I was lucky enough to be a line umpire for pro tennis tournaments from 1974 to 1979. Rod Laver, the only man to win the calendar year Grand Slam…twice, was my idol, and I got to call one of his matches in the Canadian Open (now Roger’s Cup). I got to see Bjorn Borg early in his career, Jimmy Connors in his prime and call their matches. On the ladies’ side, I got to call matches for Billy-Jean King, Chris Evert, Margaret Court and Evonne Goolagong…all four were great to watch…they were extremely competitive, yet they were polite and ladylike.
I have watched Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal in person in Toronto…too hard to pick one over the others.