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Features
Originally
from Ecuador, Segura virtually taught himself to play tennis, mastering a
two- handed forehand that Jack Kramer once called the single greatest shot
in the history of the sport. Migrating to America in the ‘40s, he was a
top ten amateur. But only when he joined Kramer’s barnstorming pro tour
did Segura truly come into his own. “I was a short guy, so I had to use
my brain every point of every match,” Segura once told me. Jousting with
the likes of Tony Trabert, Ken Rosewall and, most of all, the mighty
Kramer and Pancho Gonzales, he honed an all-court, tactically-adroit game
that earned him the name “Sneaky.” By the late ‘50s -- nearing 40 --
Segura was routinely defeating Rosewall and able to consistently beat
virtually anyone else save for Gonzales. Once
he retired in the early ‘60s, he began teaching, first at the Beverly
Hills Tennis Club and then, for more than two decades, at La Costa Resort
& Spa near San Diego. Thousands of players at all levels have
benefited from his strategic insights. Most notable was Jimmy Connors.
Segura worked with Jimbo from Connors’ late teens well into his days as
the best player in the world. Even
now, nearing 80, Segura remains an ardent analyst, traveling each year to
at least two Grand Slams, constantly watching on TV and always ready to
dispense his wisdom. Just returned from a trip to the Australian
Open, he offered his insights into two of the game’s more compelling
rivalries: Agassi-Sampras and Hingis-Davenport. His lessons are as
applicable for us weekend warriors too. Segura on
Agassi-Sampras
Segura
coached Agassi for a brief period in 1993. As fate has it, Agassi at that
time was woefully out of shape and suffering from a wrist injury that
would eventually require surgery. Oddly enough, much of what Brad Gilbert
helped Agassi with comes directly from Segura’s playbook: Play
intelligently based on the score and what the opponent can truly hurt you
with. But back then, Agassi lacked the physical and emotional fitness to
pull off Segura’s vision. These
days, Agassi is so fit that, according to Segura, “he’s trying to be a
killer every day -- just like Connors, Kramer, Newcombe. To play
Agassi from the baseline you’ll have to be out there for four hours. He’s an incredible shotmaker. And he’s fit like Lendl, but playing
with a certain kind of variety.” But
Segura still believes Sampras is “just an inch better. He’s more
of a complete player. He can volley, he can serve better, hit his
forehand better on the run. On the run, he’s a better player, a better
athlete than Andre.” Agassi,
though, “is a firmer hitter. His concentration is a bit better because
he knows he has to hit ten shots to win a point. Sampras only has to hit a
few shots to win a point.” As
a counter puncher himself, Segura thinks there’s a way to pierce Sampras.
“It bothers me that Sampras doesn’t have the killer concentration of a
Becker,” says Segura. “Sometimes I think Pete just wants to believe
he’s superior and should therefore beat you -- and at times he’s not.
He’s a bit like Gonzales, maybe of all like Lew Hoad. The game comes too
easy to him, so he’s not always all over you every day. You can often
feel like you’re in the match against him.”
Regarding
the future of the Agassi-Sampras rivalry, Segura reiterates Jack
Kramer’s longstanding theory: Even if you’re better by just an inch,
you don’t just beat someone 52 percent of the time. “Sampras knows in
his heart he’s a better player. If he and Agassi played ten times,
Sampras should win seven -- maybe more. If I was Sampras’ coach I’d
make him hit his backhand down the line more, really move forward into the
ball more rather than lean back and hit it crosscourt. Agassi’s edging
over, so make Andre run wide to his forehand. Don’t forget, Sampras has
a good slice approach shot. “It’s
a colorful, beautiful rivalry, a fantastic contrast between the greatest
server and the greatest returner. Indoors and grass you pick Sampras. Clay
and slower hardcourts you pick Agassi. Agassi should win in Paris, Sampras
at Wimbledon. The Open, that’ll be the big one.” And you can bet your
life that Segura, his sharp silver mane of hair resting over his dark
skin, will be smack dab in New York watching every point. Next Issue -- Part Two: Hingis-Davenport Oakland-based Joel Drucker has been involved in tennis for many years as a player and writer. He’s written extensively about the game for such publications as Tennis Magazine, HBO Sports and Biography Magazine. He also served as the technical editor on Patrick McEnroe’s book, Tennis For Dummies. For TennisOne, Joel will be writing regularly for TennisONE about the pro tennis circuit.
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