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bakerzdosen t1_jd2xw3n wrote

I remember absolutely hating her back in the day. I mean, I hated the athlete who seemingly constantly beat whomever I was cheering for, not the person.

She was just frighteningly dominant at times.

So, even as someone who was never her biggest fan, I’m thrilled to hear this news. I hope she has many more happy and cancer-free years ahead of her.

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McRambis t1_jd3esee wrote

I know what you mean. I was always rooting for someone else as a kid and I don't know why I never clicked with her. As an adult I totally respect her and consider her to be one of the greatest tennis players ever.

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bakerzdosen t1_jd3g05m wrote

I’ve thought about it a bit since making that comment.

I think not only was it about rooting for the underdog or similar, it was just that she wasn’t as personable of a player. In her post-playing years you got to see a bit more of her personality, but when she was playing, she kinda came across as that stereotypical eastern-bloc Ivan Drago-type athlete.

That made it easy to dislike her - especially in the Cold War climate during which she played.

These days I don’t think of her that way at all, but at the time, according to my own (potentially faulty) memory, her interviews and the political climate of the day made her seem… cold.

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McRambis t1_jd3ktxc wrote

I understand. For me it was probably because Evert was prettier. That's was probably enough for <10yo me to root against her.

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bakerzdosen t1_jd3qm9t wrote

Not gonna disagree there. I’m sure there was some of that for me as well.

Now explain why ≈7-10 year old me liked Borg over McEnroe. :P

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Homers_Harp t1_jd4d1hf wrote

Her career for me was one of continuously-increasing respect from me. I mean, she kept beating my favorite players until I had to acknowledge just how great she was.

Plus, late in her career, a buddy and I were walking around Aspen and spotted her hitting with a partner on an outdoor court. Seeing her in person, crushing the ball over and over while clearly not even trying was something to watch. Eventually, the guy she was hitting with messed up and she immediately waved and said “hi” as if she had been waiting to be nice the first instant she could stop hitting.

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bakerzdosen t1_jd4j2h7 wrote

That’s the thing though: NOW (or maybe better said: post competition) she’s has seemed like a fantastic human being - or at least a decent above-average one.

That’s why my memories of her frustrate me: either I got it entirely wrong or she has changed a lot.

It’s probably a combination of both though. And I have a tough time judging someone for not being very good at being famous - especially in their 20’s…

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Homers_Harp t1_jd4jtz6 wrote

I’ve heard it said that the best doubles team in the history of tennis was John McEnroe and anybody else. After watching Martina’s career, I dunno. Seems like her doubles play was at that same level as McEnroe.

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