Lots of Lutz

Ken Rosewall's drinking is confined to an occasional glass of beer. Stan Smith's most colorful expression is "Aw, shoot." Rod Laver does not even smoke. The tennis world has, in fact, sorely lacked an outstanding male player with personality to match since the heyday of dashing, temperamental Pancho Gonzales. Now there is a promising candidate for Pancho's old role. He is Breezy-Mannered Bachelor Bob Lutz, who last week became the first American in ten years to win the U.S. Professional Tennis Championship.

With his shag-style haircut and aquiline nose, 24-year-old Lutz looks like a cross between Actress Jane Fonda and former Baseball Swinger Ken ("The Hawk") Harrelson. His hazel eyes are as adept at staring soulfully at a pretty girl across a crowded room as they are at following a speeding ball across a net. Then there is the Lutz smile, or smirk, that has helped make him the idol of tennis "groupies." On court, he contends, the smile helps him relax. But it is the sort of constant expression that can get on an opponent's nerves, especially if it is backed up by consistently strong strokes. For much of Lutz's adult playing career, the smile has lacked that kind of support. But not in the pro title matches at the Longwood Cricket Club near Boston.

Displaying a devastating assortment of backhand shots, unseeded Lutz vanquished some formidable opponents. He knocked out top-seeded John Newcombe of Australia in the first round, scoring the final point in a tense tie breaker with typically audacious anticipation of a cross-court drive. "Fortune favors daring," Lutz later explained. Lutz's other victims, in order, were New Zealander Brian Fairlie, Aussie Laver, South African Cliff Drysdale and Dutchman Tom Okker. Okker was out-hustled in the final by Lutz, who earned $10,000 for his 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 triumph.

Lutz has been playing tennis since his ninth birthday, when his father gave him a junior-size racket, a certificate for twelve lessons and a pat on the back. As a youngster in Southern California, he won regional and national singles titles. Then he entered the University of Southern California and became best known as Stan Smith's doubles partner. The pair won the national collegiate championships in 1967 and 1968; also in 1968 they took the U.S. Open and amateur titles and the first of three successive Davis Cup victories. Joining Texas Promoter Lamar Hunt's pro troupe in 1971, Lutz was no sudden sensation. In fact, before this month, he had won just one of the troupe's tournaments. But his Longwood triumph seemed more of a weathervane than a fluke. At a time when some of the established stars appear to be slipping, Lutz seems to be on the climb--despite a loss in the first round of a Cleveland tournament later last week.

"Lutz's real ability is his strength," says Rosewall, the master tactician and most durable of the pros. "He can play even the most difficult shots with simple strength. And he's got age on his side." Relaxing in Cleveland last week in a blue and pink striped Pierre Cardin shirt, blue velveteen blazer and color-coordinated bellbottoms, Lutz attributed his sudden rise to a newfound confidence. "Tennis is 70 to 80 percent psychological," he said. "After you beat Rosewall or Laver once, you say to yourself, 'I can do it again.' "

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