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**Rollo** · Mar 16th, 2009, 03:32 PM

A bump up for Adey

Virginia Wade relates a story about Gypsy. Flying back from a doubles event in Japan Ruzici starting reading everyone's fortune using tarot cards. Everyone was told to make a wish. Only Wade was predcited to get her wish.

The year was 1977, so we all know what Wade's wish was!

AdeyC · Mar 16th, 2009, 07:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HanaFanGA

Brighton, Great Britain
October 16, 1978
Surface: Indoor Carpet
Round Opponent W/L Score
R32 Sharon Walsh-Pete (USA) W 6-4 6-0
R16 Belinda Thompson (GBR) W 6-0 6-3
QF Virginia Wade (GBR) W 6-3 6-4
SF Kerry Reid (AUS) W 7-5 6-4
F Betty Stove (NED) W 5-7 6-2 7-5

*Virginia continues to add good fast court results to her resume by defeating Wimbledon champ Virginia Wade and Australian champ Kerry Reid before losing 7-5 in the 3rd in the finals to Stove.

That's wrong - she was the first Brighton champion - the Brighton Centre is 10 minutes away from where I live

AdeyC · Mar 16th, 2009, 07:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

A bump up for Adey

Much appreciated

**Rollo** · Mar 16th, 2009, 08:06 PM

Quote:

she was the first Brighton champion - the Brighton Centre is 10 minutes away from where I live

Lucky You Adey! I was sad when Brighton fell off the calendar in the mid 1990s. 1978 was Virgie's best year by far-she was the world #4 in my opinion, #5 at the very least.

AdeyC · Mar 16th, 2009, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

Lucky You Adey! I was sad when Brighton fell off the calendar in the mid 1990s.

I was very sorry to see it finish - although near the end they were struggling to get top players apart from Steffi Graf to play there, and with no decent home players as well there were many empty seats in the last few years.

trivfun · Mar 17th, 2009, 08:40 PM

Few people can brag about being a true inspiration for future champions without winning a Grand Slam.

Maybe she was the inspiration of going for your shots at all times.

AdeyC · Mar 17th, 2009, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trivfun

Few people can brag about being a true inspiration for future champions without winning a Grand Slam.

Maybe she was the inspiration of going for your shots at all times.

she was the French Open Champion in 1978

trivfun · Mar 18th, 2009, 04:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdeyC

she was the French Open Champion in 1978

True. I meant that she was a Grand Slam caliber or contender like a Rosie Casals.

nancy jarkas · Mar 18th, 2009, 07:57 AM

any pics of her holding the French open Trophy?

Declan · Mar 18th, 2009, 09:39 AM

Just flicked through this thread for the first time...Noticed the Bremar Cup from London in December isn't listed. It was a 16-draw event, with seeds Wade, King, Stove and I think Tomanova. Virginia reached the semi-finals where she was thrashed 6-1 6-0 by Virginia Wade. I know, coz I was there! It was at Crystal Palace, and the event seems to have been airbrushed out of history! I'll dig out my old programme -maybe later today- to see who Virginia beat in the first round and Quarter-final.

Declan · Mar 18th, 2009, 09:41 AM

Also -this SO pedantic; sorry! - against Kathy May at Philadelphia in 1979, it wasn't an out-and-out walkover by Kathy-Virginia retired injured at 4-4 in the first set.

iainmac · Apr 9th, 2009, 06:44 PM

I had great admiration for the attacking game that Ruzici employed. She had great athleticism as well. I feel she performed her best tennis at the French, Italian, US Claycourts and more surprisingly at Brighton when the indoor tournament was on the go. She won the inaugural event over Stove in 1978, and apart from an early round loss to Anne Hobbs in 1981 she was always a contender. Her quarter final with Chris Evert in 1980
was a fantastic match, and even when her career was in free fall she was still a contender at Brighton in 84 although hammered 1 and 1 by her old doubles partner Joanne Russell.

DennisFitz · Apr 11th, 2009, 07:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HanaFanGA

WTA database 1982:

US CLAY COURTS
WTA, USA, IN, August 8, 1982, $150,000, CLAY (O)
Draw: 64M/0Q/32D, Rank: 0, Seed/Entry: 1

Rnd Opponent Rank W/L Score
R64 BYE
R32 H2H ROLLINSON, SUSAN W 3-6 6-4 6-1
R16 H2H (10) MADRUGA-OSSES, IVANNA W 6-4 6-2
Q H2H CASATI, MICHELLE W 7-5 6-2
S H2H (4) GADUSEK, BONNIE W 6-2 6-0
F H2H (7) SUKOVA, HELENA W 6-2 6-0
WTA Championship Pts: 0 WTA Ranking Pts.: 0

Supposedly, the 1982 US Clay Court win, shown on CBS television, was the match Richard Williams saw and then said he wanted his daughters to become pros. Richard talked about seeing Virginia win a tournament and getting a big check. The US Clay Court event would probably be the only time Richard could have ever seen Virginia winning a tournament on TV in the US, and she probably got $30,000 for winning the US Clay Courts. Venus and Serena were already born when this match occurred.

1978 was her best season. An amazing run beginning with the European clay court swing! I never understood how the official WTA rankings had her finishing at #12 (behind Casals!). At least TENNIS magazine ranked her #6 for 1978, which is where I think she belonged.

**Rollo** · Apr 11th, 2009, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Supposedly, the 1982 US Clay Court win, shown on CBS television, was the match Richard Williams saw and then said he wanted his daughters to become pros. Richard talked about seeing Virginia win a tournament and getting a big check. The US Clay Court event would probably be the only time Richard could have ever seen Virginia winning a tournament on TV in the US, and she probably got $30,000 for winning the US Clay Courts. Venus and Serena were already born when this match occurred.

Aha! Thanks for the explanation Dennis. The usual story that Richard was inspired by Ruzici's 1978 never made sense to me-I know it wasn't on TV. And I can confirm the 1982 US Clay final was on TV-Ruzici tore a young Helena Sukova to pieces. The 1982 story sounds correct.

Quote:

1978 was her best season. An amazing run beginning with the European clay court swing! I never understood how the official WTA rankings had her finishing at #12 (behind Casals!). At least TENNIS magazine ranked her #6 for 1978, which is where I think she belonged.

Yes, 1978 was her best by far. One thing that always hurt Ruzici in the computers rankings was she entered smaller events such as Kitzbuhel, Gstad, Bastad, etc. Even in winning events like this she hurt her computer rankings due to the "average" method then used.

Not having her in the year-end top 10. Ruzici NEVER finished in the year-end top ten, which goes to show how crzay the old system could be too!

iainmac · Apr 23rd, 2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rollo

Aha! Thanks for the explanation Dennis. The usual story that Richard was inspired by Ruzici's 1978 never made sense to me-I know it wasn't on TV. And I can confirm the 1982 US Clay final was on TV-Ruzici tore a young Helena Sukova to pieces. The 1982 story sounds correct.

Yes, 1978 was her best by far. One thing that always hurt Ruzici in the computers rankings was she entered smaller events such as Kitzbuhel, Gstad, Bastad, etc. Even in winning events like this she hurt her computer rankings due to the "average" method then used.

Not having her in the year-end top 10. Ruzici NEVER finished in the year-end top ten, which goes to show how crzay the old system could be too!

I agree that it was crazy that she never finished the year in the top ten. Especially in 1978 and I would say 1981. I think the latter was her best year actually. Runner up at the Italian and Swiss, quarter final at Wimbledon and the French Open. Also a fine run to the final at the US Claycourts, finalist at year end championships. Allied to that she had a good year in doubles with Joanne Russell. Mind you if you look at her doubles results with Mima Jausovec in 78 that would confirm 78 as her best year.