Gonzales patience paid dividends


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There was a time when the best players in the world were excluded from Wimbledon. The four grand slam championships observed a strict "amateur only" policy. Such was the hypocrisy within the game that when the Australian Roy Emerson turned up in Paris for the French Championships each year, organisers would offer him US$1,000 (Dh3,670) to complete some form of bogus challenge.

In 1968 it was agreed to confine "shamateurism" to the dustbin of sporting history and embrace the members of the "outlawed" professional game; it was an invitation that came 20 years too late for Pancho Gonzales who was aged 40 when the French Open became the first Grand Slam event to welcome back those such as Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad. Even so, Gonzales, old wrinkly that he was, reached the semi-finals - beating Emerson along the way - before bowing to Laver.

Over the days of June 24-25 the following summer, Gonzales provided the Centre Court audience with a glimpse of what they had been missing during his years on the professional circuit when he contested what was arguably the longest match in Wimbledon history. With the opening day's play all but washed out, tournament referee Mike Gibson was determined to cram in as many matches as possible on the Tuesday and by the time Gonzales and his protege Charlie Pasarell - 16 years his junior at 25 - left the locker-room for their first round match at 6.30pm, it was into an already gloomy Centre Court they stepped.

The tennis was of the brightest aspect, however, pitting the athleticism of Pasarell against the guile of the old master. From 4-5 in the first set, Gonzales held serve 18 times - saving 11 set points along the way - before his ageing limbs won the argument over his indomitable spirit and he was finally broken allowing Pasarell to take the set 24-22 (tie-breaks are also a fairly recent phenomenon).

By now 9pm, all London was shrouded in darkness but as Gonzales began packing away his rackets in preparation for a well-earned soak in the bathtub came the order from Gibson: Play on. How can I play when I can't see?" growled Gonzales to umpire Harold Duncombe, perched on high in overcoat and hat. Offering imprecations to the lowering heavens, an angry Gonzales made no effort in the second set that Pasarell won 6-1 in 15 ugly minutes before being granted the right to stop work for the day.

With Pasarell requiring only one set for victory - when play resumed at 2pm the following afternoon - no-one could have envisaged that the curtains were about to open on the real drama. Game after scintillating game went with serve until Pasarell, serving at 14-15, cracked under the tension by delivering successive double-faults. Having been offered an unexpected lifeline, Gonzales ripped through the fourth set 6-3, but quite unbelievably - with the 41-year-old wilting - the best was yet to come; the climactic fifth set would be the stuff of legend.

At 4-5 0-40, Gonzales produced inspired tennis to save three match points although it was only after seven deuces that he held serve to level at 5-5. The next crisis was around the next corner; at 5-6 0-40, Pasarell held another three match points only for "Houdini" Gonzales to escape with an explosive smash, an exquisitely angled volley and a lightning ace. After five hours 12 minutes and 112 games, it was Gonzales who emerged victorious, the Centre Court scoreboard reading 22-24, 1-6, 16-14, 6-3, 11-9; Pancho Rides Again! trumpeted The Times of Fleet Street.

rphilip@thenational.ae

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Brief scores:

Toss: Nepal, chose to field

UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23

Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17

Result: UAE won by 21 runs

Series: UAE lead 1-0

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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  • Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?

The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.

Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.

New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.

“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.

The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.

The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.

Bloomberg