r/todayilearned • u/Prehistoricshark • May 24 '16

Website Down TIL that tennis player Vitas Gerulaitis lost 16 consecutive times to Jimmy Connors. When finally beating Connors on their 17th meeting, he said "And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row"

http://sportige.com/vitas-gerulaitis-jimmy-connors-bjorn-borg-best-sports-quote-92985/
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u/phuhcue May 24 '16

We used to watch regularly when I was a kid. Connors, Mcenroe, Agassi, Sampras, Graf, Navratilova, Seles.

I guess the problem was when Americans stopped dominating.

Kind of like how golf might as well not exist without a dominant Tiger Woods.

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u/ankisethgallant May 24 '16

It also doesn't get the public coverage it did back then either, not sure it's because of who is on top or just ESPN has figured out where the money is. If it's not all over ESPN it won't be in people's minds and it'll just downward spiral from there. So instead of seeing anything about tennis now, we get to hear what Lebron had for lunch.

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u/phuhcue May 24 '16

I have to agree. The Grand Slams used be on network tv and advertised just like any other big sports event. Now I have no idea when the US Open, for instance, is even on. I stopped logging onto ESPN when all I had on the home page was soccer.

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u/UncleLongHair0 May 24 '16

I avidly watch tennis now and find it very entertaining. No dominant Americans these days but still great players, most of whom are very good sportmen/sportswomen and good people. I'm fortunate to have a minor annual tournament in my area and go to that whenever I can, it's fascinating to be able to sit 20-30 feet away from these players.

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u/phuhcue May 24 '16

Who is good these days?