Ashe retired from the sport in 1980 after peaking at No. 2 in the ATP rankings and winning 44 Open-Era titles. He went on to become a writer, activist and Davis Cup captain before passing away in 1993 after contracting HIV from a blood transfusion during a heart bypass surgery.
Who, then, did Fischl use as the subject?
Drawing inspiration from a photo of a classic service motion, then-American player and now-Tennis Channel commentator Jan-Michael Gambill served as the model.
Now, thickened by time as Wertheim notes, the story can be told.
“I’m proud that it achieved certainly some of the things I’m talking about,” said Fischl, happy to look back on one of his signature works, “and at the service of a sport I truly love. What more could I want?”
