing to give back to her perhaps what they gained by her absence.''
But as much as anyone, this Wimbledon belonged to:
Tantrum-throwing Jeff Tarango, his slap-happy wife Benedicte, and Bruno Rebeuh, the umpire Tarango called ``the most corrupt official in the game,'' as if others were just a little less corrupt. The Grand Slam Committee is still investigating, but Tarango was sent packing with the stiffest fine in Wimbledon history, $15,500.
Wayward Murphy Jensen, who missed a match, disappeared for a day, and fled the country rather than face the wrath of his mother. Depending on your choice of British tabloids, the American contemplated suicide, ran off with a female driver, eloped with Mary Pierce, got lost in traffic, or went fishing in Scotland. He denied everything, even that he was missing.
Smiling Greg Rusedski, the Union Jack-waving, Canadian-turned-Brit who didn't let Sampras wipe the smile off his face.
nChanda Rubin, who huffed and puffed and toughed out the longest women's match in Wimbledon history against Patricia Hy-Boulais: 58 games, including the 17-15 third set.
Tim Henman, a young Brit with choirboy looks and a Wimbledon family pedigree who became the first player ever kicked out of The Championships after he accidentally hit a ball girl in the ear with a frustrated swipe at the ball during a doubles match.
The Aussie doubles teams, Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge on one side, Patrick Rafter and Mark Philippoussis on the other, who nearly came to blows over the courtside manners of a girlfriend. The diplomat who intervened in the locker room was none other than that old peacemaker, Ilie Nastase.
On a sad note, there was the passing of Pancho Gonzalez, a great and fiery competitor who will forever be remembered for the match he played as a 41-year-old grandfather at Wimbledon in 1969, when he beat Charlie Pasarell 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9.
There were few great upsets and fewer great matches at this year's Wimbledon, but for those who say women's tennis is boring, Graf and Sanchez Vicario offered up a final that was as as thrilling and tense as it was superbly played.
By comparison, the men's final between Sampras and Boris Becker was a one-dimensional, boring affair, even if it did confirm Sampras' ascension to the highest ranks of tennis champions and Becker's enduring popularity. Even in defeat, the crowd cheered louder for Becker.
For all the weirdness of this Wimbledon, there was also so much that seemed predictable. One, two, three, four, the highest seeds in both the men's and women's draws marched into the semifinals. It was odd to find in the record book that that hadn't happened since seeding began in 1927.
by CNB