Not always, but whenever four amateur tennis players play doubles at the club, a reference to the idol may emerge. Be it a joke or a comment of admiration. In our case, for example, dozens of times someone told us a story of the main successes of Guillermo Vilas to tell us what they were doing at that moment or under what circumstance: in front of the door of a delivery room or inside, above a ceiling in a way that the sound of the radio could reach.

Many will wonder if time will erase their existence in the popular imagination because the current situation is producing new tennis players and the expectation of their campaigns is attracting attention. Some will pass, but in notes, books, prizes and monuments, his figure will always be present. Or there will be those who say that the best Argentine tennis player and something else of the times, in addition to having reinvented a sport, contributed to a new way of life for Argentines that today, and for many reasons, is a reality that surpasses sport. .

Since the Vilas explosion, which was to be located in 1974, the circumstances were linked. Those who did not play tennis began to do so and the members of the clubs had to place the cards of each of the participants in a double in order to obtain, with a maneuver not without malice, that each of them obtains four shifts per hour in a weekend. This lack and this necessity has led to the emergence of countries. First of all knowing how to play, then getting used to this new way of living.

Everything was growing. At first only a radio and a couple of newspapers covered the activity. And it seems ancient history, compared to the intensity of TV and today’s multiple media powered by social networks. But of indisputable origin: follow Guillermo Vilas.

The tennis player goes far beyond the 62 international and professional tournaments he has won, his almost 200 successive “clinics” with almost half a million participants and those we have seen: they have brought together parents and children, club members, tourists, depending on the location . The idol state was screaming.

Vilas was an agent, Jorge Luis Borges would say. And, basically, he was unique. A denomination that goes far beyond the reference to a “number 1”.

Just as his exploits cannot be forgotten, there will always be someone who remembers and keeps his attributes in memory. Thank you Guillermo, so great, so much so that we remember on this birthday that he was born on the same day that General San Martín passed to immortality. With no intention of confrontation, it’s just circumstances.

Nothing more and nothing less.