By Randy Walker
@TennisPublisher
Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors, the two most iconic men’s tennis players of the 1970s, reunited at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March and both discussed tennis in the past and present on the Connors podcast “Advantage Connors.”
Late in the podcast, the two discussed the life and legacy of their mutual friend Vitas Gerulaitis, who tragically died in 1994 due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Brett Connors, the co-host of the “Advantage Connors” podcast and the son of Jimmy Connors, chimed into the conversation saying “And we always say it’s a joke that he’s not in the Hall of Fame.”
Borg, surprised, interrupted Brett Connors, asking “He’s not in Hall of Fame? Why?”
“That’s a joke,” said Jimmy.
“It’s a joke. We always say,” said Brett.
Brett then pointed out that in addition to the Gerulaitis playing record, his work as an enormously popular television commentator and his charity and promotional work for tennis should qualify him for induction in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
“Even if you combine (his tennis-playing career) with his announcing and his tennis and what he did for the sport, I mean, give me a break,” said Brett.
“That’s a joke Jimmy,” countered Borg. “He’s not in Hall of Fame? Come on.”
Answered Connors, “No, I mean, look, some of those that are in the Hall of Fame maybe shouldn’t be there.”
“And he’s not,” said Borg.
Said Connors, “Listen, maybe if he doesn’t get in, do you all think maybe we should drop out?”
“I’m happy to drop out. I’ll join,” laughed Borg.
So, for starters, let’s look at the Gerulaitis record and how it compares with some of the similarly qualified Hall of Fame inductees.
Gerulaitis “only” won one major singles title, the Australian Open in 1977. In those years, the Australian Open was watered down and fields seldom featured top 10 players. This December version of the 1977 Australian (it was also held at the start of the year and was won by Roscoe Tanner) featured only one top 10 player (which was Gerulaitis) and only four players in the top 20 (Gerulaitis, Tanner, Ken Rosewall and Tony Roche). Many will argue that this Grand Slam tournament title should not really count in consideration for the Hall of Fame due to its weak field. This is a fair point. During this era of tennis, events such as the Italian Open and the WCT Finals and the year-end “Masters” titles were considered bigger titles than the Australian Open. So, with that information, consider that Gerulaitis won the Italian Open twice, in 1977 and in 1979 and he also won the WCT Finals in 1978. So could you combine the Gerulaitis win at the 1977 Australian Open with his two titles in Rome and his WCT Finals win into what can be considered as one worthy, non-diluted major tournament victory?
Gerulaitis also was runner-up at two major championships, at the 1979 U.S. Open (losing to John McEnroe) and the 1980 French Open (losing to Bjorn Borg). Gerulaitis and Borg also played one of the great Wimbledon semifinals of all-time in 1977, with Borg edging Gerulaitis 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 8-6. Gerulaitis also was the runner-up at the Masters (again considered bigger than the Australian Open at the time) in 1979 and 1981. In doubles, Gerulaitis won one major doubles title at Wimbledon in 1975 with Sandy Mayer.
Other criteria to consider a player for the Hall of Fame are highest ATP ranking, number of singles and doubles titles and if a player was part of a winning Davis Cup team. Gerulaitis reached a career high ranking of No. 3 and won 26 singles titles and 9 doubles titles and helped the United States win the Davis Cup in 1979.
Is this a resume that is Hall of Fame worthy? It’s close…
However, let’s compare his record alone to others in the Hall of Fame. As Connors eluded to with his “look, some of those that are in the Hall of Fame maybe shouldn’t be there” comment from the podcast. In the early days of the Hall of Fame, election was a bit more liberal and it was also kind of considered an American Tennis Hall of Fame and players like Frank Shields, Dennis Ralston, were inducted, despite not winning a major singles title. But let’s compare him to other recent male inductees, and let’s also not compare Vitas to players who have been inducted simply based on their doubles attributes.
The player in the Hall of Fame whose credentials are closest to those of Gerulaitis is Yannick Noah. Like Vitas, Noah won only one major singles titles, the 1983 French Open (which was a much celebrated win as the first by a French man since 1946). Like Vitas, Noah won one major doubles title (the French Open in 1984). Like Vitas, Noah reached a career-high singles ranking of No. 3 (but was No. 1 in doubles). Similar to Vitas, Noah won 23 singles titles and 16 doubles titles (against 26 singles titles and 9 doubles titles for Vitas.) Noah only reached one other major semifinal other than his run to the French title in 1983 and that was in Australia in 1990 (against two other major runner-up showings from Vitas and five other semifinal finishes (1981, 1978 U.S. Opens, 1979 French Open, 1978, 1977 Wimbledon). Both were immensely popular players, who transcended tennis into pop culture.
Another recent inductee whose resume compares to Gerulaitis is that of Michael Stich. The German won the Wimbledon singles title in 1991 for his lone major singles titles (but, of course this is the ultimate of all major singles titles). Like Vitas, he also finishes as runner-up at two other majors (the 1996 French Open and the 1994 U.S. Open). Stich also was part of a winning Davis Cup team, reached one notch better than Vitas in the world rankings at No. 2, and won the year-end ATP Finals in 1993, which is comparable to the WCT Finals win for Vitas and his two runner-up showings at the Masters. Stich won 18 singles titles (eight fewer than Vitas) and 10 doubles titles (one more than Vitas) and a Wimbledon doubles title, also like Vitas.
On the women’s side, another comparable inductee is Gabriela Sabatini, who like Gerulaitis was enormously popular during her career. She won one major title in singles, 1990 U.S. Open and had two runners-up finishes at the 1988 U.S. Open and Wimbledon in 1991. She won 27 singles titles and 14 doubles titles (including a major at Wimbledon) and reached a career high of No. 3.
It’s a very close call when comparing credentials.
The International Tennis Hall of Fame also has a contributor category and in this category, there is even stronger argument for the induction of Gerulaitis.
Recent contributor inductees include Andres Gimeno and Manuel Orantes, both of whom won one major, the 1972 French for Gimeno and the 1975 U.S. Open for Orantes. Also Sven Davidson, a name that is barely heard of and spoken of in today’s game, was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2007 with only one French singles title on his resume as well as two other French runner-up showings in the 1950s. Other comparable contributors with credentials and recognition on par with Gerulaitis include Charlie Pasarell and Butch Buchholz, fine players in their day but most recognized as the founders of the fantastic events in Indian Wells and Key Biscayne, respectively.
Cliff Drysdale was also a recent Hall of Fame inductee in this category. While Drysdale only reached one major final (the 1965 U.S. Championships), he was a significant player in tennis governance in the 1970s and is perhaps best known for his ESPN commentary for over 40 years. One could argue that Gerulaitis was equally as important as a TV commentator for tennis during his shortened years in the booth.
“He would be the voice of tennis,” said Brett Connors on the Advantage Connors podcast of Gerulaitis if he was still alive to be the charismatic commentator that he was in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It’s been over 30 years since Gerulaitis was the TV face and voice of the U.S. Open on USA Network. In a famous U.S. Open five-set quarterfinal against Andre Agassi, Connors was practically having a running conversation with Gerulaitis who was commentating the match from the TV booth. “What do you think of that Vitas?” Connors would say into the courtside microphones during the fifth-set dramatics against Agassi.
While many of these Hall of Fame contributors have faded into distant memories, Gerulaitis is still part of the almost every day conversation in media and even on recreational tennis courts around the world based on a post-match press conference from January 12, 1980. “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row,” was his quote, perhaps the most famous quote in tennis history, after he ended a 16-match losing streak to Connors with a 7-5, 6-2 victory in the semifinals of the year-end Masters Championships at Madison Square Garden.
In June, the Hall of Fame sent out an email that laid out the process for nominees in the contributor category, which will considered every two years. For more information click here https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/eligibility-voting-process?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=263535707&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-939DXpRt7NfsLL5PcZDBuCx_pziTsOSY_TcMoa9l7NGI5EVXR5EZFYQT3YPqm5VwzFwbFuYowVpQlPjusbCVdHCDCQrUmVcRgO6g_zEXliNkQLBl4&utm_content=263535707&utm_source=hs_emailand
Vitas Gerulaitis may one day receive the recognition that many feel he certainly deserves. After all, no one shuts Vitas Gerulaitis out of the International Tennis Hall of Fame 33 years in a row, right?
