Word: hopman
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...suspicion is that Harry Hopman, coach of Australia's Davis Cup team, picks his players as much for the hang of their jaws as the strength of their forearms and wrists. At least it looked that way last week, when Hopman and his prognathous protégés posed proudly with a sterling-silver heirloom. And why not stick out their chins? The Aussies have been inviting the world to come fight for the Davis Cup every year. But hardly anyone makes much of a scrap...
...Santana in a three-hour marathon 10-12, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4, 7-5. Then Roy Emerson effortlessly disposed of Juan Gisbert 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. That gave the Aussies a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. At that point Captain Harry Hopman decided to give his first team a rest. For the next day's doubles, he called on a pair of youngsters-John Newcombe, 21, and Tony Roche, 20-who had never played a challenge round doubles match before. They polished off Santana and Arilla...
...match tied at two sets apiece, Ralston broke through Stolle's service for a 2-1 lead in the fifth set, needed only to hold his own serve the rest of the way to sew up the cup. Sighing, Stolle sank into a chair at courtside while Hopman hovered over him, whispering furiously in his ear. What he said has been lost to history. But Stolle nodded, stalked onto the court, and broke Ralston's serve right back-with a perfectly placed lob that landed smack on the base line for the winning point. After that, Ralston seemed...
...Captain Hopman accepted congratulations with customary modesty. "We expect to keep the cup awhile," he said. If the Yanks wanted to win it back, they had better "get someone like me to take charge." That was enough to make any aspiring U.S. Davis Cupper shudder. Hopman runs his team like a Marine sergeant bossing the brig. He puts his players through punishing four-hour practice sessions, fills their spare-time hours with such joys as cross-country runs and weight lifting. With younger players, he dictates menus, bedtimes, social activities. "Don't forget," Hopman explains, "these boys...
Arguing with Success. Hopman's testiness does not endear him to his players -or to anyone else, for that matter. There are some, even, who claim that his reputation as a tennis tactician is grossly inflated. "The only instructions we were ever given were 'Go for the lines' and 'Relax,'" says Lew Hoad, who also played on four of Hopman's Davis Cup squads...