Word: hopman
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Talent Hunt. As the Aussie players come and go, their team's most valuable man remains its laconic captain, Harry Hopman. A hard-nosed disciplinarian who demands monastic devotion and impeccable manners from his players. Hopman. 55, bosses an uncompromising talent-hunting organization that spots promising youngsters, grooms them carefully for the big time. There is no nonsense about higher education: instead, players quit school at 14 or 15, take "employment" from some sporting goods firm, and spend every working minute on the courts...
Even as Aussies waited for this year's team to turn pro, they knew that Hopman was already building for the future. In Miami Beach, Australia's No. 3 junior player, Geoffrey Pollard, a rangy lefthander with a booming serve, whipped U.S. Junior Champion Charles Pasarell in an early round of the Orange Bowl Tournament...
...Singles champion. Though he has never let training interfere with his smoking or partying, on the court Fraser has no real weakness except a tendency to let his mind wander. Before each match Fraser is carefully coaxed to the proper mental pitch by famed Aussie Davis Cup Captain Harry Hopman...
...family (father, mother and three sons) became known as the Laver All-Stars, and young Rod picked up the nickname of "The Rockhampton Rocket." A blushingly shy redhead, Laver has been thrown off stride by the nagging irritations of a match, is now carefully mother-henned during play by Hopman. In action, Laver is a remarkably coordinated shotmaker with surprising power for his size, relies on a rare overspin on his backhand shots to put away the big points...
...matches, and fought hard to save themselves from an embarrassing shutout. Seixas outlasted Anderson, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 0-6, 13-11, and MacKay, no longer bothered by cup competition jitters, beat back Cooper, 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Said happy Harry Hopman: "You may consider my grip on the Davis Cup slippery." Somehow he managed to say it with a straight face...