We asked if Zvereva knew about Bud’s comments prior to the interview. “Not that I know of,” he says, though he would not be surprised if she did.

Perhaps a brief history lesson is necessary here. Zvereva, at the time, was a 17-year-old from the Soviet republic of Belarus and a product of a Soviet system that financed its players’ training and education. In return for the funding, the Federation took a sizable percentage of the players’ winnings (this is the same type of system that has received a lot of press in the last year due to the rise of the Chinese women). For finishing as runner-up at the Family Circle Cup, Zvereva earned a payout of $24,000. When presented with the check, Zvereva turned to Bud and said, “This $24,000, this is not money, it is just a piece of paper.” “I wasn’t expecting her to say anything that day,” Bud recalls. He goes on to note that he always found Zvereva to be one of the “most self-assured players in women’s tennis. She always believed in herself, and if anyone would have spoken out about the Soviet system, it would have been Natasha.”

“She faced a lot of public scorn following that day. Russia was going through a tough time, and they thought their athletes got cushy deals. Many of the Russian people thought her conduct was reprehensible.” But, eventually, Zvereva's position on the keeping of prize money won out, and she almost single-handedly changed the rules on earnings. When asked if he ever spoke to her about those comments, Bud says, “No. We never really spoke much more than offering congratulations.”

Bud credits Zvereva with one of the better quotes about a match. “Back when she played in the 1988 French Open final, she had a tremendous run leading up to the final, beating [Martina] Navratilova and [Helena] Sukova. But she lost the final to Graf 0 and 0. When asked what the best part of the match was, Natasha said, ‘the rain delay.’”

Discussing the Belarusian leads to a brief mention of the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Bud believes Zvereva, along with Gigi Fernandez (with whom Natasha won 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles), should be voted into the Hall of Fame as a team in 2010. Bud not only votes on admission to the Hall but is also a member himself, having been inducted in 1994. I bring up the inclusion of one-Slam winners of late, and specifically ask his opinion of whether he believes Kim Clijsters deserves entry to the Hall. “Probably not” is his reply. “I think you need a minimum of two Slam titles to earn admittance,” though he believes that a likable player such as Clijsters may see an outpouring of goodwill for her candidacy.

When we reach the subject of the Hall and his membership, the unavoidable topic has to be raised: the pants; and, specifically, if any of the pants are in the Hall of Fame. Bud laughs. “When you are inducted into the Hall, there is a display for the year that features items from your career. A pair was on display at that time. Currently there are not any, but there will be someday.”

What’s the story behind the pants, you ask? Blame Charlie Davidson of The Andover Shop in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “He was my tailor. One day, he commented after seeing me on television that I looked boring, like a guy from a yacht club. And he said that he wanted to make me a pair of trousers to wear for covering a match. He gave them to me and said if I decided to keep them, I had to pay, but there would be no charge if I wore them once and returned them.

“The first pair was a red and white-checkered Madras pattern. When I saw them, my first thought was I couldn’t wear these in public. And my then wife said she would be walking behind me the entire time I had them on.

“So, I wear these crazy pants to the U.S. vs. Mexico Davis Cup Final match. And everyone is staring, making whistling noises and adding their comments. At first I wanted to vanish. And then I realized, hey, this is fun. So, I went back to his shop following the match, paid him for them, and he has been making them for me ever since.”

Where do the wild patterns come from? “Occasionally, there will be something off the rack, but most of the materials you see me wearing are stuff that Anita [Bud’s wife] and I collect on our international travels. I purchase fabrics all over the world.” Among his favorites are materials collected from India or Bhutan and Australian Aboriginal fabrics.

Another favorite pair of pants comes with its own story. “Back in 1974, I covered the Ali/Foreman ‘Rumble In The Jungle.’ [Aside from tennis, Bud was also very active in reporting professional boxing, covering most of Muhammad Ali’s fights.] And I found fabric on which someone had screened both fighters, along with the logos for the fight.” He had Charlie make a pair of trousers from the fabric and subsequently wore them to an Arthur Ashe match, where he ran into Joe Frazier. “Frazier took one look at the pants, looked at me and said, ‘I hate both those guys.’”

While Bud’s trousers may not currently reside in the Hall, another hallmark of his career does. “I used an Olivetti typewriter back when I covered the 1968 U.S. Open, which was Arthur Ashe’s first Slam title. That typewriter is in the Hall of Fame.” The discussion of memorable players leads to a question about the perceived waning in popularity of the sport. “I think there is a lot more interest in tennis in the US than the media gives credit for,” Bud states. He attributes part of the problem to the lack of live newspaper coverage. “Most papers are using the AP feeds and throwing them in miscellany sports columns like ‘The Log’ here in Boston.” [The “Sports Log” is in the Boston Globe’s sports section]. But Bud adds that the players and their agents are not helping the cause. “In the older days, players saw it as a duty to help promote the game. You just don’t get that nowadays.” This leads to Bud’s biggest suggestion for increasing the popularity of the sport: “They need to open the players’ locker rooms. I’ve been promoting that idea for years. Let reporters get that immediate access to a player.” But Bud acknowledges that the idea has been a hard sell. “Stan Smith always used to ask why would we even want to go in.” Contrary to common practice in the United States, athlete locker room access is unheard of in almost every European country, per Bud.

Another problem with promoting the sport, as Bud sees it, is the fact that “tennis comes to a town generally for one week. Reporters generally don’t know the players well beforehand, and the players don’t go out of the way to allow access.” Another item that Bud feels has hurt the popularity of the sport concerns doubles: both the lack of interest in doubles and the way that the game has changed over the last 10-20 years. “I’m shocked by the one up, one back style of play. It’s like going to a country club and watching the older ladies play. No one volleys well, and there are no true doubles coaches any longer.”

For someone who has been covering the sport in excess of a half-century, I imagined it would be difficult for Bud to name a specific Slam fortnight that stood out in memory. “Most of the time there have been an outstanding men’s with a bad ladies’ tournament, or vice versa. But I’ll always cherish the memory of the 1988 Australian Open. It was the year that the tournament switched to the new facility at Melbourne Park. The ladies’ final that year (Graf/Evert) was great. And the men’s final (Wilander/Cash) was, in my opinion, the best men’s final ever.” Of course, discussion of Melbourne Park (originally known as Thunder Park, Bud reminds us) leads to a discussion about roofed stadiums. “I like a roof, because it allows you to keep playing, though my wife Anita hates roofs. After we had initially seen the completed roof added at Melbourne, I went ‘Wow,’ and expected all of the Slams to follow suit. Of course that didn’t happen."

I mention to Bud that, during the very same week that we are having our discussion, Pete Sampras was quoted in the press as saying that he was opposed to the roof being constructed over Centre Court at Wimbledon. “That’s not surprising. Pete was always very protective of his nerves, and holding onto your nerve was always rewarded at Wimbledon, due to the unpredictable weather patterns. It’s always been the coolest characters that have prevailed at Wimbledon. The French rewards endurance, and Wimbledon rewards nerve.” And speaking of Wimbledon, Bud can’t help but return to one of his favorite subjects one last time. “Do you notice how poor the baseline looks during the second week? I wish players would do more volleying. Like that Michaël Llodra.” Bud brings up Llodra, it seems, to tell what is one of his personal favorite stories from the Tour. “Do you know the story about Llodra and Key Biscayne? Ivan Ljubicic was returning to the locker room, and from everyone’s reaction, he knew something was up. No one was saying hello to him, but everyone was staring. Ljubicic got to his locker, opened it, and found a naked Michaël Llodra scrunched up inside. Ivan asked him, ‘what the hell are you doing in there?’ and Llodra replied, ‘You are playing so well, Ivan, I wanted some of your magic to rub off on me.’” Bud laughs heartily recounting the story. It’s clear he has an appreciation for the jokesters and characters of the Tour.

An hour and a half into our conversation, there’s time for one last question. Bud's dream match watched from the comfort of his home. Who’s on court, who’s in the chair, where is it played, and who announces it? Pondering only briefly, Bud replies “Bill Tilden playing either Rod Laver or Roger Federer on Centre Court at Wimbledon. With Martina Navratilova vs. Helen Wills as the under card.” Bud has no trouble naming the officials he would want calling the match. “Mike Blanchard for the men’s match, and his wife, Florence Blanchard, for the ladies’.” (For those who might not recognize the name, Mike Blanchard was a longtime US Open referee. He is perhaps best known for an incident that occurred at the Open in 1979, during a match featuring John McEnroe and Ilie Nastase. With histrionics on both sides of the net that day, Chair Umpire Frank Hammond defaulted Nastase. Nastase called for the tournament referee, Blanchard, who came down to the court, reversed the default, and not only removed Hammond from the chair but also called the rest of the match himself.) The announcers for Bud’s dream match? “Mary Carillo for the men.” And, with no reservation, he added, “myself for the women.”

And with our final question answered, it’s time to bid Bud a ‘Happy New Year’ - our interview occurred December 31 - and safe travel to Australia. Fortunately, ESPN will have Bud filing daily updates and player interviews from the Australia Open (be sure to watch for his Player of the Day, as well as other features). The trip to Australia will be followed by a full season of tennis coverage, work on his books and his website, along with a number of other projects. And there is no doubt that the plans include gathering of more wonderful stories for future generations of fans to enjoy.



To purchase The Bud Collins History of Tennis, published in 2008, click HERE