WIMBLEDON, England -- On July 5, 1975, Arthur Ashe, a heavy underdog, became the first and only Black man to date to win the Wimbledon singles title, defeating defending champion Jimmy Connors, who hadn't dropped a set on the way to the final. Half a century later, the upset is remembered almost as much for how it happened as for the result.
The momentous Centre Court match pitted the professorial Ashe, 32, and the brash 23-year-old lefty, Connors, who had just challenged Ashe in court. Connors filed a June 1975 lawsuit alleging that Ashe, former president of the Association of Tennis Professionals, defamed him in a letter to the ATP that criticized Connors for not playing on the US Davis Cup team.
On this day of the gentlemen's final 50 years later, three tennis figures reflect on how Ashe, who won three majors, knocked off Connors, who won eight. How Ashe ditched his trademark power game, dictated play and dominated Connors 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4. And how Ashe left a lasting legacy in a life that ended due to AIDS-related pneumonia at age 49.
The following are edited excerpts from interviews at Wimbledon this fortnight with Chris Eubanks, a current pro, ESPN commentator and a 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist; Richard Evans, a British journalist, author, tennis historian and Ashe's friend; and Stan Smith, who won the US Open in 1971 and Wimbledon in 1972 and was Ashe's Davis Cup teammate and friend.
Richard Evans: It was just a privilege to be there because we were all stunned, not at Arthur Ashe winning -- although he wasn't the favorite against Jimmy Connors -- but how he won it. The most extraordinary Wimbledon final I've ever seen, and I've seen a few. It was really all about Arthur understanding how he had to play to beat Jimmy Connors, who at that time people thought was invincible.
Chris Eubanks: Most times players go on court, they're going out there guns blazing, especially in a final. They want to play to their strengths. He took a totally different approach.
Stan Smith: Jimmy had won '74 -- beaten Ken Rosewall in the final. He was flying high, I think as confident as he's ever been, so that made what took place even more remarkable.
Richard Evans: Charlie Pasarell [Ashe's friend and fellow player]; Arthur; another player called Freddy McNair; and Donald Dell, who was Arthur's best friend and agent, went to the Playboy Club [the night] before the Wimbledon final. And they sat down and mapped out a plan, because they all agreed and knew that if Arthur went out there on Centre Court at Wimbledon ... with his usual free-flowing, hard-hitting style, he'd lose, because that's what Connors loved. Jimmy was a little guy [5-foot-10]. He couldn't generate power himself. He needed to feed off his opponent's power. So they said, "OK, we won't give him any." And to our amazement, Arthur started the match, soft-balling him, drop-shotting him, lobbing him, pushing the ball over the net. And Connors had nothing to work with.
Smith: You can think of it, and you can strategize, and you can dream about it working, but to actually go out and implement that strategy was pretty amazing. You have to have the ability to do that. A lot of players can think of that strategy but they can't apply it. He was able to with really good touch and feel, which is really not his game, and Jimmy was kind of taken aback.
I think he just kind of was totally flummoxed by what was going on. He was staying way back, ready for that big serve. Arthur was slicing the thing wide, and Jimmy was way back and to the side when he's returning that ball, so he gave the whole court to Arthur to hit to. I'm sure he thought he's going to switch or change his strategy. He probably is still shocked that it took place and the way it took place.
Evans: The most extraordinary aspect of it was that you can imagine and take any sport, ask any champion star to play the most important match of their lives and completely change their style. Many would say it's impossible. And Arthur stuck to it. He even stuck to it when Connors came back and won the third set, where many people would have panicked and reverted to what was natural to them. He didn't. A push and a shove and a drop shot, and Jimmy fell apart all over again. It was the most brilliant tactical match -- or sporting moment, really -- that I've ever seen in my life.
Smith: You really haven't seen anything quite like that -- a complete switch in style of play, not only strategy but style of play, for a guy who didn't play that way well. And I didn't see it again from Arthur in other matches he played. We played each other a few times, and I saw him play and he was on the tour, so it was kind of a one-off, which is pretty amazing.
Evans: The whole crowd was bemused, but pleased, because Arthur was very much more popular than Jimmy, who had his fans, but they couldn't do anything for him. We [Arthur and I] spoke about it a lot over time. It was his great ambition as a tennis player; it was what he'd been brought up to believe was the pinnacle of the sport. It would have been a real shame if his career had ended without being able to say, "I am Wimbledon champion." He deserved to be Wimbledon champion, and my god, he earned it.
Smith: I think he was proud that he kind of kept Jimmy so off-balance. I think when Arthur looked back at this, 10 years after it happened, he was even more pleased to see the way it happened and the fact that this lawsuit sort of really went away [Connors dropped it soon after his Wimbledon defeat]. And I don't think he had really bad feelings with Jimmy after that. He wasn't that type of guy. In fact, one of the strengths that he had is he didn't hold grudges and he realized that people had different motives of why they thought things, why they did things, and he tried to accept that and then move on and still try to improve the world.
Eubanks: I think it was a huge moment historically. Obviously, him winning the US Open in '68, signifying the first in the Open era, was a big, historic milestone, but I think everyone knows the prestige that surrounds Wimbledon, and it just fits the reputation and legacy of someone who carried themselves with the dignity and the class of Arthur Ashe. It fits that he was able to come back and win it seven years after his first Grand Slam. Such a historical event, such a historical figure, it's a bit poetic -- being an American -- winning the US Open and also winning here at Wimbledon on these hallowed grounds. It was incredible, and it's such an honor to be able to follow along in his footsteps.
Smith: It makes me feel sad that he's not here to be able to do that [celebrate the 50th anniversary of his title].
Eubanks: I think there are certain names that would just continue to live on throughout time. I think even the younger generations, who may not know much about Arthur and his legacy, say, "Hey, who is Arthur Ashe, and why do we have the largest tennis stadium in the world named after him?" And then, I think once you see everything that he was able to accomplish on the court, everything he was able to accomplish off the court as a humanitarian, and just the life that he lived, I think it goes to show it's not just about the number of Grand Slam titles you can win. It's about the impact you have on the sport and the impact on the world. I think that impact will continue to be felt for tennis players and around the world for many children and people for years to come.
Smith: Arthur was a very bright guy. He kept up with current events and certainly he had a passion for helping other people. He got involved with the apartheid issue, he got involved with heart issues and with AIDS issues. He was a great friend, and he had a good sense of humor and came up with some very funny comments along the way. His favorite T-shirt was "Citizen of the World," and he looked at the big picture in his life, and that was what was most remarkable about him.
Eubanks: I think [what was unique about him was] that calm and that stoic personality that you saw in the heat of battle. He never allowed for his emotions to get too far out of him, no matter how stressful the situation, no matter what type of adversity he dealt with on the court, off the court. He always was respectful, he always was a gentleman, he always was the role model that you would want for kids to be able to watch and still was a champion in his own right. He was able to showcase that you can be a champion and still have a certain respect, a certain class and decorum that many kids and many tennis fans can look and aspire to be like.
Evans: He was highly respected. Arthur didn't change. He always knew exactly what he was doing. And he wasn't a shouter and a yeller and a banner-waver, although later on he did get arrested in D.C. [during a 1985 anti-apartheid rally outside the South African embassy and in 1992 outside the White House protesting for Haitian refugees' rights]. He'd have been disappointed that more Black players didn't come through quicker, but there's been a huge development in that aspect. He would want more. He would be out there helping youngsters become tennis players.
Eubanks: I think it's continued to grow, and it's truly been an honor to be able to be a part of that, to see the generations that have come after. I truly believe in kids being able to see someone that looks like them having success in certain fields will inspire them to want to get involved in that sport, to say, "Hey, maybe I can do it." We're seeing more and more people of color, Black people getting involved in tennis, loving it, from even a fan standpoint getting involved in the sport -- it helps the sport continue to grow, and I think it will allow the cultural significance of what Arthur, Althea [Gibson, the first Black woman to a major title, who won five -- including Wimbledon in 1957 and 1958] and all of the pioneers who came before to continue to live on for many years to come.