Guillermo Vilas turns 70: a chat in Punta del Este in search of perfection

After his exceptional campaign in 1977 – which lasted until his participation in the Masters the following January – Guillermo Vilas allowed himself a long vacation, the longest hiatus since he had entered the vertigo of professional tennis several years earlier.

At the end of those holidays, he gave an extensive interview in Punta del Este to the journalist Julio Blanck, from Clarín, who traveled for the special production together with photographer Angel Juárez. It was published in Clarín Deportivo on February 13, 1978.

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The poplar groves and pine forests that line the route that starts from Carrasco International Airport led us to the top of the beach, then we came across the green serenity of the blades and the almost tropical spectacle of Punta Ballena, with its white sand and palms. And immediately, the magnificence of Punta del Este. The one with the soberly luxurious buildings and calm waters. That of European sports cars and sailboats. The one with the nightly carnival drums and the apartments to pay in dollars.

Our goal was called Guillermo Vilas and we had to wait a few hours to reach it. It’s just that Guillermo had gone on a two-day hike. As he got out of his blue car, a cloud of kids warned him: “Some Clarín journalists are waiting for you”.

The alleged fatigue did not affect Vilas’s friendliness. Right there he lent himself to dialogue. Before going up to his rooms and emptying the green bag that he had brought with him. A bar table overlooking the harbor and Playa Mansa was the place he chose to talk “whatever you want”.

Vilas after the Masters

-What have you done since the end of the Masters until now?

-From New York I went to Miami, where I was checked by several doctors to see if I could play the Grand Slam tournament. Since I couldn’t do it, I went back to Argentina. I spent three days in Buenos Aires and then drove the car along the Atlantic coast, Mar del Plata, Pinamar. From there I arrived in Punta del Este.

-Then you dedicated yourself only to rest.

Rest is not the right word. Rather, I have dedicated myself to doing those things that I don’t usually do. Write, read a lot, go out in the evening.

-Are you completely disassociated from tennis or are you aware of what happened in the last few tournaments?

I have read some things. I know from what happened in Mar del Plata that Gerulaitis won in Richmond and Connors in Philadelphia. I think it’s the main thing.

Vilas and his plans for 1978

– You recently said that 1978 was going to be a year of transition and improvement. Does this mean that you will get lower results than in 1977?

-You can’t know in advance. There are several types of transition. There is the passage I went through in 1976, which did not get me down because I was still among the best in the world. Of course, now it’s different because in 1977 I was at the top of the tennis year, which for me was a long-awaited goal. But anyway, you never know.

-And now what other goals have you set for yourself?

-The things I want to achieve right now are much more difficult to achieve. I want to be the undisputed number one, I want to win Wimbledon and I want to win a Grand Slam if possible. This may mean not being number one in 1978, but I have to sacrifice something like that to get to the top.

Vilas and the need to win

-Admit the possibility of statistically lower results than last year. But do you realize that in Argentina there is almost a need for Vilas to win?

-I have always been indifferent to all this. I can’t take into account what people think to make my life. I do what I think is right. Just as I respect the feelings of people who want to see me win, I will also continue to act according to my common sense. As I told you, it will be a transition year and it will be a difficult transition.

– Will it also be a year of transition spiritually?

-I explain very easily. I divide my life drastically. I will definitely have a spiritual transition but it will not affect tennis at all.

– Go back to first. Does that mean you don’t feel this obligation to always win?

-After 1974 I thought that even if people didn’t follow me or applaud me, I wouldn’t care because I had everything. But that’s not the case, if you don’t win they hit you hard. Now that I’ve won Forest Hills, they’re going to want me to win Wimbledon, if they don’t ask me this year will be next. People get used to triumph and defeat as they get used to joy and pain. I understand that and I always want to win. I know, for example, that if I win Forest Hills again this year, it won’t be the same and if I lose everything will be said. They are the classic commuting movements that occur in all walks of life.

-What is the difference in you when you face a match or tournament today compared to four years ago?

-It is all a question of method and experience, the differences are great. Some know things naturally by intuition. I had to do my own experience, sometimes right down to the shots. Mentally it is also different because I set myself higher and higher goals.

Vilas is number 1 in the world

-In that aspect you mentioned long ago “being the undisputed number one”. Is it really important to define it or is it just a circumstantial fact?

-I know what they are and everyone speaks from their own point of view. “The best player in the world”, which is a totally subjective thing, is confused with “the best player of every year”, which is the world champion. And I know I was indisputably the best player of 1977. The results are visible. Who can prove who is the best player in the world? … None. Borg didn’t play me when I was in my prime, I didn’t play Connors in Europe and they didn’t play all tournaments like me. The important thing is not only to win the tournament but not to lose to anyone. Maybe when Rod Laver won the Grand Slam he could be considered the best player in the world, but always within that year.

Vilas and his image

-From writing poetry you have written a film script, you read philosophy and you like music that creates the image of an intellectual type different from the common one of athletes. Are you interested in keeping it?

I didn’t look for that image. I’m so and ready. Tomorrow I can change and I will not lose authenticity. The important thing is not to owe anyone anything and do what you really want. What I do, which is playing tennis, I do it well. Later I will try to do other things, but without worrying about pretending to be something.

-There are also those who say that Vilas is a dehumanized machine, which feeds on dollars and produces rackets.

– Dollars are a consequence. Nobody gives them to you to show off or for your pretty face, but you have to win. If you don’t win, you don’t get paid. They are the rules of the game and I accept them as all tennis players do. I like to play tennis, I like it a lot and if I also make money and I’m a machine, it’s up to me.

Vilas and the new generation

-A few years ago Vilas, Borg and Connors revolutionized tennis, now are there new figures that allow us to assume another similar shock?

-Connors no, he is something else. Borg and I pioneered the game of all spin shots, with over spins. Something similar has been done before by Nicola Pietrangeli, Manolo Santana and Chuck McKinley, only they applied a hit with effect and combined it with another hit. Then Dibbs, Solomon and Stockton copied us to some degree. Among the young people there is a group that is growing very strong and plays as well as Winitsky, McEnroe and, among us, Clerc, Dalla Fontana and Gattiker. Connors is different, an intermediate product. More than a new revolution, he is moving towards an improvement of that style.

-Do you feel like a small idol or a model of Argentine youth?

-I know I can become a role model for many people, but I’m not looking for it. Each adopts as a model what he feels identified with. The world is looking for models. Just as there are live models, there are also tennis models.

-And what were yours?

-Australian Lew Hoad was the idol I’ve always had in my heart and many people tell me that I look like him physically and in the idea of ​​my game, the way I think on the pitch. I also admired and tried to copy Tomas Koch. Another tennis monster for me was Art Larsen. Of the players now I like Solomon because his game is very perfect. Even Nastase, Ray Moore and sometimes Tanner and Panatta. I’ve always enjoyed watching Rosewall play. I love watching tennis and I learn by watching it, that’s why I go there.

Vilas and his future

– Ten years ago you started racing outside the country and you have come to what you are today. What will become of Vilas in ten years?

-Maybe he is far from tennis, it will all depend on how he is physically, on how he works now. Maybe I’ll play in tournaments for masters, veterans. Maybe it will last longer, but I think I won’t have a long life, but it will be intense.

-And beyond tennis?

-Now I feel the need to learn to play an instrument. Isolate myself in one place and study ten hours a day until I’m fine. I will also review the script of the film and if I like it I will start writing another one. I will not write in quantity, but I would have it ready in two or three years, but I did it conscientiously. In a way, I play so much that I can have financial peace of mind that allows me to do all the other things that interest me in peace.

-Obviously you are a person who constantly seeks perfection. Doesn’t that create some kind of conflict for you?

-Sure, but I am convinced that the world is one and the others behind that is the one who decides his life. To think like this I had to leave people, great affections and sometimes ideas. Life taken this way is hard, not just for me but for the people around me, but that’s how I understand it. And luckily I have people, friends, who even if they are few, I know they are with me when I need them. This is what’s important.

We close the notebook and get up from the table. Vilas signed a couple of autographs and before saying goodbye he was involved in inquiries about the handling of the camera our partner had with him.river “I recently bought the same one, but I don’t know how to handle it well. I’m going to take a course, because I also want to take some nice photos … “