Word: wimbledon
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Dates: during 1980-1989
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...sport, there is no contest as self-consciously august as Wimbledon. Like a dowager duchess, Wimbledon walks hand in hand with a statelier past, revering its history, requiring homage to its traditions, never questioning its prerogatives. But in the 104th year of "The Championships upon the lawns of The All England Club," the unthinkable finally happened: Wimbledon came under attack. Players criticized the conduct of the tournament, fans erupted into a near riot, and a government committee challenged the privileges of the All England Club. The grande dame of tennis was, in short, told that she had become...
...most stunning change of all was made on Centre Court. For the first time in half a decade, Bjorn Borg was beaten at Wimbledon, and a new champion, John McEnroe, was crowned. McEnroe, whose tantrums angered the crowds and, at one point, moved officials to threaten his expulsion from the tournament, beat Borg, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4, in a tense duel that saw two sets determined by tie breakers. The only link to the past left intact was the dominance of Chris Evert Lloyd. She won her third Wimbledon title by unnerving and outplaying Hana Mandlikova...
Before the U.S. sweep, Wimbledon was sent reeling by press and government inquiries into British tennis. Those investigations criticized the cozy relationship between the private All England Club, which runs the Wimbledon championships, and the British Lawn Tennis Association, to which it is responsible. Despite tournament revenues of $5 million and a requirement that the All England Club help support national tennis programs, only $62,000 trickled down to train aspiring players in 1980. Even more galling, the 375 memberships in the blueblooded club, which cost only $17.50 in annual dues, were said to be worth the equivalent...
...Wimbledon officials were miffed by such ungentlemanly delving into their financial arrangements, they were outraged by the even more ungentlemanly conduct of McEnroe. The volatile lefthander from Douglaston, N.Y., brought down the wrath of fans and officialdom almost as soon as he stepped on court for his opening day match. A few unconsidered (and unprintable) words later, McEnroe was penalized two points and $1,500 for berating the umpire and breaking his racquet. The early rounds produced a stunning series of upsets-seven seeded stars fell in the first round alone-and also brought the sad spectacle of McEnroe disputing...
Anticipating Borg's demise, our intrepid interpreter commented, "The archangel is about to have his feathers plucked." Several games later, the Swede had recovered in Collins' opinion: "He stepped out of the electric chair for a moment." And even NBC's cutesy description for the Wimbledon finals experience -via-satellite took on new meaning as it spilled out of Collins' ever-active lips: "Breakfast at Wimbledon--be careful of the spoon at breakfast--don't hurt yourself...