“ — Gael Monfils. From Bill Tilden and Jimmy Connors to Roger Federer and now Carlos Alcaraz, tennis champions have captivated crowds with their trick shots, creative mimes, and amusing wisecracks. These geniuses abounded in talent, flair, and audacity, and they often flaunted it.
These charismatic characters brought drama, controversy, and beauty. The cultural historian Elizabeth Wilson noted in her illuminating book, that while tennis was similar to art, it had a significant difference. “Like the medieval jousting tournament or the Spanish bullfight, the tennis spectacle was simultaneously art contest,” wrote Wilson.
“So, whereas when Nureyev danced, he had a free field on which to display his virtuosity and the beauty of his art, the tennis player was condemned to force his brilliance an opponent. It is from this that tennis (more, I would argue, than other individual sports and certainly more than team sports) derives its tension: the unremitting pull between the art and the fight.” Epitomising both elements, Tilden, a larger-than-life 1920s superstar, was renowned for intentionally falling behind inferior opponents in early-round matches.
As cries of “Tilden’s in trouble!” spread, spectators scurried to see him pull off another theatrical comeback. In another party trick, the imperious American held five balls in his massive hand, fired four straight aces to win a game, and then casually tossed the fifth ball into the stands. “Tilden always seems to h.
