Cliff Drysdale
I've always known the name Cliff Drysdale lumped in there with all the great players from the sixties and seventies. But was he really that good? And is he a good analyst/ announcer in your opinion?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by BlueShirt on -
Hey there.
He's is waaaaaaaaay before my time. But as an analyst/commentator, I used to like him. He's never biased towards any certain player and he can pronounce just about every name. But lately, he's been giving the wrong score and attributes stats and such to the wrong player. He doesn't realize he's doing these thing til a couple of change overs later.
I'd like to know more about him as a player though. I know he is the only player to ever play with a glove. He did make a good point about that, concerning blisters.
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Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on -
Wow, I didn't know he subscribed to the freaky practice of glove-wearing.
This bit is from wikipedia:
During his career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles including winning the 1972 U.S. Open doubles crown. Drysdale changed his nationality from South African to American after retiring as a player.
Here's a pic of a Cliff later in his carrer (darn, no glove here):
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Permalink Reply by Admin on
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That backhand just doesn't look that sound. Damn, it looks like mine! And notice where Cliffy's eyes are... not on the ball like Fed. I think a lot of the pros form the 80s would hold a candle to the current bunch.
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Permalink Reply by BlueShirt on
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LOL! Maybe this pic was taken during a practice session? Hopefully his backhand was better-lookin in competition.
Thanks for the career achievment stuff, archibot =) I'll try to find a glove-wearin pic.
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Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on
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I looked for the glove but didn't see one. Maybe he used it earlier on. Was there another pro with a glove?
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Ha! I found one. It seemed to be mid career. I found early and late pics with no glove.
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Permalink Reply by Mark / The Mayor on
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Yeah, I don't mind him at all. I hear a lot of peeps bash old Cliffy, but I think he plays a good "straight man" against Carillo or one of the Macs.
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Permalink Reply by ThePoet on -
I think they bash him because sometimes he acts like a dummy when it is obvious he is not. But I think those people do not understand the concept of the straight man and the color commentator. Cliffy is great. I know many people bash Pmac but I like him too and his brother ofcourse.
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Permalink Reply by mikeindo on -
i dont know about great, but he was was one of the early guys to play the newly formed pro tour and his, uh, popularity with the ladies (gasp!) didnt exactly hurt the popularity of the sport. Looks like he won the US Open doubles once - see what else he did here: http://www.atptennis.com/3/en/players/playerprofiles/titles.asp?pla...
he and fred stolle in the 80s (and early 90s?) were a good on-air team. now, it seems he and patrick mcenroe kinda bicker at each other. as if they dont get along off-camera and it's showing on-air. it's sometimes a little uncomfortable. knowledgeable guy, sure.
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Permalink Reply by Terence on -
I don't know about him as a player either, but I like him as a commentator. I think he's a good middle man between more provocative personalities like Mary Carillo and or absolute dummies like that "Bill" guy, whose name I can't remember. And he's able to get a good discussion going between less seasoned commentators like Pam Shriver or Mary Joe or Patrick McEnroe.
And his accent is nice to listen to, as well. :-)
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