Tennis: The Ace

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The Mexicans were exultant. The draw for the first match in the Davis Cup zone finals in Dallas two weeks ago paired their most experienced player, Rafael Osuna, 26, against the least experienced U.S. player, U.C.L.A. Tennis Star Arthur Ashe, 22. "It is exactly what we wanted," crowed Mexican Captain Pancho Contreras. "Winning the first match is a psychological advantage!"

Ashe thought so too. Unleashing the strongest serve in U.S. amateur tennis, Ashe aced the abashed Osuna 15 times, volleyed with unerring accuracy, and walloped his opponent 6-2, 6-3, 9-7. Beamed U.S. Team Captain George McCall: "Today Arthur became a man. He was under terrific pressure, and he came through."

Two days later, Ashe did it again—this time at the expense of Mexico's Antonio Palafox, 29. He aced the Mexican twelve times, winning one game on four consecutive perfect serves. Fittingly, Ashe's 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Palafox clinched the zone championship for the U.S. "It was his booming serve," lamented Palafox. "I tried to break his concentration, but I couldn't do it."

How He Grew. Ashe's dramatic triumphs established him as the most promising young U.S. player in years. A policeman's son, he was born in Richmond, Va., grew up only a few yards from a tennis court, where he started batting tennis balls around as soon as he was able to hold a racket. In 1953, a Lynchburg physician, Walter Johnson, spotted Ashe as a potentially fine player. Dr. Johnson knows his tennis talent. It was he who helped steer Althea Gibson (TIME cover, Aug. 26, 1957) to the top.

Johnson arranged for Ashe to go to high school in St. Louis, where he could get intensive tennis training, then eased him onto the tournament circuit. In 1960 and 1961, Ashe won the National Junior Indoor championship, in 1961 the U.S. Lawn Tennis Association's Interscholastic title, and in 1963 the U.S. Men's Hard Court championship. He was ranked sixth nationally in 1963 and was made a freshman member of the U.S. Davis Cup team. He did not see much cup action, but under Davis Cup Coach Pancho Gonzales, he has so improved his control that he is now rated the third best amateur in the U.S., after Dennis Ralston and Chuck McKinley.

What They Want. Ashe is a fourth-year scholarship student in business administration at U.C.L.A., moves in the world of topflight U.S. tennis with charm and infectious good cheer. "If it were left up to me," he says, "I wouldn't feel anything about being the first Negro on the Davis Cup team. But I am asked about it all the time, so naturally, I am conscious of it. Of course, I know I was wanted on the team because I was needed. If I weren't needed, perhaps the atmosphere would be different." His teammates couldn't care less about Ashe's color. They wanted a winner—and that's what he is.