October 6th may go unnoticed to millions of people around the world, but I'm quite sure it is a meaningful date for a large amount of those who's birthday is celebrated on this date -including me-. For tennis pundits, it also marks the birth anniversary of one of the greatest female tennis players of all time, which got me thinking of the subject I write in today's entry.
Whether if you believe in astrology or not, I think it always makes up for an interesting conversation topic; that is, to talk about similarities and coincidences certain people have in common due to the period they were born. It gets even more interesting when we relate it to a sport we love as much as tennis. Anyway, enough prelude... let's get down to business!
Helen Wills Moody was born on October 6th 1905 and she rose to tennis stardom in the mid 20s and 30s, dominating the tour for over ten years and tearing apart any rival that came across the net. Some current tennis fans may not remember her because history has been unfair to legends of the past -both male and female- such as Bill Tilden, Pancho Gonzales, Suzanne Leglen and of course Helen Wills. Wills' resume of course is by no means anything to be forgotten: she won 7 US Open, 8 Wimbledon and 4 French Open tournaments, and she also won an Olympic Gold Medal. Born in California, Wills has been labeled as the first female American athlete to gain fame and recognition over the world. Her calm demeanor in the court earned her the nickname "Little Miss Poker Face", kind of alluding to the fact that it was impossible to get a reaction or any emotion at all from her while on court -winning or not-. One thing for sure was, when she was on, she meant business. In a nutshell, one could say she was a proud holder of the sign of Libra. But what does that have to do with tennis?
While reminiscing Helen Wills, her greatness and her legacy, I asked myself: "What makes a Champion great? Is there something in common Champions have?" Well, here's the thing. Have you ever asked yourself who are the greatest male tennis players of all time? If I go out and survey 1,000 people -mostly tennis geeks- I'm quite sure three names will appear regularly as answers:
Rod Laver
Pete Sampras
Roger Federer
Rod "The Rocket" was born on August 9th, making him a Leo. "Pistol" Pete was born on August 12th, also making him Leo. "The Swiss Maestro" Roger was born on August 8th, making him... guess what? Leo. I find this quite amazing... the fact that three of the greatest tennis players are Leo and interestingly enough, born within four days apart. In fact, Roger (born in 1981) is almost 10 years younger than Pete to date (born in 1971). If you take a look at both careers, you'll see they even look quite similar:
Take out Pete's 1990 US Open, Roger and Pete began winning slams regularly in a year ending in 3 (93 and 03), both coincidentally at Wimbledon.
Both went on to win at least a slam every year except for the year ending in 1(2001 and 2011), and both came back to claim another slam in the year ending on 2 (Pete 2002 US Open and Roger 2012 Wimbledon).
Both struggled at France (alright, Roger ended up winning it).
Both failed to win an olympic gold medal.
Now let's assume the people from the poll are a little bit more spread on opinion and threw in a few more names other than Rod, Pete and Roger. I'm quite sure the other group would consist of either:
Bjorn Borg
Rafael Nadal
and maybe even
Novak Djokovic
The "Iceborg" was born on June 6th; "Vamos Rafa" was born on June 3rd, and the "Djoker" was born on May 22nd. All three are powerful baseliners, all three had relentless speed and oncourt energy and all three were...yes... Gemini.
So going back to the women's side, things get even spicier when we look at the legacy left by Libra Helen Wills. Of course, you have to be a bit permissive: What names would you include in a list of best female tennis players of all time? Apart from Helen Wills, I would go with:
Martina Navratilova: even if you label her as best or not, you have to name her best serve and volley female player of all time. Hello? Nine Wimbledons? Too much. Her birthdate is October 18th, making her Libra.
Serena Williams: there is never enough room to praise the talent and conviction Serena has brought to female tennis. Perhaps her being born on September 26th hepled a bit. Libra? Yes.
Martina Hingis: I may be jumping the line a little bit here by including her in such an exclusive list, but in order to defend myself I have to say that I have never seen such beautiful strokes on court, combined with such amazing tactical and strategic approach to the game. She was smart if not the smartest on court I've ever seen. And, she is Libra.
I know what you're thining... where is Steffi Graff? Don't worry... she's there...but oh ....she was born on June 14th: Gemini. mmmm right there with Rafa, Novak and Bjorn.
I guess that if you have a boy kid who is Leo or Gemini, you should give him a racket on his next birthday... and do the same if it's a Libra girl.
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