Tennis · 1975 · London, England
Ashe's Tactical Masterclass
At 31, Arthur Ashe takes the pace out of the match entirely to out-think defending champion Jimmy Connors, and becomes the first Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title.
Ashe def. Connors, 6-1, 6-1, 6-7, 6-4
Result
31
Age
First Black man to win Wimbledon singles
Distinction
Jimmy Connors arrived at the 1975 Wimbledon final as defending champion and firm favourite, a devastatingly powerful baseline player at the peak of his game. Arthur Ashe was 31 and given little chance by most observers, and he came with a plan built specifically to starve Connors of the pace he thrived on: soft, varied shots, chips, lobs and constant changes of rhythm.
It worked immediately and completely. Ashe took the first two sets 6-1, 6-1, frustrating Connors into errors nobody associated with him, before Connors fought back to take the third. Ashe steadied it and closed the match out 6-4 in the fourth.
The win made Ashe the first Black man to win the Wimbledon singles title, and he remains the only one. The result is remembered alongside the thinking that produced it, which is not usually how upsets get filed.
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