I can remember being riveted to the 1991 U.S. Open--the year Jimmy Connors advanced to the semis at age 39, capturing the attention of the world with his dramatic come-from-behind wins along the way. After each match, he had to be hooked up to an IV and he could barely walk the next day. As I recall, I was mystified by this: he wasn't THAT old after all. How could a tennis match take that much out of him?
Having played three sets of doubles this evening, I now can fully appreciate Jimbo's position. Even though I wasn't playing at a world class level, I feel stiff all over tonight. The body doesn't recover like it used to!
(By the way, I ended up attending the Open men's singles final in 1991 with Choate captain Case Maner, seeing Stefan Edberg dismantle Jim Courier in straight sets.)
