Well, I'm enroute to the farm in game-rich Andes, folks, but I will post from there over the weekend (probably just once, though). We still have to get to our year-end citations and awards, right? Anyway, here are the answers to yesterday's pop quiz. Don't be bashful about telling us all how well - or poorly - you did!
1 - C: Kramer thought attacking tennis was the key to winning (of course, we that was in his fast-court era).
2 - Noah could not hit a flat or topspin backhand service return. He was all slice, which meant you could attack him at will on that side.
3 - C: Pancho Segura, coach of Jimmy Connors
4 - Because the net is higher at the sidelines than the center.
5 - D: It was The Rocket vs. Muscles
6 - Chris Evert and Evonne Goolagong chose to play on a rival, smaller tour sponsored by the USTA.
7 - C: The position of the ball
8 - A: He was able to play from behind the baseline, which allowed him time to make his big backswings and exploit his attributes as an inventive shotmaker.
9 - B: Jimmy Connors (although I admit I am still trying to make double sure of this one)
10 - C: Harry Hopman, the Aussie Davis Cup coach, gave him that name as an affectionate jibe.
11 - D: The cannonball serve is basically the hard, flat one - wherever it is aimed.
12 - D: It was McPhee, also the author of the brilliant essay, "Wimbledon: A Celebration."
13 - Margaret Court. Her baby threw one of her tennis shoes into the toilet moments before the match. It only got worse from there.
14 - A: Sneaky little dude had Prince make him a longer than normal racquet!
14 - Nikki Pilic.
Bonus Question: Levels of the Game was a study of the personalities of two wildly different individual, Arthur Ashe and Clark Graebner, told in segments alternating with a description of a match they played. Fine, fine book!