{"id":48,"date":"2014-02-28T22:10:32","date_gmt":"2014-02-28T22:10:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/?page_id=48"},"modified":"2014-08-25T01:42:48","modified_gmt":"2014-08-25T01:42:48","slug":"more-triumph-and-darkness","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/www.mariabueno.org\/indextemp.php\/more-triumph-and-darkness\/","title":{"rendered":"More triumph and darkness"},"content":{"rendered":"

Back to > The Crowning Glory<\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

1965 to 1993<\/address>\n

\"In<\/a><\/p>\n

Returning\u00a0to Melbourne after an absence of some five years, Maria\u00a0was increasingly aware that her left\u00a0 knee was growing ever more painful. In the final of the Australian 1965 final it\u00a0led to severe cramp which, in turn caused further damage and forced her to\u00a0default when Margaret was leading 5-7 6-4 5-2 in their final.<\/p>\n

\"Billie<\/a><\/p>\n

She reached the final at Wimbledon but her\u00a0hesitant volleying told of a deep seated anxiety, and after losing to Billie\u00a0Jean Moffitt in the American semi-finals, it was no longer possible to ignore the\u00a0need for surgery.<\/p>\n

Knee Surgery<\/h2>\n

Just before Christmas that year Maria\u00a0entered the Don Pedro II Hospital in S\u00e2o Paulo where Jo\u00e3o Di\u00a0 Vicenzo, one of Brazil\u2019s leading orthopaedic surgeons, took 140 minutes to\u00a0remove two menisci from her left knee.<\/p>\n

The operation needed three incisions,\u00a0which took 40 stitches to pull together. Bed-ridden and frustrated, it took four months before Maria could get near a tennis court\u00a0again.<\/p>\n

Determined not to waste time, she checked herself out of hospital early\u00a0against the advice of her physiotherapists and set about her own rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

She made it back to Paris where she lost to\u00a0Ann Jones, anxiety about her knee and lack of sleep contributing to her ill-ease.<\/p>\n

She had lost 20 lbs and looked tired and\u00a0drawn from her long ordeal.<\/p>\n

More setbacks<\/h2>\n

Another loss at Beckenham after a severe\u00a0attack of colic resulting from gall stones was another set-back but she\u00a0 nevertheless reached the final at Wimbledon where lack of physical power and\u00a0confidence left her vulnerable to the persistent attacks of Billie Jean King.<\/p>\n

\"08<\/a><\/p>\n

Maria, however, now growing in strength and form, was successful at Forest Hills where she romped through the singles,\u00a0beating Nancy Richey in a one-sided final.<\/p>\n

But with Margaret Smith Court now in\u00a0Perth and virtually retired, Maria began feeling that some of the challenge had\u00a0gone out of the game.<\/p>\n

Additionally her playing elbow began giving trouble.<\/p>\n

The strain of playing in three events a\u00a0 week during a schedule that kept her on the road for nearly 52 weeks in the year\u00a0was beginning to tell.<\/p>\n

Tennis elbow<\/h2>\n

A wet Wimbledon in 1967 that demanded Maria\u00a0 played matches back to back and a total of 120 games in just one day destroyed\u00a0the arm and caused her to later withdraw from Forest Hills.<\/p>\n

Although the fundamental physical damage\u00a0had been done, she continued to play for another season with some considerable success.<\/p>\n

Ironically, she was stopped at the 1968\u00a0Wimbledon in the quarters by Nancy Richey while suffering from a bad leg but\u00a0went on to New York to defeat Margaret Court in three sets in the quarter-finals before losing to King by a similar score.<\/p>\n

She claimed her final Grand Slam title by\u00a0winning the doubles with Court, beating the top seeded pair of King and Casals\u00a0 4-6 9-7 8-6. It was her fifth US doubles crown.<\/p>\n

Early retirement<\/h2>\n

Maria was finally forced to retire in early 1969 during the Caribbean Circuit in Caracas when she was unable to use her\u00a0 playing arm even to pick up a glass.<\/p>\n

Doctors told her the damage was so severe she would never play again. This was Maria\u2019s darkest hour. Destroyed at having to give up the game she\u00a0 loved, she sought help from every possible source.<\/p>\n

Several operations virtually\u00a0rebuilt her arm and shoulder and it is a credit to her strength of resolve that\u00a0 she rehabilitated herself for a third time over a long and difficult seven years\u00a0of recovery.<\/p>\n

This courage in the face of adversity is\u00a0the mettle of which such heroes and heroines are made.<\/p>\n

For such a great champion to have been felled at the height of her career on the eve of Open Tennis was a tragedy in\u00a0itself, but to have to endure indescribable pain as part of her everyday life\u00a0was further cruelty.<\/p>\n

Comeback against the odds<\/h2>\n

\"mariaesther\"<\/a>Nevertheless, Maria proved the medics wrong and made a remarkable come-back in the mid seventies, winning the Japan Open and her biggest pay-check of $6,000 in 1974, and once again gracing Wimbledon in 1976 and 1977.<\/p>\n

Her popularity was as great as ever but her adoring public had\u00a0 little idea of the sacrifices she was making to play again in the one place she\u00a0loved the most – the Centre Court.<\/p>\n

Having to restrict her play to just one\u00a0hour a day to help save the arm, and with the aid of Cortisone injections to\u00a0reduce the inflammation, Maria made it through the draw to meet Sue Barker in\u00a0the quarter-finals.<\/p>\n

\"Maria<\/a><\/p>\n

It was a nostalgic match that started with\u00a0Maria dominating to win the first set with the style which her many fans had so\u00a0admired.<\/p>\n

Sue\u2019s fight-back to snatch the second took\u00a0the match well beyond the hour Maria needed to complete the proceedings and, with each passing minute, the Champion\u2019s chances of securing the win, or even being able to play the following day\u00a0diminished.<\/p>\n

After that loss Maria decided that she\u00a0could not continue to pursue a singles career to the heights she sought without placing herself at risk.<\/p>\n

She had proved her point, mostly to herself, and had already in a sense succeeded against the odds.<\/p>\n

She made further appearances in the\u00a0doubles, playing her last open event at Wimbledon in 1980.<\/p>\n

Enticed back<\/h2>\n

Maria was enticed out of her early\u00a0retirement in 1984 by Philippe Chatrier, long time friend and President of the\u00a0International Tennis Federation, when he invited her to serve on the Honorary\u00a0Committee of the Federation Cup that was held in S\u00e2o Paulo that year.<\/p>\n

It was the beginning of an association with\u00a0the ITF that saw her act as Ambassador to the Sport Goofy World Championships\u00a0for Players Aged 14, 12 and Under, and as a Consultant to the South American\u00a0women\u2019s tennis development programme.<\/p>\n

\"Harmonia<\/a>Both these areas utilised her exceptional\u00a0skills with children and young people which marked her return to the tennis\u00a0world.<\/p>\n

She also assisted the Women\u2019s Tennis\u00a0 Association with their player education seminars.<\/p>\n

In the late eighties and early nineties\u00a0Maria competed again, this time round in the senior events held at Wimbledon,\u00a0the US Open and the Virginia Slims Championships at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n

She reached the finals of the senior mixed\u00a0doubles played on the Armstrong Stadium court at Flushing Meadow in 1991 and played her\u00a0last competitive match there in 1993.<\/p>\n

Throughout this period, Maria\u00a0continued\u00a0to develop new skills by making personal appearances both on and off the court.<\/p>\n

She\u00a0began to give demonstrations of her unique\u00a0and classic style of tennis, run successful teaching clinics around the world\u00a0as well as making after-dinner speeches, and doing television and radio\u00a0commentaries.<\/p>\n

For more > Retirement and Beyond<\/a><\/strong><\/address>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back to > The Crowning Glory 1965 to 1993 Returning\u00a0to Melbourne after an absence of some five years, Maria\u00a0was increasingly aware that her left\u00a0 knee was growing ever more painful. In the final of the Australian 1965 final it\u00a0led to…<\/p>\n

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