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Andres Gomez rewrites the Rules when it comes to Age By James H. DeLorenzo [Originally published in the ATP Tour's International Tennis Magazine March/April 1997 issue.] It used to be a given that once an athlete turned 30, their professional sports career was on the wane. But if it is the exception that proves the rule, then the rules are being rewritten in the case of Andres Gomez. The personable Ecuadoran has enjoyed some of his greatest professional success in the 1990s. Gomez began his professional career in 1979, and won 24 singles and 38 doubles titles through 1991. But it was in 1990, at the age of 30, that Gomez enjoyed one of his finest years as a tennis professional. In that year, Gomez compiled a 23-6 match record on clay, and became the oldest man to win the French Open since 1972, when he defeated Andre Agassi for the title, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. He won two other titles that year, in Barcelona and Madrid, and attained his highest career ranking, #4 in the world. Many good things came to Gomez after the 1990 French Open title, his lone Grand Slam singles crown. "It came at a time that I felt I had accomplished almost everything on clay, and that was the one tournament missing," said Gomez. "So for me to win it, it put my name into a different category of player. It certainly did help my career afterwards. "It was the tournament that I always felt I had the most chance to win among the Grand Slams. I always expected to do well in the French, but I couldn't do it in the first 12 tries. I guess the wait was worth it after all, and it came maybe at a time that I didn't expect it as much. "As we get older, it gets more difficult to stay in shape," said Gomez, who turned 37 on February 27. "So what I try to do is try a lot of other sports besides playing tennis a couple of hours a day. Lately I've been going to the gym and working out, and trying to get an early start on the tour." The "tour" is the Nuveen Tour, the men's over-35 professional tennis circuit. Since 1995, Gomez has been one of the leading players on the senior tour. Gomez made his debut at the Corel Champions in Boca Raton, FL in April, 1995, and reached the quarterfinals. He competed in a total of 11 events during his inaugural campaign, and advanced to the finals in only his third event, New York's Citibank Champions. He lost to the man who had dominated the circuit in its first three seasons, Jimmy Connors, in an exciting 6-3, 6-4 final in August, 1995. That New York match was a precursor to the next 18 months on the Nuveen Tour. Gomez reached only the quarterfinals in Cape Cod and the semifinals in Columbus, but broke through in Los Angeles in late September, 1995 when he won the Coopers & Lybrand Champions. He beat Johan Kriek in the title match, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1), and became only the fifth player on the Nuveen Tour to capture a singles championship. He joined an elite quintet that included Connors, Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jose-Luis Clerc. "When I joined the Nuveen Tour, I felt that in order to be a factor I had to step forward and try to finish Jimmy's domination of this circuit," said Gomez. Connors won 11 of the first 12 events before Gomez won in Los Angeles. "I said when I came on the tour that once I got my rhythm, I 'd be able to climb to the number one spot," Gomez continued. "But that's not going to put any pressure on me. It sure is nice to be ranked first, and the top seed in tournaments, but I think no matter whether you are one or 12, the other players are looking to beat you anyway." "Once I got my first win over Jimmy, everything fell into place and I picked up some confidence. And most important of all, I started playing good tennis. I feel that being on top in the standings is where I should be, and I'm going to try to do my best to keep up there." Since Los Angeles, Gomez has captured the circuit's crowns in West Palm Beach (March, 1996), Washington, DC (May), Cape Cod and Detroit (both in August). He reached the semifinals in four other events, and the finals in two more. With his successes over the past two seasons, Gomez has battled Connors for the number-one ranking in the Nuveen Masters Point Standings, finishing in second place each year. This past season, however, Gomez broke into the top position on two occasions, the first time someone other than Connors held that distinction. For his part, Connors is unwilling to concede the top spot. "I think a lot of guys on this tour thought it was their turn now," Connors said. "I'm not ready to give up my spot. You have to be ready to play well all the time, because I will be." "I wouldn't expect anything less from Jimmy," said Gomez. "I think he's going to try really hard to win the Nuveen Masters title back. But what I want to do is win as many matches as I can, and try to win as many of the tournaments as I can, and try to help the tour grow and make it bigger." "Lately I've been surfing a lot, and been playing some golf," said Gomez. "But I work out everyday with players from our (Ecuador's) Davis Cup team, which I was a part of until last year. And when the younger players who are on the ATP Tour come at the end of the year for their holidays and vacations, we work out together." Gomez's two biggest post-35 victories were in the Nuveen Tour's landmark events. Last March Gomez collected wins over Kriek, McEnroe, Mansour Bahrami, John Lloyd and Clerc to capture the $100,000 top prize in the 1996 Nuveen Masters in Naples, FL. The round-robin end-of-season championship on the senior circuit had been captured by Connors in its first year (1995), but Gomez bulled his way into the limelight as the new player to beat. That distinction was reinforced last June, when Gomez collected the $125,000 winner's check in "The Challenge" presented by Quality Inns. The Nuveen Tour's special, four-man event in Pebble Beach, CA found Gomez pitted against Connors in the first round, and then McEnroe in the final. Both were no match for Gomez, who found new life on the clay courts most of the Nuveen Tour's events have been contested upon. "Obviously, clay favors my game, but I think it has been an advantage for everyone to be playing on the clay instead of really fast hard courts or indoors," said Gomez. "I've always done well on clay, but we've got Bjorn, who was known as a clay court player, Guillermo, Jose-Luis, and Yannick Noah. Of all the players, maybe Jimmy and John are the two that didn't play as much on clay, but they're still good players. "We've been getting good reactions from the fans from playing on the clay," Gomez said. "And I think maybe at this time on the ATP Tour, the best tennis is played on clay, too, as far as the enjoyment for the fans goes." "Tennis is my life, and even when I started playing I didn't think too much about becoming a professional, but once I became a pro it became my life full-time," Gomez concluded. "Aside from winning tournaments and making money, the thing I like the most is that I was doing what I do best, it give me a chance to travel and meet people, and helps my country to be known a little better. I guess that's what drives me."
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