| Stan Smith made plenty of good choices, to play or not to play? That was the question that befuddled tennis star Stan Smith on the Saturday before the Wimbledon final in 1972.
He had received a late-night phone call from a man who identified himself as a minister, a man who was trying to convince Smith it would be out of line to go up against The Nastase - or anyone else - on Sunday, traditionally a day of rest.
"I had committed my life to Christ while I was in college, but I didn't want to be hypocritical. After all, we played on Sunday everywhere else in the world. Why not at Wimbledon?"
Smith reflected while visiting Naples (Florida) for a mix of business and pleasure. To make a long story short, Smith did face Nastase that Sunday. And in doing so, he not only won the championship, Smith achieved one of the four goals he had set for himself in the game.
"I wanted to be a member of the United States Davis Cup team. I wanted to be ranked Number one, I wanted to win Wimbledon and I wanted to be considered the best player in the world, the soft-speaking, 52-year-old said."
The victory over "Nasty" didn't come easily, however. Smith lost the first set, 4-6, but then won the next two sets, 6-3, 6-3, to seemingly have the match in hand. Nastase stormed back to take the fourth set, 6-4, forcing a fifth set that Smith eventually won, 7-5.
Smith missed out on his dance with women's champion Billie Jean King because the traditional Wimbledon ball had taken place the night before. Nonetheless, the triumph over Nastase helped take the sting off the previous year's tournament, when Smith had lost the finals to John Newcombe in another five-setter.
"It becomes a little less significant once you actually do it", Smith said, looking back on his rise to the top of the tennis world. He had an overall Davis Cup mark of 35-7 in the 24 events he played between 1968 and 1979.
Last year, Smith still played - as a senior - in all four Grand Slam tournaments Now, he enjoys participating just "to see the guys again, to share stories, memories, good times and yes, his faith." The father of four still remembers the day he vowed to live a Christian life.
"There weren't thunderbolts or anything like that, he said. "But I do remember clearly that I had a peace in my life that was not there before ... I think of Christ as being my North Star, to help me set my course along the way."
Smith, the 1971 U.S. Open champion at Forest Hills and your typical All-American boy, learned as well as anyone that the course, per se, can be one of ups and downs. "If you're doing well and playing well, people want to be around you and hear what you have to say; When you're not doing well, a lot of those people aren't around."
"Wouldn't it have been amazing if I hadn't played on Sunday? he concluded "it would have made a huge impact on tennis, and maybe the world.
printed in the Naples Daily News, October 10, 1999
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