Brian Gottfried

By Allyson Turner

After beginning his professional career in 1972, Brian Gottfried went on to win 25 singles titles and 54 doubles titles.

In 1977 Gottfried was ranked No. 3 in the world and won five singles titles. That year he reached the finals of the French Open but lost to Guillermo Vilas. However, Gottfried and his doubles partner, Raul Ramirez were victorious at Roland Garros that year. They also won the French doubles title in 1975 and reached the finals in 1976 and 1980. They were named ATP Doubles Team of the Year in 1976, the year they won Wimbledon.

Now 47 and staying close to the game, Gottfried is a touring pro for the ATP Tour Resort operations in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. He also plays in various tournaments on the men's Senior Tour.

In 1984, Brian Gottfried won the ATP Sportsmanship Award. (ATP Tour)

What is your fondest memory of the French Open?
I was once asked this question, and I said, 'I love the ham sandwiches at the French Open.' They use this thin ham on a baguette with lots of butter. After I said that, when I came back the next year, the restaurant manager just went crazy, he loved that.

On court, there were so many things. The French for me, was one of the top majors because it was just so hard to play. You had to be in such good shape, the matches lasted so long and usually there would be four or five different weather conditions during one match. It was just a great atmosphere.

How much has the tournament changed?
The first year there, I couldn't find a taxi driver who knew where Roland Garros was because I couldn't get there from the airport. Remember, they didn't understand me but they just didn't know. I finally found a guy who would take me to the stadium and he dropped me off at a tennis club. Like an idiot, I didn't see any cars or anybody around, but he said, 'Here it is.' So I got out, and I was about two miles from the place. Luckily, I found an American walking their dog who directed me the right way.

Back then, they used to play the Davis Cup right around French Open time. In fact, that was happening a couple of days before I arrived and Spain was playing France. When I walked in the stadium, a couple of guys who I had been reading about my whole life were playing, Andres Gimeno and Pierre Barthes. It was like walking into World Tennis magazine and you felt like you were in the history books. And I was 20 at the time so that was pretty incredible. Also, at that time you could go and watch a match on any court, and sit by yourself and read a book. The Americans would travel together and we would go where one of our buddies was playing. There was never a crowd and you could wonder back with a ham sandwich and your book and watch them play. It was a very intimate little club. I think they had about 9 or 10 courts back then and obviously things changed quite a bit where now you can't get a ticket. It's an incredible event now, they have taken over both sides of the street with the stadium.

Have you been back recently?
I went last year. They were trying to bring back a senior event and it was culture shock. It was just huge. You literally can't go outside and watch now, there are so many people. It's more than just a tennis tournament, it's a showpiece of tennis, and a place that everybody wants to be. Also, the great thing is, the players are all there. It's a tough tournament to win, because everyone in the world wants to play there.

What was the greatest moment for you on the court?
One thing I remember pretty clearly is when my doubles partner, Raul Ramirez and I won the world championships. It was in 1976 and the finals were in Mexico and we won. He is Mexican and I remember being carried around the court on the fans' shoulders. That's something that doesn't happen too much in the U.S. The Latin countries and the European countries are more emotional so Raul was used to that stuff. Someone said the look on my face was pure fright.

How about off the court?
When the U.S. won the Davis Cup in Romania in 1972. I say off the court because I was an orange-squeezer that year. They always took two of the young guys to the matches to help with practices or hit with the guys, to warm them up and give us some experience around the Davis Cup atmosphere. To see the effort of the U.S. team winning in Romania when Ilie Nastase and Stan Smith were co-ranked No. 1 in the world. Stan beating 'Nasty' in the first match and then beating (Ion) Tiriac in the fourth match to clinch it. Just to see the effort and what the U.S. team -- and I say really Stan did -- it was just a monster effort; to win away from home.

Having that great memory of the Davis Cup, is it a disappointment when you look at the tournament today?
I have my thoughts on it, and the athletes today have their thoughts. I don't feel disappointed because their thoughts aren't the same as mine. Because we had the same deal back in those days in which there were players who enjoyed playing Davis Cup and they were players who didn't want to play. You have to fit it into your priorities but from my side, I can't understand how anybody would not want to represent their country anytime they got called. But everybody doesn't think alike.

Did you ever wish that you played later?
I never at all think that. The game is changed and people say, 'You came up at a time where maybe you didn't make as much money as you would've now.' But if I played nowadays, there's no guarantee that I would have had the same results. And if you think about it, you can't change it so why waste your time.

What do you think of the state of men's tennis today?
It is certainly as deep and as strong as it has ever been. The thing that makes it so great is anybody can win any day. In my day, the top 10 or 15 players always believed they could beat the top two or three but now, there are no numbers. Players don't look at numbers or rankings and there's no respect for any players. I mean that in a good way. The players are not intimidated by a player's ranking. That's positive for the men's side, but at the same time, people on the outside will say, 'I want to see my favorite player and he lost.' Well, that's the way tennis is. What is hard for an American to realize, is just because an American doesn't get to the finals, doesn't mean the tournament hasn't happened. When (Gustavo) Kuerten won the French a couple of years ago, tennis in Brazil just went crazy. When (Patrick) Rafter wins the U.S. Open two years in a row, tennis in Australia does the same thing. But an American flips through the channels, and says, 'I don't know him, I'm not gonna watch.' We are an international game, which again is hard for Americans to identify with.

How about the women's game?
Things have gone great for the women. They obviously have a lot of attention and a lot of players who are creating a lot of attention and excitement. That's good and creates a lot of excitement for the game of tennis.

What do you miss most?
I don't miss anything. I was able to stop under my terms. I was still ranked about 50th in the world and I just said, 'I've had enough. I've enjoyed it. It has been great, but I'm ready to do something else. My family is now my priority.' If I wasn't playing well and my ranking had dropped and I still wanted to play, then I would imagine, there would be some regrets. Now I don't even remember the time when I played, it was like it was a different lifetime.

What lesson did you learn from the game?
Lots of lessons not necessarily from playing but going through the whole experience. It's an individual sport and you learn certainly a lot of discipline and how to motivate yourself. You learn how to compete under pressure and you learn how to react in front of people. That's not to say you do all those things right each time but you're certainly put in situations enough times, that you might draw on something that you went through in your career.

What are you doing now?
I work with the ATP tour. I was most recently the GM of the club here (Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla.), which was just sold so I'm no longer the GM. My title is now touring pro. I work with a lot of the pros on the Tour who come here to train along with our club members. I play a little bit and play in about five or six tournaments a year on the Senior Tour. I still love to play. I still love the game and being around it.

What is the most important thing you try to teach players?
Be intense and just enjoy it. Those are two clichés but you have to really enjoy the game to want to continue when things are not going great.

What is a typical day for you?
Spending a couple of hours in the morning with the pros and some office work after that.

What would be the perfect day?
Hitting tennis balls and being in the sun.