"Defeated Manuel Santana in the first round at Wimbledon in 1967. Lost a match that was the second-longest ever played there. Last player Rod Laver ever beat in a ATP match."
Charlie wasn't exactly a poor player, although he was never really that great. But that didn't stop him from participating in three memorable matches on the tennis court. Pasarell was the top player in the US in 1966, and served notice the next year at Wimbledon to the defending champion.
Manuel Santana had won at the All England Club in '66, but Charlie stood in his path for a repeat. Right in the first round. The 1967 first round match went the way of the underdog Pasarell, who broke Santana at 6-6 (There was no tie-breaker then) in the fourth set at love, then won the next four sets on his own serve! Charlie won his next two matches before losing a five-setter in the round of sixteen to Brazilian Thomas Koch.
Then came two heart-breakers at that tournament. Second round of '68, he looked poised to put the great Ken Rosewall away when Charlie grabbed a two-one lead in sets. The Australian escaped, 7-9, 6-1, 6-8, 6-2, 6-3.
It was a similar story the next year. Pancho Gonzalez was back at Wimbledon for just the second time since 1949, having turned pro the next year. The 41-year old looked to be in big trouble in his first round match against Pasarell when he dropped the first set 24-22, and the second 6-1. Pancho was angry that the match had continued after the first set, when he felt it was too dark.
So the next day, just past 2:40, play resumed. Pancho looked like he'd get back into it. He had set points and Pasarell saved the first seven before dropping the third set, 16-14. Hey! Pancho was right back in it! Took him "just" 88 minutes! And he really played well the next set. Pancho broke at 4-3, and then served it out! Two sets all.
But alas, it really seemed all over. Down 4-5 in the deciding set, Gonzalez. A missed lob, a Gonzalez super serve, and another missed lob. Deuce! Gonzalez held. But Pasarell then held for 6-5 and again won the first three points on Gonzalez' serve! But you couldn't keep the old man out of this thing. An overhead. 15-40. A volley. 30-40. A big serve. 40-40! Gonzalez held.
Funny, you'd think Charlie would fold quickly after this. Not so. He held for 7-6. Gonzalez held. But at 8-7, Charlie had his last match point. Another lob. Out. Gonzalez and Pasarell traded holds. 9-8. But amazingly enough, that was it for Charlie. Pancho went into god-mode. A hold. A break at love. Another hold, again at love! Pancho had won the 112-game match! It had taken over five hours. And until the Isner / Mahut classic of 2010 (Same round, ironically enough), it stood as the longest match in Wimbledon history.
Did the loss hurt Charles? Well, he made the third round there in 1970. Gonzalez continued on playing, too. Did he torment Pasarell?
He added two more titles to his name in '69. He met up again with Pasarell three years later at the Clean Air Classic. It was the championship match and this time it was the younger player who walked away with it all, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The best player in the world around this time was the Australian, Rod Laver. But that year, Charlie beat him in the round of sixteen at Miami. But six years later, they met again. Same round. Sarasota, Florida.
Rod was around 40 years old himself. Charlie was about 34. Laver won 6-2, 7-6. Pat Dupre stopped the Rocket in the quarter-finals, and Laver's last match was a losing effort against fellow Aussie John Alexander in Las Vegas the following year.
References
Callery, Sean. The Pictorial History of Tennis. New York: Gallery, 1990. Print.
Collins, Bud. The Bud Collins History Of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia And Record Book. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: New Chapter, 2010. Print.
Haylett, John, and Richard Evans. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Tennis. New York: Exeter, 1989. Print.
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. "Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis." ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>
Robertson, Max. Wimbledon: Centre Court Of The Game; Final Verdict. Print. BBC Books, 1987. Print.
Tennisarchives, Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <www.tennisarchives.com/>.
Youtube. Youtube, Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
Manuel Santana had won at the All England Club in '66, but Charlie stood in his path for a repeat. Right in the first round. The 1967 first round match went the way of the underdog Pasarell, who broke Santana at 6-6 (There was no tie-breaker then) in the fourth set at love, then won the next four sets on his own serve! Charlie won his next two matches before losing a five-setter in the round of sixteen to Brazilian Thomas Koch.
Then came two heart-breakers at that tournament. Second round of '68, he looked poised to put the great Ken Rosewall away when Charlie grabbed a two-one lead in sets. The Australian escaped, 7-9, 6-1, 6-8, 6-2, 6-3.
It was a similar story the next year. Pancho Gonzalez was back at Wimbledon for just the second time since 1949, having turned pro the next year. The 41-year old looked to be in big trouble in his first round match against Pasarell when he dropped the first set 24-22, and the second 6-1. Pancho was angry that the match had continued after the first set, when he felt it was too dark.
So the next day, just past 2:40, play resumed. Pancho looked like he'd get back into it. He had set points and Pasarell saved the first seven before dropping the third set, 16-14. Hey! Pancho was right back in it! Took him "just" 88 minutes! And he really played well the next set. Pancho broke at 4-3, and then served it out! Two sets all.
But alas, it really seemed all over. Down 4-5 in the deciding set, Gonzalez. A missed lob, a Gonzalez super serve, and another missed lob. Deuce! Gonzalez held. But Pasarell then held for 6-5 and again won the first three points on Gonzalez' serve! But you couldn't keep the old man out of this thing. An overhead. 15-40. A volley. 30-40. A big serve. 40-40! Gonzalez held.
Funny, you'd think Charlie would fold quickly after this. Not so. He held for 7-6. Gonzalez held. But at 8-7, Charlie had his last match point. Another lob. Out. Gonzalez and Pasarell traded holds. 9-8. But amazingly enough, that was it for Charlie. Pancho went into god-mode. A hold. A break at love. Another hold, again at love! Pancho had won the 112-game match! It had taken over five hours. And until the Isner / Mahut classic of 2010 (Same round, ironically enough), it stood as the longest match in Wimbledon history.
Did the loss hurt Charles? Well, he made the third round there in 1970. Gonzalez continued on playing, too. Did he torment Pasarell?
He added two more titles to his name in '69. He met up again with Pasarell three years later at the Clean Air Classic. It was the championship match and this time it was the younger player who walked away with it all, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.
The best player in the world around this time was the Australian, Rod Laver. But that year, Charlie beat him in the round of sixteen at Miami. But six years later, they met again. Same round. Sarasota, Florida.
Rod was around 40 years old himself. Charlie was about 34. Laver won 6-2, 7-6. Pat Dupre stopped the Rocket in the quarter-finals, and Laver's last match was a losing effort against fellow Aussie John Alexander in Las Vegas the following year.
References
Callery, Sean. The Pictorial History of Tennis. New York: Gallery, 1990. Print.
Collins, Bud. The Bud Collins History Of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia And Record Book. 2nd ed. Washington, D.C.: New Chapter, 2010. Print.
Haylett, John, and Richard Evans. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of World Tennis. New York: Exeter, 1989. Print.
Infosys, FedEx, Peugeot, and LeSports. "Official Site of Men's Professional Tennis | ATP World Tour | Tennis." ATP World Tour. Emirates. Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <http://www.atpworldtour.com/>
Robertson, Max. Wimbledon: Centre Court Of The Game; Final Verdict. Print. BBC Books, 1987. Print.
Tennisarchives, Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <www.tennisarchives.com/>.
Youtube. Youtube, Web. 01 Dec. 2018. <https://www.youtube.com/>.
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