Wimbledon 2017: Magic moments of Virginia Wade, Pat Cash, Andre Agassi and more

1977 - Virginia Wade

When Andy Murray lifted the famous Wimbledon trophy for the first time four years ago, it ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s singles champion.

However, the wait for a ladies’ winner goes on and this year it will be 40 years since the last triumph – Virginia Wade’s in front of Queen Elizabeth II.

Wade beat Dutchwoman Betty Stove 4-6 6-3 6-1 that day and there was not been a more famous one for a British female tennis player since. 

However, hopes are high that Johanna Konta can end the drought this summer and she regarded as one of the favourites by the bookmakers.

What is often forgotten about 1977 is that it was almost an all-British final in Silver Jubilee year – Stove beat Sue Barker in the last four.

Konta may go on to lift the trophy but with no other Briton inside the world’s top 100 right now, it’s fair to say the Brit v Brit wait – which stretches back even further to 1961 – won’t be coming to an end in 2017.

1977 - John McEnroe

Everyone’ favourite champion-turned-pundit didn’t win in 1977 but instead this year we celebrate 40 years since the Super Brat’s Wimbledon debut.

And what a debut it was, McEnroe coming through qualifying before going all the way to the semi-finals where top seed Jimmy Connors – and soon-to-be arch rival - would eventually prove too good.

McEnroe was just 17 at the time and would go on to lift the prestigious gold trophy three times, famously ending Bjorn Borg’s run of five consecutive titles in the 1981 final before winning again in 1983 and 1984.

He’ll be back this year in the commentary box, still making headlines just as he did on the court.

1987 - Pat Cash

It’s now 30 years since the original players’ box climb.

The man you may now regard as ‘the Aussie guy with the earring on TV’ was a grasscourt expert and in a career littered with injuries, his moment of glory came at Wimbledon in 1987 when he swept all before him.

Sporting his famous chequered headband, Cash dropped only one set all tournament with his results in the final three rounds summing up how well he played that year – Mats Wilander, Jimmy Connors and Ivan Lendl were all beaten in straight sets.

Victory over world number one Lendl sparked Cash's famous climb through the crowded stands to hug his team.

It has been imitated many times since but never bettered.

1992 - Andre Agassi

Twenty-five years ago, British tennis fans knew plenty about Andre Agassi but most of their knowledge came not from what he necessarily did on the court.

They knew he was the wild boy with the crazy hair and a flamboyant dress sense – who could forget the denim shorts and fluorescent piping? – but they also knew (or thought they did) he had little chance of winning ‘their title’, Wimbledon.

In 1992, grasscourt tennis was still about serving and volleying; baseliners simply didn’t win at Wimbledon, particularly those who had snubbed the grass for years by simply not turning up.

But Agassi was always one to rip up the rulebook and he did so in emphatic fashion, beating Boris Becker and John McEnroe en route to the final where he dismissed a third serve-volleyer, Goran Ivanisevic, in a five-set thriller.

Agassi’s first of eight Grand Slam titles had, against all odds, come on grass.

This year he is expected to be back on Centre Court – in the players’ box working in a coaching capacity for three-time champion Novak Djokovic.

2002 - Lleyton Hewitt

A measure of the current golden era of tennis is the fact that Wimbledon 2017 marks 15 years since anyone outside of the so-called Big Four won the men’s singles title.

The last man to do so was Lleyton Hewitt, who was the best player on the planet at the time and proved it that Sunday afternoon with a demolition of surprise finalist David Nalbandian. The Argentine won just six games.

The Big Four’s dominance would begin the following year with Roger Federer’s first of seven (to date) triumphs. In 2002 he lost in round one to qualifier Mario Ancic in straight sets.

The chance of another non-Big Four winner arriving this year are not great, according to the bookies – Federer, Murray, Nadal and Djokovic occupy the top four slots in the betting at time of writing. It’s 16/1 bar.

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