ITF

22 Z ina: In the neighbourhood I grew up in, people didn't really pay any attention to Wimbledon, but they did pay attention to the Olympics. So, me, winning that gold medal, it just put me in the spotlight not just for the world, but also my hometown of Houston. It made more people aware about the sport I was playing because it was in the Olympics. It's probably No. 1 in my career because it's the one thing that the world will always relate to and I did it for my country, it wasn't just for me. Even now if I pull it [the medal] out and I'm around little kids they're so excited. To play with Pam at the Olympics was very, very, very, very special. We are both high energy on the court and emotional. I had a great time playing with her. It was funny because it really sparked our friendship afterwards and we have been close ever since. It's a bond that will never be broken. I get called Olympic gold medallist and legend in tennis, those are definitely the two things said. And I get it, and understand it, because it's such a small group of people that will ever be able to say they've won a gold medal. It was an experience for me that I will always cherish. Getting to meet a lot of other athletes from different sports. Being able to hang out with Carl Lewis, who over the years has been a great friend, and Jackie Joyner-Kersee is one of my best friends. We talk once or twice a week. The biggest thing I will always remember is that you're finally amongst people that understood the discipline, the pain, the ups and downs you go through just to get there. It's an unbelievable club to be a part of. P am: We were a very similar age. Zina was a little bit younger. She wasn't my usual partner, obviously, in the '80s. And we roomed together and she beat me in singles in the quarters. What I remember about the podium was still feeling the effects of a dramatic final because we won it 10-8 in the final set over a tough Czech team of [Helena] Sukova and [Jana] Novotna. We needed six, seven match points and they would've started as the favourites. But it felt as good as any win – equal to any of my favourite wins. I had my first Olympic disappointment when in '82, '83 they set the rules for the demonstrating sport in LA [Los Angeles 1984] as 21-and-under and I missed it by like a month. That was my first Olympic disappointment so I was thrilled to have the chance to play in Seoul. I think I would have been hoping for doubles in '92, but as it turned out it was my only Olympics. I suspected I would only have one crack, maybe two, so in the end, looking back, I was extremely grateful that Zina and I made the most of that. Winning Olympic gold is top three with my US Open win over Martina [Navratilova] the first time when I got into the finals as a 16-year-old amateur playing in my first US Open. And then the other thing was my first major title with Martina at Wimbledon in '81 on my 19th birthday. I just thought one of the best places for one of the gold medals from the first Olympic Games that tennis was back in was to have it at the [International Tennis] Hall of Fame. That's where it is. It's been there for 25 years. Every year when I'm in Newport I go see it. I've taken my kids to go see it. I like the idea of sharing it. ZINA GARRISON & PAM SHRIVER United States We needed six, seven match points and they would've started as the favourites.

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