Exciting telephone conversation between Barcelona and California with Roy Emerson (86 years old), tennis legend, three titles in singles and seven in doubles in his beloved Godó Trophy, and although nobody has it in mind, the tennis player with the most Grand Slam in history , 28. Six more than Nadal and Djokovic, who only have 22. Emerson was a giant, one of the last, of the amateur era, where money was scarce and the world of tennis was light years from today.
Today extreme rivalry prevails, at that time, recalls the Australian tennis player, camaraderie was in command even though his rivals were called Neale Fraser, Rod Laver, Manolo Santana, Fred Stolle... Emerson has a special affection for Godó and this exclusive interview with Magazine he demonstrates it loudly: "Going to compete at Godó was wonderful." His last visit was 12 years ago, when it was 50 years since his first triumph at Tennis Barcelona.
Does it hurt you that no one remembers your absolute record?
The truth is, no. I remember myself and for me that is the important thing. I have 28 grand, more than anyone.
To look at the beginnings of Godó is to talk about you, to a world that no longer exists and in which you reigned. What memories do you have of your finals in Barcelona?
The truth is that I think of those years and I remember how much fun I had. It was a fun tournament and definitely one of my favorites. I was talking about it before with Joy, my wife, we enjoyed going to Barcelona and then we also brought our daughter who followed the circuit with us. Knows? The atmosphere of the tournament is special, it has class. People were very well dressed, to the nines. Going to compete in Godó was wonderful. Sometimes my wife would miss my matches and escape to watch bullfights. So she had no one to encourage me (laughs).
In your time, in tournaments you didn't always stay in hotels?
In Barcelona yes, it was a hotel with views. The truth is that on each visit I enjoyed the city, it is a great city. I have been coming. The last time was in 2011, when they gave me a very nice commemorative trophy for my victories. These days, remembering I saw a photo and saw that it was that year.
His first victory was in...
…in 1961, because I lost the final two years before to Neale Fraser in four sets. But the next three finals that I played in I won them all, two against Manolo Santana and another with Juan Couder.
What a memory. He remembers everything!
I remember a lot of things, and the ones I don't do my homework and review my record (laughs). I had doubts about some data, some year... I don't have a prodigious memory.
From his years to 2011, tennis is a different sport…
The only thing that seemed the same to me was the surface, the brick dust. I don't remember who won that year... Nadal right?
Indeed. Just like he had to adapt to grass to win at Wimbledon, you went the other way, you had to get used to clay. Did it cost you a lot?
It took me a bit, but not a lot. At first I didn't adapt as I wanted, but I understood that with a good serve and holding from the back I could play very long points, with that and my volleys, which were my natural game, I could also go up to the net. I mixed two styles.
When they came to Europe they spent months here...
Yes, when we finished the Australian circuit, which was held in various territories of the country, we left Australia and did not return until many months later, in September-October. We went around the world. First we would go to Europe, then to Great Britain, from there to the United States and the Caribbean, then Latin America. When we crossed the pond we used to start in Saint Petersburg, Florida, then Miami, San Juan (Puerto Rico). Today it is similar, but now you return home after a few weeks, not before. At that time we played up to 40 tournaments...
Today it's hard to understand all that, how they traveled, where they stayed, if they barely earned money because it was the amateur era. There were players who did receive weekly sponsorship money, but sometimes you turned it down.
The truth is that you practically didn't see money, neither in tournaments nor in grand slams. Sometimes they paid us for the hotel, sometimes they gave you a small cash prize of a hundred dollars.
Excuse me, but then, how did you make a living?
The truth is that we lived as we could. In Australia we bought an open ticket with which you could go around the world and it was not very expensive. Life was like that and it wasn't bad at all. We would go on tour and when we weren't staying in a hotel, especially in the United States, we would go to rooms in private houses. When we were in London, several players shared apartments because if you played Queens and Wimbledon you were there for a month. When I married Joy we were already looking for a place for the two of us. Over time I began to collaborate with Philip Morris, the tobacco company, and with Slazenger, the sports brand.
I repeat, some players of your time were paid a lot, you wanted to continue being an amateur.
The truth is that I didn't have much money and I didn't care either. I didn't accept it and I wasn't worried about rejecting it. He accepted small amounts for planes, hotels because he had to survive, it was not a question of sleeping on the street.
Until a few years ago, one could imagine his game by following some tennis players who won matches with their serve and volley. Is there any left or is it an extinct species?
I don't think so, there's no one left because the serve and volley is hardly visible, we used to make a lot of lobs to throw off our rivals and today you don't see so much anymore. All the players are afraid to serve and immediately go up to volley and they will be passed and they will be in evidence. That explains everything. In my time there were about 120 players on the circuit, almost all of them played the drive and the backhand with one hand, today it's just the opposite. Almost all play two-handed. So, very few played like that.
There are many rackets from his time hanging in the dining room of Tennis Barcelona. In addition to being made of wood, the surface of the string is tiny.
The rackets we had were small, weighing about 14 ounces (about 400 grams) and had a small round head. Those of now are from another galaxy. Look, the game is so fast nowadays. It's just about hitting it hard. It is all might. There is no finesse left. In my years you must have had art, I don't know about 15, 20 or 25 effective blows. Today it is played robot style. You see one point and the next one is exactly the same. I think that all this has helped the game on the women's circuit, but not on the men's. Everyone has a very powerful serve.
And what would the Roy Emerson of the sixties do playing in 2023 with the materials of today?
The only thing I know is that I would not play points as long as today, I would invent something to finish them before. If everyone plays the same, you're going to be on the court for hours and hours. Before, more was played with anticipation.
Do you feel like you were ahead of your time?
Look, in my time there were great athletes and a large dose of sportsmanship, of chivalry. And that spirit has disappeared from many sports today. In tennis there are some examples, Nadal perhaps... There was a lot of sportsmanship and that's how we were raised. Honestly, I wouldn't want to be playing on tour today, all that shouting, raising my fist in a victorious way… We didn't do that.
Today the whole world is watching how that duel between Nadal and Djokovic turns out with Federer as a spectator. The rivalry is on the surface, you play with that.
It wasn't like that between us, not at all. We would travel, train and party together. We kept each other company. I remember that when I played the Wimbledon final against Fred Stolle in 1964 we were in the same apartment, we went to the stadium in the same car. In the previous training sessions we trained together. Of course we did not have a masseur, psychologist, tax officer or nutritionist...
…No press officers…
(laughs) There was little to no entourage. It was us and our rackets. And of course, we had no coach. If we hardly received any money, how were we going to pay a coach?
And how did they learn?
Well, thinking about our mistakes in each game, it's that simple. Today you already have coaches to tell you. So we studied our rivals.
The batch of Australian players from those years is second to none.
In Australia, in our early years we had a coach, Harry Hopman, who instilled in us discipline and the importance of fitness, of always being at your best. Hopman told us that you couldn't miss any game by making excuses for your physical condition, that you had to prepare very well for the Grand Slams and the Davis Cup, the tournaments with which you go down in history. That you had to be prepared to play singles and doubles. Play a five-set match one day. And the next, too... and in the fifth, be strong to win the match.
He reminded me of Novak Djokovic. It took the Serbian a little bit to beat his record of victories at the Australian Open...
And when he did, I said, "I know you've surpassed my mark." The truth? He was pissed off that he passed me by (laughs).
Mr. Emerson, Lis Arilla will also appear on these pages. You always beat him, but not because of that, but because Arilla is a living history of tennis and Godó.
Ooooh, what a surprise that gives me. I have very good memories of him, his brother Alberto, Andrés Gimeno, Manolo Santana and we shared a lot of time off the slopes. And in Barcelona they welcomed us as if we were family.
