He’s studying tennis, so he came in and looked at someone playing, and he’d figure out what was wrong with his serve or whatever. He noticed these little things that only he could point out. So I wanted to name the tennis center after him. I’ve had his friends explain to him that people are slowly forgetting who you are, so this facility should be named after you.
mr. Savitt, you reached the semifinals of the US Open in 1951, which gave you lifelong benefits, including access to the locker room at Flushing Meadows. What are your favorite tournament memories?
BS† My father went every day and every night for two weeks. It’s harder for him to get by now, but we went last year and had a great day, and we’ll be going again this year.
When the tournament was in Forest Hills, it was much smaller and everyone was wearing suits and jackets. We would talk to the players. They didn’t have the entourages, all those coaches and trainers, so you had access to them.
For most of his life in Forest Hills or Flushing Meadows, he couldn’t walk five feet without meeting someone who was a friend or someone who knew him when he played league.
Our box is right behind the field, so once my dad knew all the boys playing, he would actually coach them, even if you weren’t allowed to. He would encourage them if they went down, or if he saw that their opponent had a weak backhand, he said, “Get the backhand.”
BG† At the US Open, back in the day, all tennis people knew Dick. They would give him Mr. Calling Savitt, even Arthur Ashe. It’s a little different now, but I think he’d rather not be known. He was always very serious about watching tennis, and he didn’t want to talk too much. I remember Alan King, the comedian, had a box next to Dick’s, and when Alan waved to the crowd, Dick got angry and said, ‘Sit down. Sit down. This is about tennis.”
