Status: Tennis Hall of Famer. Won the U.S. Pro Championships in 1950 (d. Kovacs), 1951 & 1952 (d. Gonzalez).

Ht: 5-6 Wt: 160

DOB: June 20, 1921 in Guayaquil, Ecuador

First Tennis Memory: “Somebody gave me his racquet. And I always watched. And I held it with two hands. I was seven-years-old. And I played against the wall. I loved it. I learned to hit the ball on the rise. I never let the ball come to me, I went to the ball. Except when returning first serve. Then you have to let the ball come in if your serve is 120 miles per hour.”

Tennis Heroes: “Well, I admired Jack Kramer because he could serve and volley. And he never lost a set. He always won 64, 75, 86. In my day there was no tiebreak. So if you lost your serve you were dead with Kramer. That’s the way you played the game – aggressively. Aggressive when you’re in front, conservative when you were down.”

Favorite Meal: “I eat everything in sight.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Vanilla.”

Pre-Match Feeling: “Think about how am I gonna hold serve.”

Last Book Read: “Bill Tilden. BT. The great player. He didn’t believe players should play with both hands. He was a controversial writer.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “Beating Pancho Gonzalez 62 62 62 in 1952 in Forest Hills on grass.”

Most Painful Moment: “Losing Santa Barbara to Kramer after having a 5-0 lead in the first set. And I couldn’t sleep. And losing to Kramer in Wimbledon in 1950.”

Favorite Tournaments: “Australia. And all the Grand Slams. Because it’s three out of five. It’s a test of tennis and conditioning. Several tests of the game.”

Which Matches Were You At Your Very Best: “Beating Gonzalez, beating Sedgman and beating Rosewall on grass. Winning always gives you confidence and you have a happy ending. When you lose – I hated myself. I was a tough competitor. I hated to lose.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “Trying to date Shirley Temple in 1947 [laughs]. At Forest Hills. I didn’t have any money, no wheels, nothing. And going around with Ava Gardner, it was fun.”

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “Nothing, not having a dime, you’re broke. And having to turn pro for $300 a week in 1946, ‘47.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “Unquestionably, Roger Federer. Because he’s a complete player. Nadal – because he gives 100% on every shot. Like my pupil Jimmy Connors, they’re both left-handed. He’s got speed, he’s got everything. He could come in on return of serve. You never see Nadal attack the serve and take the net away. The man who can beat him – Juan Martin Del Potro. He’s got potential. He’s 6-6, he’s got a huge first serve, a huge seccond serve. He’s got everything but physical conditioning. I don’t know if he can go five sets day in, day out. Del Potro is gonna be better than Murray because he has a better serve. He’s bigger. He’s gotta work on his conditioning and serve more first serves. Attack second serves. Every second serve, Del Potro should cream it. What counts in tennis is who makes the first shot tougher. If you can do it when you serve or return, you got it made.”

Funniest Player Encountered: “Carl Earn. He looks like Danny Thomas. Frank Kovacs. Pancho Segura [smiles].”

Closest Tennis Friends: “Gonzalez Pancho, Kenny Rosewall, the Australians – they’re all good people.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “Generous. Respect for another citizen. And help the unfortunate. Don’t just give them money and everything, help them. Help their standard of living. Give opportunity to them, people who deserve it.”

Career Accomplishments: At Miami University won U.S. Intercollegiate singles in 1943, 1944 and 1945; Won U.S. Indoor title in 1946 and U.S. Clay Court title in 1944; Elected to Hall of Fame in 1984.

DOB: February 27, 1960 In: Guayaquil, Ecuador

Nickname: “Go Go – from Jimmy Connors.”

Tennis Inspirations: “I think Nastase, Laver and Hoad.”

Hobbies/Leisure Activities: “Surfing, golfing and tennis.”

Favorite Movie: “Apocalypse Now.”

Musical Tastes: “Pink Floyd.”

First Job: “Was a tennis player.”

First Car: “Was a pick-up truck (white).”

Early Tennis Memory: “Watching Santana play when I was 12. Live. In my club in Guayaquil. It was a clinic that he did before the matches. He was very nice to all the kids there. I don’t remember exactly what he said but when somebody like that says something, it always sticks to you.”

Favorite Meal: “Ceviche – made out of seafood, could be either shrimp or fish or octopus.”

Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Pistachio.”

Greatest Sports Moment: “I think winning the French.”

Most Painful Moment: “Having to retire to Ivan Lendl in the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup in 1985 in Guayaquil, Ecuador against Czechoslovakia. 4-3 in the first set – I tore my hamstring.”

Closest ATP Friends: “Hans Gildemeister, Martin Jaite, Ricardo Ycaza, Raul Viver – my Davis Cup teammates.”

Funniest Players Encountered: “Nastase and Bahrami.”

Funny Tennis Memory: “With Ilie, playing doubles together in Rome in 1982. We were playing Tomas Smid and Pavel Slozil and Nastase keeps talking to them and making fun of them. And they were like a top five doubles team. And he was saying, You’re bad and he was like trying to make fun and get them out of their game. That’s when I really got to know Nastase. It was great for me because that was someone that I always followed and I ended up playing doubles with him. And I remember he was throwing saw dust into Smid’s and Slozil’s heads on the changeovers. And they knew him and they let it happen. Ilie turns 63 this year and that was in ‘82 so he was getting close to 36, 35.”

Toughest Competitors Encountered: “Lendl – because he beat me, not all the time but most of the time. He took me out eight times in Grand Slams and Masters. And Connors.”

Favorite Players To Watch: “I like to watch McEnroe. And now I like to watch Federer and Nadal.

Favorite Tournaments: “French. And any tournament in New York. I love playing here in Flushing. I enjoyed playing at the Westside Tennis Club in Forest Hills. And I really loved playing in The Masters in Madison Square Garden. In the big tournaments. On the smaller tournaments I loved Barcelona and I liked the tournaments in Brazil.”

Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “1981 playing Connors at the U.S. Open center court, Louis Armstrong at the time. It was packed. The referee called me that I was from Mexico. I refused to start the match until he called where I came from – Ecuador. And then right after he called that we started the match and on the first point Connors throws a high lob that lands like two feet from the net. For an easy put away. I came on and completely miss the ball – the sun got in my eyes and it was very embarrassing. We ended up playing four hours and 45 minutes. So I guess people forgot about that after a while. (Who won?) He did, 7-6 in the fifth.”

Best You Ever Felt On Court: “I say playing Muster in the semis of the French Open. The year I won in 1990. Because I beat him 1-5-1 (actually 5-1-5), so it was because I could not miss a ball and he was supposed to be the best player on the clay at the time. That one comes to mind. And then I played a couple of matches in Davis Cup. Playing Clerc in Argentina. I felt really good then. And we played four sets in like five hours and something. And playing Davis Cup against Argentina in Ecuador too. I always played well in Davis Cup. That’s when I felt the best on the court. Even if I didn’t play well, that was when I felt the best.”

People Qualities Most Admired: “I like to see people that are truthful, you can trust. And only one face – not they say something, they turn around and say something else. I guess it’s called sincere people.”