King Arthur

"I am a sociological phenomenon," says Arthur Ashe Jr. He is a great deal more than that. Last week, on the center court at Forest Hills' West Side Ten nis Club--the same stuffy club that once barred Ralph Bunche from membership--the son of a Negro playground guard from Richmond, Va., established himself as the No. 1 star in one of the most segregated U.S. sports. In a five-set match, Ashe, 25, defeated blond Tom Okker of The Netherlands, 14-12, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, for the U.S. Open championship. His victory made him the first amateur to win a major open event, the first Negro ever to capture the U.S. men's singles crown, and the first American in 13 years to win his country's most prestigious tennis title.

In a tournament that was a disaster for the professionals, 13 of whom lost to amateurs, Ashe himself defeated three pros. To get past Okker, a dogged retriever and a swift, agile shotmaker, Ashe had to play his best tennis ever. He hit 26 service aces, prompting Old Pro Pancho Gonzales to marvel that Arthur's cannonball was "the fastest serve since my own." Ashe's flat, accurate backhands were no less ferocious, drawing raves of "fantastic" and "tremendous" from another old master, Don Budge. Okker prolonged the contest as much as he could, but finally stood helpless as Ashe ran out the last game at love. Then Ashe walked off the court and embraced his father, who burst into tears.

Proud to Go. They were tears of triumph. By the time Arthur was eight, he was fascinated by tennis. On a salary of $2,400 a year, the elder Ashe was hard pressed to afford $30 rackets. Life became a good deal easier after Arthur met R. Walter Johnson, a Negro doctor from Lynchburg, Va., whose avocation was encouraging promising young Negro tennis players. Years before, Dr. Johnson had befriended a girl from Harlem named Althea Gibson and started her climb to two Wimbledon and two Forest Hills titles. Impressed by Arthur's raw talent, Dr. Johnson started him on the junior tournament trail, paid his traveling expenses and entry fees.

On the strength of his teen-age record, Ashe earned a scholarship to U.C.L.A., where he won two U.S. Intercollegiate championships, joined the R.O.T.C. and graduated with a commission in the Army. "I'd be proud to go to Viet Nam," he said, but the Army assigned him to West Point as a systems analyst, a job that allows him time to play in tournaments and compete for the U.S. Davis Cup team.

Hoping to Help. His skill on the court took Ashe into the best clubs, but all too often club members mistook him for a waiter and hollered: "Hey, boy, bring me a drink, will you?" At first Ashe swallowed the insults. But lately he finds himself growing blacker and more militant--on the court, as well as off.

"I've often been accused of lacking the 'killer instinct,' " says Ashe. "I suppose it used to be true. When things were going bad, I'd say to myself, 'What am I doing here?' " And then he would falter. In 1963, he won the U.S. Men's Hard Court championship, but was beaten in the third round at Wimbledon. In 1965 he led the U.S. Davis Cup team to a 3-2 victory over Mexico, only to be benched during the interzone finals against Spain on the grounds that his play on clay was lackluster.

Lately he has learned to hang on for the kill. Since July, when he got to the semifinals at Wimbledon before losing to Australian Pro Rod Laver, Ashe has won 26 straight matches, two of them in Davis Cup play against Spain. Last month he beat Bob Lutz to take the U.S. Amateur title.

Victory at Forest Hills last week brought Ashe a wealth of prestige, but Tom Okker took home the first-prize money of $14,000. Classified as a "registered" player in The Netherlands, Okker could opt for either expenses or prize money. The U.S. has no such classification, which is why Ashe may well turn pro when he gets out of the Army next February; there are rumors that he already has been offered a $100,000 contract. In the meantime, he is looking ahead to December's Davis Cup Challenge Round in Australia, when he hopes to help take back the cup that the U.S. has not won since 1963. "It's nice to hear the announcer say 'Point--Ashe,' " he admits, but Davis Cup competition is something else again. "I'd rather hear 'Point--United States.' "

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