HT This Day: July 6, 1975 -- Ashe first black to win Wimbledon title

Arthur Ashe today be. came the first black man to win a Wimbledon crown when he pulverized champion Jimmy Connors, the hottest favourite for years 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 five minutes over two hours in the final of the men’s singles.

Arthur Ashe today be. came the first black man to win a Wimbledon crown when he pulverized champion Jimmy Connors, the hottest favourite for years 6-1, 6-1, 5-7, 6-4 five minutes over two hours in the final of the men’s singles.

HT This Day: July 6, 1975 -- Ashe first black to win Wimbledon title

The story of the match was simple: Ashe played above himself right from the opening shots and never let Connors get in any sort of rhythm. To be fair to Jimmy, 22 he fought back like a tiger being humiliated for the first two sets, and picked up the third set after the match looked like running away from him.

But Ashe was the man in control and pulled back from a 0-3 deficit in the fourth to take the match. It was Ashe’s first final here. Twice before, in 1968-69 he had been a losing semi-finalist.

The first 45 minutes of the match was a time Jimmy will be glad to forget in that time Ashe had volleyed his way to a 6-1, 6-1 lead letting Connors pick up only 30 points on the way.

In today’s final it was Ashe who was the master. His volleying, particularly on the forehand, was crisp, confident and forceful and obviously playing to a plan. he seized the net at every opportunity and dared Jimmy to pass him.

Connors tried, but found himself up against Arthur’s superb volleys. cutting off everything he tried to pass with, which meant Jimmy, found himself in the difficult position of defending.

Ashe scored the first break in the third game when he went 2-1 ahead on a disputed line call.

Connors raced to the baseline to get to a lob ‘from Ashe but his own smash landed just outside the baseline at the far end. There was no clear call from the line judge but the umpire eventually said Connors’ lob had been ruled out of court.

The crowd were obviously on the side of Ashe and gave him a warm reception in the previous game when he held his service to love.

Ashe, playing a superb serve-and-volley game, held his next service and then went 4-1 up when he broke Connors to love in the fifth game in which the defending champion conceded his first double fault.

Connors was obviously disconcerted at his inability to find the brilliant touch he displayed in his semi-final against fellow-American Roscoe Tanner.

Ashe went on to take the set 6-1 in 17 minutes-the first set Connors has conceded in the tournament so far and Connors seemed to be in deep trouble against Ashe who was producing the best form of his career.

The black American maintained the pressure at the start of the second set and snapped up another service break for a 2-0 lead, sending a stream of brilliant sets vice returns to the feet of the hapless Connors.

Ashe went 3-0 ahead with Connors still unable to establish any sort of rhythm in the face of Ashe’s. controlled aggression and precision.

When a spectator called: “Come on, Connors,” the champion replied: “I’m trying, for Christ’s sake.”

Ashe’s run of eight successive games was halted when Connors hold service in the fourth game of the second set to reduce the deficit to 3-1.

But another service break in the sixth game-the most even of the match so far-gave Ashe a 5-1 lead and his succession of pinpoint lobs and masterly passing shots continued to cause big problems for the defending champion.

Ashe dropped three set points in the seventh game before coming back to clinch the second set 6-1 in 24 minutes when Connors drove a backhand into the net.

Connors began to show rare glimpses of form when he held his serve at the start of the third set, Ashe reacted by conceding a double fault. his third so far, early in the next game but settled down again to level at 1-1 with some superb volleying at the net.

The power of Ashe’s serve was leaving Connors with very little room in which to manoeuvre and Ashe snapped up another break for a 3-3 lead and seemed to have the title within his grasp.

But Connors responded by breaking Ashe’s service for the first time to go level at three games each.

The defending champion, muttering furiously to himself between points in an effort to psych himself up to a challenging position, threw everything into holding his serve in the next game after Ashe had missed two points for a break.

As the crisis approached Connors raised the level of his game and held on to lead 5-4, games going with service.

Connors, fighting for his life, held on to lead 6-5 and then produced a crushing forehand return to service one of the bravest shots of the match -to take the third set 7-4 in 46 minutes.

Ashe’s service was beginning to lack some of its earlier power and precision and the defending champion pulled out another brilliant forehand return to break through in the second game of the fourth set for a 2-0 lead.

Connors, his play at the net at long last hitting top gear, was 15-40 down on has serve in the next game but man, aged to dig out a string of hard-bit volleys to recover for a 3-0 lead.

After breaking Connors’ serve for the eighth time in the two-hour five minute match. Ashe served for the title at 3-4 in the fourth set.

Choking back tears, Ashe accepted the Wimbledon Trophy from the Duke of Kent, cousin of Queen Elizabeth II.

Young Americans Sandy Mayer and Vitas Gerulaitis won the men’s doubles yesterday when in a final between two unseeded pairs they beat Rhodesian Colin Dowdeswell and Alan Stone of Australia 7-5, 8-0, 6-4.

Mayer and Gerulaitis are the first American pair to win the men’s doubles title at Wimbledon since Garder Mulloy and Budge Patty in 1959.

Men’s Doubles final: Vitas Gerulaitis and Sandy Meyer (U S.) b Colin Dowdeswell (Rhodesia) and Alan Stone (Australia) 7-5. 8-8, 6-4.