WHOEVER thought that Wimbledon, perhaps the most elite international lawn tennis tournament, is an impenetrable territory to Filipino athletes is sorely mistaken. A Filipino reached the exclusive Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Championships 24 years ago the second to do so since Johnny Jose. And he was a Thomasian.
At 16, former UST Tennisters coach Nilo Natividad was already a topseeded amateur tennister in the country. He had ransacked tennis titles fit for his credentials, including the National Indoor Age-group Championships. A member of UST’s lawn tennis team (Golden Cuppers then, Tennisters now,) he took the fierce step in ousting the UP regime in lawn tennis, carrying the Thomasian racqueteers to the Championship in 1982. In the same year, he also received the Benavides Achievement Award for his outstanding performance in local and international events.
Despite his achievements in the local tennis scene, Natividad’s road to Wimbledon was not easy. He had to wrestle with the technicalities in international competitions.
To get a seeding in the prestigious grandslam tournament, International Tennis Federation rules state that an aspirant must pass the major tournament playing record from July 1980-May 1981.
Having won the 1980 and 1981 Taipei International Junior Tennis Classics against top American Junior racqueteers Michal Mayers and Paul Servinski Natividad, he became an immediate nominee for a seeding to the Wimbledon Junior Tennis Meet.
In his Wimbledon debut, Natividad was knocked out by Australian Pat Cash. Cash, who had served first, got into momentum faster than Natividad, scoring 40-0 for a 1-0 lead.
As the game progressed, the obvious disadvantage in training became clearer to Natividad, who was used to playing on clay and shell courts—slower surfaces compared to grass. Cash made about 10 aces in the game, while Natividad had none, who struggled all throughout the game for a 6-3, 6-1 finish.
Natividad was known for his coolness under pressure. His play was branded as calculated and scientific with varying shots to confuse opponents. Although his Wimbledon skirmish was unsuccessful, the Thomasian community takes pride in the fact that he qualified for the Wimbledon.
