1977 US Open - King vs Reid скачать в хорошем качестве

1977 US Open - King vs Reid

From a November 1977 World Tennis article by Julie Heldman: The players thought the Billie Jean King-Kerry Reid match might be the showpiece of the 16s, but obviously the organizers didn't because it was played on an outside court where only about a thousand people (plus the TV audience) could watch. Kerry and Billie have been rivals for 10 years, but their competitive spirit turned bitter at the end of the match when Billie Jean refused to shake hands after winning the third set tiebreaker. The problem stemmed from an incident at 3-all in the final set. After Billie Jean hit a ball over the fence, Kerry walked up to the chair and asked for a penalty point. Informed of the best-kept secret of the tournament to that moment - that the men had agreed to institute penalty points, but a committee of the WTA had quietly voted down the proposal - Kerry then continued to play. At the changeover, Billie Jean asked Kerry what she had done, "but she wouldn't talk to me. I hate it when people don't communicate. Then the umpire wouldn't communicate with me either. He said Kerry asked me a question. That's when I told myself that Kerry would win this match over by dead body, and I wouldn't shake hands if I won. I've never refused to shake hands before." How short our memories are. Billie Jean walked off Court 23 at Forest Hills in 1973 when 4-1 down in the third against me, without shaking hands, saying, "If you want the match that badly, you can have it." Funny how things run in cycles. After the match, Kerry was steaming, furious at her opponent. "If she wanted the match that badly, she could have it," she said.