Tennis: Numero Uno

The event was seeded as richly as Wimbledon's famed Center Court, and the first seed was naturally Australia's Roy Emerson. Splendid on grass, he is quite likely the best amateur tennis player in the world. Besides, he seemed to own Wimbledon; he had won the All-England men's singles title in 1964 and 1965, and his victory this year was something of a foregone conclusion.

The conclusion was hasty. As he breezed into the quarterfinal round without losing a set, Emerson took on his modestly talented countryman Owen Davidson. In the second set, Davidson popped a drop shot into Emerson's left forecourt. A fine rain earlier had coated the grass, and as he chased the dropper, Emerson skidded, crashed onto his shoulder and plowed into the umpire's high chair. Advantage Mr. Davidson. Match Mr. Davidson, in fact. Emerson had strained the ligaments in his left shoulder, and Wimbledon turned into a whole new tournament.

For the first time since 1955, no Australian made the finals, which is roughly like no Spaniard fighting at Pamplona. Australia's brawny Tony Roche, the No. 2 seed, shared Emerson's luck. He had twisted his ankle badly in an earlier match and went down in the quarterfinals. For a time, it seemed as if it might even be a U.S. year. Seeded No. 6, California's temperamental Dennis Ralston kept his emotions in check through five sets against South Africa's Cliff Drysdale in the semifinals to pull out a 6-8, 8-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 victory.

And then there was Manuel Santana. Not all Spaniards fight bulls. At 28, Santana is a lively master from Madrid who aims baseline volleys the way Manolete used to place swords. The winner of last year's U.S. national championship at Forest Hills, he is a precisionist without a big serve, a tactician who learned his artful game on the relatively slow clay courts of Spain. He does pretty well on the faster grass, too.

In the semifinals, Santana met Davidson, whose victory over Emerson gave his game quite a charge. For nearly three hours, he and Santana slashed through a grueling 6-2, 4-6, 9-7, 3-6, 7-5 match that pressed Santana into some of the finest shotmaking seen at Wimbledon in years. The best, that is, until Santana took on Ralston in the finals. Playing impeccable placement tennis, alternating with spins, drops, and some beautifully surgical work at the net, Santana made virtually no mistakes. Ralston, who played brilliantly enough himself, did make mistakes, such as double-faulting nine times. One hour and 40 minutes later, Santana was Numero Uno—this time in straight sets, 6-4, 11-9, 6-4, the first Spaniard ever to win the All-England championship.