Word: savitt
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...days when Kumagae and Shimizu * were playing for the Rising Sun. Non-playing Captain Ichiya ("Ichy") Kumagae, now 60, remembering those better days, grinned as of old, but he was a little chagrined. Said he: "Not good. We need more international experience. Nakano was on top of Savitt and let him off the hook. To me, that is not smart tennis...
...never-say-die competitor himself, Ichy was stretching a point. Stocky (5 ft. 5 in., 140 Ibs.) Fumiteru Nakano, 36, was no match for Wimbledon Champion Dick Savitt, 24. Nakano did have Savitt on the run (five set points) in the first set, finally dropped it 7-5, then stuck grimly to the base line while Savitt pounded out the next two sets, 6-3, 6-2. Young (22) Herb Flam, the U.S.'s second-ranking player and a tireless retriever, beat the Japanese champion, Jiro Kumamaru, at his own game, the base-line duel. Flam...
...After that, Savitt began to brood about his game, went into a bad slump as he toured from Cairo to the Riviera, playing in minor European tournaments. He was over-tennised, nervous and jumpy. Jaroslav Drobny, 32, beat him six out of seven times. In the recent French championships, against Drobny, Savitt was leading 4-2 in the deciding set when he blew up over a petty error and lost the match...
Ready to Score. But last week at Wimbledon, Savitt was at the top of his form, with everything under control. He swept Art Larsen in straight sets, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4. In the semifinals he met his old nemesis, Herb Flam, who had beaten him twelve times (but not this time, though the match went to five sets). In the finals, Savitt met Australia's McGregor again. Savitt knew how to play McGregor: keep him away from the net, but avoid lobs, which McGregor usually kills with savage precision...
London's Wimbledon gallery, the most knowing and courteous of tennis audiences, understandably tended to cheer for the Empire player from Down Under. But they had little to cheer about. Savitt's flat, deep serves, baseline-nicking drives, and sharply angled passing shots often left McGregor flatfooted. Savitt won in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4-the shortest final (61 min.) in memory. Only after the final point, in which McGregor sprawled helplessly after a whipping backhand down the line, did Savitt yank the emotional safety valve. Throwing his racket high in the air, he exploded...