WEBVTT - Mary Carillo: Iconic broadcaster ready for the Hall of Fame 0:00:01.840 --> 0:00:04.800 Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Sitdown. 0:00:05.000 --> 0:00:08.600 I'm Mattrolope, a rat an editor for oz open dot com. 0:00:08.200 --> 0:00:11.800 And I'm Big Christian, managing editor for Australian Tennis magazine. 0:00:12.080 --> 0:00:14.040 And Matt, why are we sitting down this week with 0:00:14.200 --> 0:00:14.880 Mary Carillo? 0:00:15.400 --> 0:00:18.840 Well, viv The timing's perfect because later this year, in 0:00:18.920 --> 0:00:21.760 the week ahead of the uside bit, Mary's being inducted 0:00:21.800 --> 0:00:24.759 into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. And not only that, 0:00:24.880 --> 0:00:28.280 but she's being inducted alongside Roger Federer, which is so cool. 0:00:29.040 --> 0:00:31.560 Mary had a fabulous playing career of her home. She 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:34.440 won the Roland Garross mixed doubles title with John McEnroe 0:00:34.520 --> 0:00:37.400 in the seventies and rose to world number thirty three 0:00:37.440 --> 0:00:40.080 in singles. But since retiring, she's gone on to have 0:00:40.159 --> 0:00:42.280 an even more distinguished broadcast career. 0:00:42.640 --> 0:00:46.080 Mary's actually been inducted in a contributor category, which is 0:00:46.280 --> 0:00:50.160 thoroughly disserved because she's had such a spectacular broadcast career. 0:00:50.200 --> 0:00:53.840 As you say, and even though she is too humble 0:00:53.920 --> 0:00:56.560 to say it, she's set a fabulous example for other 0:00:56.600 --> 0:00:57.440 women in the sport. 0:01:02.240 --> 0:01:05.040 Mary Carillo, thank you very much for joining us today 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:06.960 on the Sit Down Podcast. It's great to see you. 0:01:08.040 --> 0:01:10.400 It's great to see you, and I really enjoy your part. 0:01:10.760 --> 0:01:11.600 I really enjoy it. 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:12.080 Oh, thank you. 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:12.560 It's good. 0:01:12.720 --> 0:01:15.080 Good to know we have a listener or a watch 0:01:15.200 --> 0:01:17.120 up we got on. 0:01:18.440 --> 0:01:21.479 Well, I love I love what you two did with 0:01:21.520 --> 0:01:23.160 my great friend Lindsay Davies. 0:01:23.600 --> 0:01:24.600 Oh, thank you. 0:01:24.959 --> 0:01:30.560 She's about as great an American as we We. 0:01:30.560 --> 0:01:33.080 We love that interview, didn't we. We could have talked 0:01:33.120 --> 0:01:36.120 to Lindsay for hours, but again we had limited. 0:01:35.840 --> 0:01:39.839 Studio studio time. But yeah, Lindsay was phenomenal and where Yeah, 0:01:39.959 --> 0:01:43.279 really pleased that you've joined us as well as another 0:01:43.319 --> 0:01:45.399 fantastic guest. We're in the in the world do we 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:46.200 find you at the moment? 0:01:47.440 --> 0:01:51.720 I am currently in Naples, Florida. I have I have 0:01:51.760 --> 0:01:54.120 a place here. I still have a place up in 0:01:54.120 --> 0:01:56.880 New York, where I'm from, but I spent a lot 0:01:56.920 --> 0:01:59.720 of time down here. Lovely, you've already met two of 0:01:59.760 --> 0:02:01.760 my fiatic. 0:02:03.160 --> 0:02:04.639 Delightful characters on screen. 0:02:05.800 --> 0:02:06.320 They're just. 0:02:08.440 --> 0:02:10.080 We can't wait for a cameo from the third. 0:02:10.280 --> 0:02:12.400 Yeah, you've actually given me a great idea. But you 0:02:12.480 --> 0:02:13.360 need to bring my dog? 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:19.200 Yeah, well we should. We should ask you First of all, Mary, 0:02:19.200 --> 0:02:22.560 the reason why chatting to you is because there's been 0:02:22.560 --> 0:02:25.280 the fantastic news that you're going to be inducted into 0:02:25.320 --> 0:02:28.320 the International Tennis Hall of Fame in twenty twenty sixty 0:02:28.600 --> 0:02:31.920 m as in the contributed category. And I just wondered, 0:02:32.120 --> 0:02:33.480 how does that make you feel to hear that. 0:02:35.160 --> 0:02:39.320 It's it's look, I genuinely I never saw it coming. 0:02:39.440 --> 0:02:44.680 I really didn't. And there have been tremendous contributors in 0:02:44.720 --> 0:02:48.000 this category before. I'm glad there's another woman in there, 0:02:48.000 --> 0:02:51.480 but you know, Bud Collins, the late great Bud Collins 0:02:51.600 --> 0:02:54.639 is in there. Richard Evans still one of my favorite writers, 0:02:55.040 --> 0:02:58.639 as in they're glad as helm and you know it's there, 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:02.160 on and on to be a to be a contributor 0:03:02.720 --> 0:03:06.200 and to go in the same summer that Roger Feeder's come. 0:03:08.919 --> 0:03:12.480 It's silly. It's silly, but I'm. 0:03:12.280 --> 0:03:16.680 Going, Yeah, I'm gonna go. It's phenomenal. It is the week, 0:03:16.960 --> 0:03:19.200 I think, the week before the US opening in August. 0:03:19.360 --> 0:03:22.680 So what are you most looking forward to to that? 0:03:22.960 --> 0:03:25.640 And the fact, yeah, it's at Newport in Rhode Island, 0:03:25.639 --> 0:03:28.280 the International Tennis Hall of Fame. They're a historic place. Yeah, 0:03:28.320 --> 0:03:29.440 what are you most looking forward to? 0:03:30.840 --> 0:03:34.519 It is an absolutely remarkable place. It's it's so full 0:03:34.520 --> 0:03:37.880 of history and so full of charm. I've covered tournaments 0:03:37.920 --> 0:03:40.440 there and I've been able to visit there as well. 0:03:41.000 --> 0:03:44.520 The year that Nick Bolterterry went in, I introduced I 0:03:44.600 --> 0:03:46.960 introduced Nick and that was that was an awful lot 0:03:46.960 --> 0:03:49.520 of fun. In fact, Lindsay Davenport got in that same summer. 0:03:50.960 --> 0:03:54.800 It's actually so as you know, as being Aussie is 0:03:55.240 --> 0:03:57.640 you know how the Majors are now three week events. 0:03:59.240 --> 0:04:03.120 This fall on the day before the main draw starts 0:04:03.120 --> 0:04:06.280 at the US Open. So I'll actually be working Monday, 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:09.480 Tuesday and Wednesday at the US Open. It's called Fan 0:04:09.520 --> 0:04:12.520 Week and it's and the mixed doubles. I'll be covering 0:04:12.520 --> 0:04:15.240 the mixed doubles. There's actually now the mixed doubles was 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:17.160 such a big hit. I don't know how it went 0:04:17.240 --> 0:04:19.720 over over there, but it was such a big hit. 0:04:19.800 --> 0:04:21.320 Now there's a qualifying day for. 0:04:21.400 --> 0:04:24.560 Mixed doubleshow and. 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:25.680 There's a lot of there's a lot of dough involved, 0:04:25.680 --> 0:04:29.240 there's a lot of cabbage to be had, and a 0:04:29.240 --> 0:04:31.600 lot of the players take it. They took it seriously 0:04:31.680 --> 0:04:34.120 last year. So I'll be going from there to Newport, 0:04:34.160 --> 0:04:38.479 which is about four hours away drive from New York, 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:41.880 and then I'll be in Newport, which is a gorgeous place, 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:43.760 for a couple of days, and then i'll be back 0:04:43.839 --> 0:04:47.160 for Night one of the US Open. I'm very much 0:04:47.200 --> 0:04:49.680 looking forward to it. The whole thing sounds exhausting now 0:04:49.720 --> 0:04:54.120 that I've said it out loud, but a lot of 0:04:54.120 --> 0:04:56.200 my friends are going to be there, and the place, 0:04:56.400 --> 0:05:00.359 as I'm sure you know, it's sold out in two minutes. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:04.880 That's obviously. Roger Fetter is that big a draw. And 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:08.599 they've added three thousand seats because they can't fit everybody 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.039 who wanted. Yeah, there's like one of the it's like 0:05:11.279 --> 0:05:13.720 an arena because they play a tennis from it there. 0:05:15.120 --> 0:05:18.800 Now they had to add three thousand seats because I 0:05:18.800 --> 0:05:21.479 mean Roger Rogers, I mean he's the first of the 0:05:21.520 --> 0:05:24.080 Big Three and the Big four. If you want to 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:28.240 get in, it's going to be I think it's going 0:05:28.279 --> 0:05:29.200 to be spectacular. 0:05:29.440 --> 0:05:30.840 Yeah, it's going to be amazing. 0:05:30.960 --> 0:05:31.200 Yeah. 0:05:31.480 --> 0:05:38.040 Yeah, congratulations, Yeah, congratulations, Larry. I love an origin story, 0:05:38.279 --> 0:05:40.800 and I wondered if you could take us back and 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:43.039 tell us about your start in tennis. 0:05:45.279 --> 0:05:49.560 I'm very, very lucky that my family we grew up 0:05:49.560 --> 0:05:53.520 in a beautiful little part of Queens, New York called Douglaston. 0:05:53.920 --> 0:05:56.560 We're from Douglas Matters, right on the water, right on 0:05:56.600 --> 0:06:00.960 Little Neck Bay, part of Long Island. Sound play anything 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:02.880 you know. And back then when I was, you know, 0:06:02.920 --> 0:06:05.960 a little mini burger, I mean you could you just 0:06:06.080 --> 0:06:09.120 you leave in after breakfast and then your parents, your 0:06:09.120 --> 0:06:11.640 mom says, come home when the street lights come on. 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:15.960 The Douglason Club was only a couple of blocks away 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:19.919 from me, and I swam there and I started to 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:23.080 play tennis there. My dad played, and then there was 0:06:23.520 --> 0:06:27.640 there's kid who lived right up the block named John McEnroe, 0:06:29.000 --> 0:06:31.960 followed by a kid brother, a couple of them, Mark, 0:06:32.000 --> 0:06:35.599 and then Patrick McEnroe, who's now the president of the 0:06:35.640 --> 0:06:39.480 International Tennis Hall of Fame. We all we all started 0:06:39.480 --> 0:06:43.039 playing there and it was. It was great. It was 0:06:43.720 --> 0:06:45.840 and you know, the US Open used to be played 0:06:45.839 --> 0:06:51.560 at Forest Hills, which was about twenty minutes away from Douglaston. Anyway, 0:06:51.600 --> 0:06:54.599 the story is that, you know, we watched the US 0:06:54.680 --> 0:06:57.680 Open as little kids, and John and Patrick McEnroe and 0:06:57.760 --> 0:06:59.520 my sister and a whole bunch of other kids from 0:06:59.560 --> 0:07:03.599 Douglas and we're ball kids there. Uh. I grew up 0:07:03.640 --> 0:07:07.560 around the US hope you know. Uh. In fact, my 0:07:07.560 --> 0:07:09.559 my mom used to let me skip the first couple 0:07:09.560 --> 0:07:19.400 of days of school every year. My sketchy academic record. 0:07:20.920 --> 0:07:23.480 But I mean growing up with John McEnroe. I'm two 0:07:23.560 --> 0:07:28.280 years older than John, but he I just followed him 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:32.960 around even though I was the older kid. He started 0:07:33.000 --> 0:07:37.000 playing a lot. He started going, you know, entering tournaments, 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:39.640 going to the Port Washington Tennis Academy, where we both 0:07:39.640 --> 0:07:43.600 had the great good luck of being coached by Harry Hopman, 0:07:44.840 --> 0:07:47.880 one of the most important people in my life. Mister 0:07:47.920 --> 0:07:51.840 Hotman was a tremendous force. In fact, when I when 0:07:51.880 --> 0:07:54.720 I was finishing high school, mister Hoptman decided to leave 0:07:54.760 --> 0:07:58.280 New York, uh, to move to his own academy, his 0:07:58.320 --> 0:07:59.840 own place in Florida, And he asked me if I 0:07:59.840 --> 0:08:05.480 want to go without consulting my parents. Yes, my mom 0:08:05.600 --> 0:08:09.760 is still waiting for me to go to college. I mean, 0:08:09.880 --> 0:08:13.800 my seventieth year on Earth, I just don't feel like 0:08:13.880 --> 0:08:16.840 going at this stage. Again, it was kind of lucky. 0:08:16.920 --> 0:08:19.680 It was a great time. Tennis was a big deal 0:08:19.720 --> 0:08:23.120 in the seventies in my country. I mean it was huge. 0:08:23.800 --> 0:08:25.800 A lot of things were going on, you know, Arthur 0:08:25.880 --> 0:08:29.720 ash was playing, Billy Jean King was changing sports, you know, 0:08:29.880 --> 0:08:32.680 Jimmy Connors and Chritsy and Martina and all that john 0:08:32.800 --> 0:08:35.760 and it was just a great time to be a 0:08:35.760 --> 0:08:39.160 little kid who likes tennis. So that was that's that's 0:08:39.200 --> 0:08:41.680 a very short version of my origin. 0:08:41.880 --> 0:08:44.680 What did you most love about I mean, it sounds 0:08:44.679 --> 0:08:47.280 like so many things, but what did you most love 0:08:47.320 --> 0:08:48.000 about tennis? 0:08:49.920 --> 0:08:54.600 Honestly, I was a pretty good athlete all around, and 0:08:54.640 --> 0:08:58.400 I followed the seasons like little kids do. Tennis was 0:08:58.400 --> 0:09:02.640 the one sport I really I was really bad. 0:09:02.400 --> 0:09:06.160 At relate to that, but I never got better. 0:09:09.040 --> 0:09:12.280 And again fortunately, I mean, you know, tennis isn't you know, 0:09:12.480 --> 0:09:15.480 It's not a pickup sport, you know, you know, it's 0:09:15.520 --> 0:09:18.800 not like basketball or soccer or football where you just 0:09:18.840 --> 0:09:20.760 watch what the other kids do and you try to, 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:23.240 you know, play along. I mean, you have to be 0:09:23.320 --> 0:09:25.440 given strokes, you have to be given grips, you have 0:09:25.520 --> 0:09:27.679 to and then when you get better, you have to 0:09:27.760 --> 0:09:31.080 be given strategy tactics, you know. And but again I 0:09:31.160 --> 0:09:34.120 was very lucky that at our crazy little club there 0:09:34.160 --> 0:09:38.520 was a very good tennis teacher. His name is Dan Dwyer, 0:09:38.800 --> 0:09:43.040 and I just watched him. I watched him teach, and 0:09:43.400 --> 0:09:46.400 you know, he would teach these ladies who kind of sucked, 0:09:46.480 --> 0:09:49.959 you know, but so he'd be feeding. There were no rallies, 0:09:50.440 --> 0:09:53.640 and I kept I kept feeding his basket of balls 0:09:53.960 --> 0:09:57.640 so that I could listen to him coach. And in fact, 0:09:57.679 --> 0:10:02.840 John McEnroe, John knew Dan Dwyer as well. Dan, you know, 0:10:03.160 --> 0:10:06.600 had a look at John's game too. So I think 0:10:06.640 --> 0:10:08.960 I liked it because I really wanted to be good 0:10:08.960 --> 0:10:12.080 at it. And I was never honestly, genuinely this is 0:10:12.120 --> 0:10:15.000 not false modesty. I was never that good. But in 0:10:15.040 --> 0:10:16.760 the time I played, and it was only for a 0:10:16.760 --> 0:10:20.320 couple of seasons, you could still kind of you could 0:10:20.320 --> 0:10:24.480 still play like I was. I never got higher than 0:10:24.520 --> 0:10:25.800 thirty three in the world. 0:10:26.120 --> 0:10:29.079 Guys, that's pretty good, Mary, And we're going to come 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:29.320 to that. 0:10:30.440 --> 0:10:34.319 What I'm saying. What I'm saying is I mean I 0:10:34.360 --> 0:10:39.240 wouldn't breathe near tennis player like my My game would 0:10:39.280 --> 0:10:42.400 never have held up had I played at a different time. 0:10:42.880 --> 0:10:46.440 Everybody now is so much better. The quality is so 0:10:46.679 --> 0:10:50.400 much better. But I loved it. I mean, I still 0:10:50.400 --> 0:10:53.720 love it. I still think it's I like all rackets sports. Honestly, 0:10:53.760 --> 0:10:57.720 I think it's a beautiful tool. You know, I'm pretty 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:01.480 good at ping pong. I'm not sure that really another 0:11:01.559 --> 0:11:06.360 story for perhaps, no, I mean anything squash and anything. Yeah. 0:11:06.720 --> 0:11:12.080 Interesting, Yeah, that's fantastic. You are getting inducted to the 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:14.240 Hall of Fame in your role as a contributor for 0:11:14.280 --> 0:11:16.720 your broadcasting career, but you are a Grand Slam champion. 0:11:16.840 --> 0:11:20.240 You won Roland Garris Mixed in nineteen seventy seven with 0:11:20.360 --> 0:11:24.240 John McEnroe, and you were only twenty and I think 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:26.120 he was eighteen. How did you guys pull that off 0:11:26.120 --> 0:11:28.360 when you were so young? I'm assuming was that your 0:11:28.360 --> 0:11:29.240 first tournament together? 0:11:30.520 --> 0:11:34.000 It was, I mean, obviously we had played with each other, 0:11:34.240 --> 0:11:36.760 you know, and we drilled together, but we had never 0:11:36.800 --> 0:11:40.319 played in any kind of a formal tournament together. I 0:11:40.360 --> 0:11:42.800 was a rookie. There's a nineteen seventy seven I was 0:11:42.880 --> 0:11:46.640 twenty year right. John was there on behalf of the 0:11:46.720 --> 0:11:49.800 United States Tennis Association. He was to play in the 0:11:49.800 --> 0:11:54.199 French Open Juniors and Wimbledon Juniors. And he got a 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.840 stipend from five hundred bucks from them. That's it. That 0:11:57.920 --> 0:12:01.240 was supposed to the last wow, like six weeks in 0:12:01.320 --> 0:12:06.840 your so neither one of us had we you know, 0:12:06.920 --> 0:12:09.880 we had no money. Uh we had John. It was 0:12:09.960 --> 0:12:12.200 during the World Team Tennis days, so a lot of 0:12:12.920 --> 0:12:15.559 professional players weren't allowed to play the French Open on 0:12:15.880 --> 0:12:18.080 you two are too young to remember all that, but 0:12:18.640 --> 0:12:20.800 it allowed us to get in. There was a sign 0:12:20.880 --> 0:12:24.199 up sheet for mixed doubles, and yeah, let's sign up. 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:27.000 And John looked at the list. This is this is 0:12:27.080 --> 0:12:30.920 John McEnroe. This won't support He looked at the list 0:12:30.960 --> 0:12:32.840 of players who had already signed up for the mix 0:12:33.240 --> 0:12:34.800 and he said, oh, man, I mean we should win 0:12:34.840 --> 0:12:39.760 this thing. What are you talking about? Like I saw, 0:12:40.559 --> 0:12:44.840 you know, And anyway, and then we picked our way 0:12:44.880 --> 0:12:48.560 through and we ended up winning the winning the thing. 0:12:48.600 --> 0:12:51.120 It was John's first major. It was my last major. 0:12:51.760 --> 0:12:57.320 Uh you know, I mean John was a remarkable a 0:12:57.400 --> 0:13:00.400 remarkable doubles player. Even then. He had such a sense 0:13:00.440 --> 0:13:02.880 of the court and the angles he could he saw, 0:13:03.520 --> 0:13:06.320 He saw rallies and angles that nobody else could see, 0:13:06.360 --> 0:13:08.280 even when he was just a little kid. And then 0:13:08.280 --> 0:13:11.480 a couple of weeks later, of course, he got himself 0:13:12.440 --> 0:13:15.360 to the semis of Wimbledon, and that's where people really 0:13:16.320 --> 0:13:18.320 his name wasn't made when he won the mixed with me, 0:13:18.600 --> 0:13:19.280 I felt. 0:13:19.040 --> 0:13:21.720 That way he definitely had. 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:26.560 And then people really wanted to know who these guy was. 0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.120 But I and you do you do downplay your career, 0:13:30.120 --> 0:13:32.200 But yes, you are a major champion. You got to 0:13:32.240 --> 0:13:34.360 thirty three in the world in singles, you made the 0:13:34.400 --> 0:13:37.839 third round of singles at Wimbledon, and you've also made 0:13:37.880 --> 0:13:40.520 quarterfinals if women's doubles, I think at the US Open 0:13:40.559 --> 0:13:44.320 as well. So when you that isn't that is an 0:13:44.360 --> 0:13:50.040 excellent career, what with all that time and space between it. Now, 0:13:50.120 --> 0:13:52.400 how do you honestly reflect on your on the playing 0:13:52.440 --> 0:13:54.080 career side of your tennis journey? 0:13:55.600 --> 0:13:59.439 My hand to God, Matt, I'm being honest. I loved it. 0:14:00.160 --> 0:14:03.120 I loved it, but I had my knees were terrible. 0:14:03.400 --> 0:14:07.080 I was still in high school, and again my mom 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:10.840 wanted me to I had some scholarship offers tennis scholarship 0:14:10.880 --> 0:14:15.360 offers from some good schools, but you know, hardcore tennis. 0:14:15.400 --> 0:14:17.480 For four years, I knew I'd never get a shot 0:14:17.920 --> 0:14:20.880 i'd be blown out my knees. You know. Right away, 0:14:21.960 --> 0:14:24.320 I knew I'd never get a shot to play professionally, 0:14:24.360 --> 0:14:26.200 and it's really what I wanted to do, even though 0:14:26.240 --> 0:14:29.320 again there was a ceiling and I was very aware 0:14:29.360 --> 0:14:35.119 of it. And guys, if you grow up with John McEnroe, 0:14:35.520 --> 0:14:38.680 you know, from the time you're ten years old, you 0:14:38.840 --> 0:14:42.520 know how good you aren't. And I was fine with that. 0:14:42.640 --> 0:14:45.960 It made me work harder. I loved practicing. I loved 0:14:45.960 --> 0:14:50.040 watching matches, you know. Mister Hotman when he used to rain, 0:14:50.120 --> 0:14:53.680 mister Hutmad would take out his whole film projector men, 0:14:53.920 --> 0:14:58.280 black and white movies of when he was a Davis 0:14:58.320 --> 0:15:00.760 Cup captain, and he would tell us what ema was 0:15:00.840 --> 0:15:03.920 like and what labor was like. In Fred Staally, who 0:15:04.000 --> 0:15:05.760 I got to work with. I mean, I loved every 0:15:05.840 --> 0:15:09.040 bit of it. But and again I knew I had 0:15:09.080 --> 0:15:12.560 a very small window, so I played everywhere. I wanted 0:15:12.600 --> 0:15:16.400 to also see the world, you know, So I played 0:15:16.440 --> 0:15:19.000 as much as I could until you know, I was 0:15:19.080 --> 0:15:20.840 riding on rims and then I had to stop. 0:15:21.200 --> 0:15:21.640 That's fair. 0:15:21.680 --> 0:15:26.760 Wow, Your career is listed as nineteen seventy seven to 0:15:26.880 --> 0:15:30.400 nineteen eighty What was it like competing sort of in 0:15:30.440 --> 0:15:33.640 that time on the Tennis Tour sort of the WTA 0:15:33.840 --> 0:15:35.800 was quite new, it was. It felt like a bit 0:15:35.800 --> 0:15:36.760 of a transition. 0:15:38.160 --> 0:15:42.280 Oh so. And again I just feel like the time 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:45.000 and the space where I actually got to play professional 0:15:45.080 --> 0:15:48.400 tennis was so special. You know, there was something called 0:15:48.760 --> 0:15:51.560 on futures, you know, where you make your way up 0:15:51.560 --> 0:15:54.040 into the bigs, you know, the Big Leagues was Virginia 0:15:54.080 --> 0:15:58.240 Slims at the time, and I remember the first time 0:15:58.240 --> 0:16:01.120 I qualified. You get two weeks, you know, and then 0:16:01.480 --> 0:16:04.280 you know after that if you lose earlier. Back down 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:10.080 in the miners, I remember walking into the locker room 0:16:10.120 --> 0:16:14.960 the first time I ever got there, and it was 0:16:15.040 --> 0:16:20.520 Chris Evert, Rosie Cassals, Billy j and King Virginiu Wade. 0:16:20.680 --> 0:16:24.480 I mean these people I've idolized, just absolutely. And there 0:16:24.560 --> 0:16:26.880 was and again, when you're playing in the miners, you're 0:16:26.920 --> 0:16:30.160 really you're just you're playing at you know, country clubs. 0:16:30.200 --> 0:16:32.600 In the locker room, everything is terrible. This place was 0:16:32.640 --> 0:16:39.880 all tricked out and there was free food. There were 0:16:39.960 --> 0:16:45.080 practice balls like a thing night, and Chrissy was I'll 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:47.080 never forget that. There was a plate of like cut 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:50.840 up cheese, and then Chrissy said, Hi, uh, you know, 0:16:51.680 --> 0:16:54.000 want a piece of cheese? And I said, oh my god, 0:16:54.720 --> 0:17:02.840 christ if I wanted cheese, I love it. Yeah, it was, 0:17:03.280 --> 0:17:06.760 it was. And you know what's really something is because 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:12.240 I've been hanging around the game so long, these Chrissy, Martina, Pamshriver, 0:17:12.320 --> 0:17:17.000 Billy g these, there's there's some of my very best friends. 0:17:17.359 --> 0:17:21.399 I'm very, very lucky. So that was my experience. I 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:24.360 was overwhelmed. The last year I played, I'd had three 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:29.000 top twenty wins. I thought, you know, I thought, you know, 0:17:29.680 --> 0:17:32.760 if I could ever get into the top twenty, you know, 0:17:33.119 --> 0:17:35.800 that would be that would be great for me. That 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:40.560 would have been a great thing. But they my knees 0:17:40.600 --> 0:17:42.399 cracked out of wimbled. In nineteen eighty that was the 0:17:42.440 --> 0:17:47.560 last time I played first one real quick. It's honestly, 0:17:47.680 --> 0:17:50.520 I don't regret. I don't regret a thing I think 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:54.199 I've been. I think I've been blessed. It's been for me, 0:17:54.520 --> 0:17:55.560 it's been magical. 0:17:56.480 --> 0:17:58.439 One thing you said about tennis's that have got to 0:17:58.480 --> 0:18:00.080 take you all over the world, and you want to 0:18:00.080 --> 0:18:02.760 to take that opportunity with both hands. But we've looked 0:18:02.760 --> 0:18:04.720 at your playing record, and it doesn't seem you ever 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:06.560 played at the Australian Open well. 0:18:06.400 --> 0:18:09.399 Because it used to be played around Christmas, and you know, 0:18:09.960 --> 0:18:12.720 and I didn't think I was really good enough to 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:17.399 schlep all the way to Australia and you know, and survived, 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.120 you know, a couple of weeks there. I didn't think 0:18:20.119 --> 0:18:23.720 I could afford it. Really it's and I never felt 0:18:23.760 --> 0:18:27.000 like I was broke. I just didn't have any money. 0:18:27.640 --> 0:18:29.679 But I will tell you, I'll tell you a story. 0:18:30.960 --> 0:18:35.560 I'll tell you a story. My kid's sister, Gina, we 0:18:35.640 --> 0:18:38.080 all used to, you know, hang out. And Gina went 0:18:38.160 --> 0:18:43.000 to this was a New Year's Eve party and John 0:18:43.080 --> 0:18:48.240 McEnroe was already playing very good tennis. So Gina went 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.560 with him and got really drunk, I mean just barfing 0:18:51.600 --> 0:18:54.639 all over the place and John and she had gone 0:18:54.640 --> 0:18:59.520 with John. So John dropped Gina off at my parents' 0:18:59.560 --> 0:19:04.400 house and then like took off, made sure she wasn't 0:19:04.400 --> 0:19:07.880 gonna die, but then he took off. Anyway. My mom 0:19:07.920 --> 0:19:11.320 the next morning, where is he? Where is that John? 0:19:11.440 --> 0:19:17.480 You know? And Gina said, he's flying to Australia. He 0:19:17.600 --> 0:19:21.560 had to leave the continent. He was the Wrath of 0:19:22.160 --> 0:19:28.879 Terry Carilla. I'm sorry. I've been able to call tennis 0:19:28.920 --> 0:19:32.040 mansions that the Australian Open many times, and I've always 0:19:32.560 --> 0:19:35.680 loved that tournament, but no, I never got to play. 0:19:35.920 --> 0:19:38.040 So what So when did you first come and what 0:19:38.119 --> 0:19:39.720 did you think of it when you first made the trip? 0:19:40.880 --> 0:19:45.840 Oh? Did I come? I think I came. H I 0:19:46.000 --> 0:19:50.640 actually was there for Kuyag I think I did. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 0:19:50.680 --> 0:19:53.679 which I loved. I loved and when I heard it 0:19:53.720 --> 0:19:56.520 was moving and it was going to be on hardcorets. God, 0:19:56.600 --> 0:19:59.760 damn it, that's who's gonna Yeah, that sounds like a 0:19:59.840 --> 0:20:01.680 terror idea. And of course it's one of the great 0:20:03.640 --> 0:20:07.040 it's one of the best sporting events in the world. 0:20:07.640 --> 0:20:08.439 In the end. 0:20:08.480 --> 0:20:10.520 Yeah, it worked on around US Open, did it too? 0:20:10.560 --> 0:20:14.320 I guess you guys, you're masked up quickly and you 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:20.480 got it done. Yeah. So yeah, I don't remember. I 0:20:20.480 --> 0:20:25.000 mean I remember some great you know, obviously, some great 0:20:25.040 --> 0:20:28.679 Australian Opens, and I've been watching them all for all 0:20:28.720 --> 0:20:32.119 these years at four o'clock in the morning here. But 0:20:32.400 --> 0:20:35.000 uh no, it's a it's a great I wish I 0:20:35.080 --> 0:20:37.040 had played it. I wish I had played it. I 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:38.520 think I would have loved the. 0:20:38.480 --> 0:20:44.280 Experience you did make the transition into tennis commentary or broadcasting. 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:48.399 What what were you most kind of captivated by in 0:20:48.440 --> 0:20:48.959 that career. 0:20:49.440 --> 0:20:52.800 You know, I was in between knee operations. I had 0:20:52.800 --> 0:20:58.159 four knee operations. In between knee operations, I taught tennis 0:20:58.200 --> 0:21:01.720 for mister Hoppon. So I was spending a lot of 0:21:01.760 --> 0:21:04.480 time in Florida, and I was trying to figure out 0:21:04.520 --> 0:21:06.480 what the hell I was going to do. I was 0:21:06.480 --> 0:21:09.480 thinking about going to film school because I love film, 0:21:09.480 --> 0:21:11.119 and I've been lucky enough to do a bunch of 0:21:11.119 --> 0:21:15.000 documentaries have meant a lodge to me. I was just 0:21:15.000 --> 0:21:17.720 trying to figure out what to do, and I luckily 0:21:18.000 --> 0:21:21.440 some guy who's still a friend of mine, Mark Stillberg, 0:21:21.520 --> 0:21:24.679 he heard me do some pickup commentary at Madison Square 0:21:24.720 --> 0:21:28.360 Garden the end of nineteen seventy nine, the Avon Championships. 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:32.320 He happened to hear me call a match and it 0:21:32.400 --> 0:21:35.640 was just a pickup. I had talked about the upcoming match. 0:21:35.680 --> 0:21:38.440 It was a late at night match, Tracy Austin against 0:21:38.560 --> 0:21:42.119 Von Guligan, and all the people who you wanted to 0:21:42.160 --> 0:21:46.000 interview in between matches had already left. It was late 0:21:46.000 --> 0:21:48.880 at night, I was still around. I started talking about 0:21:48.880 --> 0:21:50.800 what a great match this is going to be and why, 0:21:50.880 --> 0:21:54.200 and so I got invited up into the booth and 0:21:54.640 --> 0:21:57.160 that was the first time I ever did it. And frankly, 0:21:57.160 --> 0:21:59.240 I'd already blown the SuDS off a couple of beers. 0:21:59.280 --> 0:22:03.880 So I was even who so that I normally am. 0:22:04.080 --> 0:22:06.639 But it was fun, but it was not It was 0:22:06.720 --> 0:22:11.480 not a career. I mean, I was still playing anyway. 0:22:11.640 --> 0:22:13.880 After I lost in forty one minutes in the first 0:22:13.960 --> 0:22:18.119 round of Wimbledon that that next summer. A guy who's 0:22:18.160 --> 0:22:21.560 producing tennis women's tennis for the first time remembered hearing 0:22:21.560 --> 0:22:23.720 me that one night, and he asked me if I 0:22:24.080 --> 0:22:27.320 if I wanted to try it. And that was about 0:22:27.400 --> 0:22:28.520 forty seven years. 0:22:28.640 --> 0:22:31.879 Yeah, forty seven years and many awards. There was a 0:22:31.960 --> 0:22:37.000