TENNIS / THOMAS BONK : U.S. Open Provides Memorable Odds and Ends

Beginning in 1881, the U.S. Championships, later known as the U.S. Open, have provided some of the most memorable--and odd--moments in tennis.

Here is a list of golden moments. Maybe 1991 will provide a few more:

1881--The first U.S. Championships are held at the Casino in Newport, R.I., where the players wear blazers, ties and wool stockings.

1883--Richard Sears wears spiked shoes he got in England and--on wet grass--wins the third of seven consecutive titles.

1897--Brothers Reggie and Hugh L. (Laurie) Doherty of England cause a sensation by rolling up the sleeves of their cricket shirts, thus establishing the fashion trend for 1898.

1906--William Clothier beats Beals Wright so badly in the final that spectators talk loudly among themselves and ignore requests for silence.

1912--Maud Barger-Wallach plays a match with a piece of ice under her hat.

1915--The tournament moves to Forest Hills and to dates in September so the well-to-do spectators need not interrupt summer holidays to attend.

1920--Two die when a biplane crashes near the men’s final. As the crowd checks out the crash site, Big Bill Tilden and Little Bill Johnston decide to play on.

1921--The 18th Amendment is waived for the event so Suzanne Lenglen of France may drink wine before and during her matches.

1933--Helen Jacobs causes a stir by playing in shorts.

1945--Bill Talbert becomes the final player to wear traditional long trousers in a U.S. final. They conceal a knee brace and bandages, and Talbert loses to Frank Parker.

1948--Two days after the death of her father, Margaret DuPont beats Louise Brough, 4-6, 6-4, 15-13, in the longest women’s final of the century.

1949--Pancho Gonzalez defeats Ted Schroeder, 16-18, 2-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4. The 67-game match sets a record.

1954--Vic Seixas, 31, becomes the oldest first-time national champion.

1959--Maria Bueno of Argentina and Neale Fraser of Australia win the singles, the first time both titles are held by non-U.S. players.

1965--Folk dancers from the Spanish Pavilion at the World’s Fair carry Manuel Santana to the clubhouse after his victory over Cliff Drysdale. When they are not allowed to enter the clubhouse with Santana, they serenade him when he appears at a second-floor window.

1968--Arthur Ashe, a lieutenant in the Army, becomes the first American man to win since Tony Trabert in 1955. Because he is an amateur, Ashe collects $28 for expenses.

1972--While 16-year-old Bjorn Borg loses to 35-year-old Roy Emerson, a 13-year-old ballboy named John McEnroe works the match.

1975--Martina Navratilova announces her defection to the United States.

1978--Jimmy Connors moons the crowd from a practice court.

1979--Roscoe Tanner, playing Borg in the quarterfinals, hits a hard first serve into the net. The net collapses.

1981--Ivan Lendl’s match with Mark Vines is halted three times because of smoke blowing out of a nearby trash bin.

1985--Kevin Curren loses in the first round to Guy Forget and announces his plan to improve Flushing Meadow would be to drop a bomb on it.

Russia house: The Communist party’s apparent demise in Russia and the potential breakup of the Soviet Union could have a profound impact on the Soviet tennis players who tour the world.

At risk for them is the freedom to enter tournaments as they choose and the opportunity to keep all their prize money.

In 1989, Natalia Zvereva and Andrei Chesnokov drew international attention in a vanguard dispute with the Soviet Tennis Federation over prize money.

Zvereva and Chesnokov were eventually allowed to keep a higher percentage. Since then, the balance has shifted entirely to the players, who have been allowed to retain all their earnings, which this year have been considerable

Chesnokov, with $294,100; Andrei Cherkasov, with $292,597, and Alexander Volkov, with $237,890, rank in the top 27 on the 1991 ATP money list. Chesnokov’s career winnings exceed $1.4 million.

Of the four Soviet male players who play the tour regularly, Cherkasov is the highest ranked at No. 14. The 21-year-old from Moscow reached the U.S. Open quarterfinals last year, losing to Andre Agassi.

Ratings: Barbara Walters’ recent interview with Martina Navratilova on ABC-TV’s “20-20” was seen in nearly 13 million homes, which meant the show ranked No. 1 for the first time since July 5, 1984, when the feature segment on the program was about serial killers.