Arthur Ashe has played some of the most famous and important matches in tennis history. He played epic matches in Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and other remarkable events. In Davis Cup, perhaps his most famous competition was actually a loss.
The Scene was Guayaquil, Ecuador for the USA vs. Ecuador matches and Cliff Richey, Ashe’s teammate and friend, documented one of the craziest Davis Cup matches in US history in his book “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” which not only outlines Richey’s discovery, struggle and management of his depression but also many of the most significant Happies in Men’s Tennis in The Last 1960s and Early 1970S. The book is for sale and download here: https://a.co/d/0rh7rjw
The fragment can be read below.
Just like in Europe, all courts in South America Clay Courts – were not the most favorable surface for Americans. I was mentioned to play singles against their top two boys in competitions that were the best three-five sets. Davis Cup consisted of three days of competitions: two singles on the first day, one double on the second day, and then two singles again on the last day. Arthur Ashe was also in the American team and I certainly considered myself a better Clay Court player than he did. In fact, we were worried about Arthur on clay. Clay was a good surface for me and we were not worried about the Doubles, because at that time Marty Riessen and Clark Graebner were the number 2-ranged double team in the world. We thought, “We can’t lose the doubles.” The Ecuadorian players were not preferred to win; But again, they played on their home grass.
That week we stayed in a nice hotel in Guayaquil, the Coastal Ecuadorian City where the matches were played, arriving a week before the games to prepare for the circumstances. We were organized by the Ecuadorians, so they gave the practical courts at the Tennis Club. The only problem was that they gave us the rear jobs. In fact, we routinely received a court who was located next to a house with a PET Mynah bird in the back garden. That damn bird laughed at us all week! We thought it was deliberately that they assigned us to that court.
Most of our practical sessions include exercises with some competition game. At the time, the tennis balls came in boxes, no cans. The boxes were not put under pressure, so the balls died much faster. But at least all pro stores would have piles of empty boxes that we could use for exercises. We would take the empty boxes and put them in the corner of the field. The idea was to try to turn the boxes. Nobody in the team enjoyed doing exercises except me. To convince Graebner to do exercises, MacCall would give him 50 cents for each box he hit.
When the first day of competition came, the Ecuadorian crowd was very excited – they loved their beer for sure. The Guayaquil Lawn Tennis Club had temporary grandstands of Houten planks that could keep 2,000 fans. I was the first to take the field and played my first singles match against Pancho Guzmán, the number 2 player of Ecuador. I beat him in four sets to give us an early 1-0 lead. Arthur then followed to play the most experienced player of Ecuador, Miguel Olvera, who was not as feared as Guzmán, a man who was already in the thirty, but still a decent player. Surprisingly, Olvera Arthur took out and won three straight sets after Arthur won the first set. So after the first day it was 1-1 bound. The crowd was noisy, but under control and not too bad.
The next day Graebner and Riessen Olvera and Guzmán played in Doubles. Our team preferred to win a lot, but crazy things can sometimes happen in Davis Cup and we lost 8-6 in the fifth set. Now our ass was really in a crack. We were 2-1 to the small Ole Ecuador.
The first match of the last day was Guzmán against Ashe, followed by me against Olvera. Arthur had to beat Guzmán in the first game to keep us alive. Then my match with Olvera would be the decision maker. While Arthur was playing, I had the radio in the hotel and I listened to his game. The most important weapon of Guzmán was a really good forehand. So when I listened to this competition in Spanish, I kept hearing ‘Bueno Forehand’. I heard “Bueno Forehand” much the old Shamateur game too much to my taste. I could see what happened: Guzmán hit him. On one set of everything I greeted a taxi and went to the stadium. Just when I got there, the crowd went into a roar. I walked to the dressing room and asked what had happened. Arthur had just lost the third set, so he was two-set-to-one down. Everyone was in the dressing room during the 15 -minute break between the third and fourth sets. I saw Arthur sitting in front of his closet, dazed. Maccall stormed in, hit his hand through a metal safe and said, “If we lose this damn game, I will eat that damn clay !!” Arthur was almost comatose. I kneeled for Arthur and got his attention: “Art, he clocks over your ass and you lose.” He agreed. I coached him not to get to the net; Instead, he must try to focus on the basic line. When the game resumed in the fourth set, Arthur recorded my advice and did not come to the net once and won the fourth set 6-0! He did exactly what I told him. He played a defensive game. On two sets all, while they went into the fifth set, I was on the side of the field and looked.
I expected that I would have to play the decisive match with Arthur who held the momentum. But Arthur went back to his oldstyle competition and lost 6-3 in the fifth. I asked him later in the dressing room what happened. He said he didn’t think he could finish him with such a defensive game. Guzmán won the game due to the curious Scorelijn of 0-6, 6-4, 6-2, 0-6, 6-3. Ecuador had defeated the United States in one of the greatest disturbances in the history of the event.
After the last point, the crowd of pandemonium entered. The Ecuadorian captain tried to jump on to hug Guzmán. He didn’t get enough air and his foot caught in the net. He fell and broke his leg. He came back to coach during my match with a cast. So we had an American coach with a broken hand and an Ecuadorian coach with a broken leg!
Despite the result that the game has already been established, I had to play the fifth, pointless match. Without tickets for the competitions, Ecuadorian students, who wanted to be part of the scene and the celebration of the upset victory on the Americans, tried in the stadium. The students threw stones on the field while I played. Rocks began to rain everywhere. The crowd almost called to switch straps. It then became clear that Olvera started ‘refueling’ the game to me (throwing away). During the break I sat down on the couch and said to our captain: “George, he doesn’t try. I don’t understand – why?” Maccall said evasively: “I’ll tell you when the game is over.” I demanded, “No, I want to know now.” My captain admitted Ruefly: “He is afraid that if he hits you, there will be a riot. He just wants to leave here. When the game is over, don’t come back here. Run to the dressing room immediately and I will take your things with you.” I defeated Olvera 5-7, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 6-0! He refueled. It is no longer what could have happened if that match had lasted much longer.
That United States vs. Ecuador Davis Cup match was just as messy as you would ever want to participate. Rocks fly, mynah birds call, captains with broken body parts – this was not the glamorous world tour that I thought I had registered!
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