Mental Muscle on Court

Ask any tennis buff for the name of the best amateur player in the U.S., and the answer is likely to be Arthur Ashe, the lean, tall Virginian who is the first Negro ever to top the U.S. men's rankings. These days, though, the answer may not come so quickly. And any hesitance reflects the fact that Ashe, 23, has yet to win a major tournament. What's more, there is at least one other American around who seems to have Arthur's number: his old college roommate at U.C.L.A., Charles Pasarell.

Although he ranks No. 3 in the U.S., after Ashe and Ohio's Clark Graebner, Pasarell has beaten Ashe more times than he has lost to him. He turned the trick again last week in the finals of the U.S. Indoor Championships at Salisbury, Md.--a tournament that Ashe desperately wanted to win because it was his last hope before going into the Army five days later. With his victory, Pasarell became the first player in 31 years to take the indoor title twice in a row.*

Son of a wealthy Puerto Rican businessman (board chairman for Philip Morris de Puerto Rico), tall, tousle-haired "Charlito" Pasarell, 23, would undoubtedly rank No. 1 in the world if the girls in the gallery got to vote. And until last year, when he finally came into his own by winning the Indoor and

Intercollegiate championships, Pasarell's style on the court reinforced his playboy image. A flashy but erratic power hitter who depended mainly on the big serve he calls "the bomb" and heavy, top-spin ground strokes, he was sometimes spectacular, but often seemed to lack the concentration necessary for center-court competition. "I've beaten just about everybody in the world," he allowed, "but I've been beaten by just about everybody too." Said his father, a former Puerto Rican men's champion: "In stroking, Charlie doesn't have much to learn. It's in the muscle of the brain that he needs experience."

Only Frustration. Pasarell needed all the mental muscle he could muster last week. To get into the finals, he had to beat France's Daniel Contet, Britain's Graham Stilwell, Denmark's Torben Ulrich, California's Stan Smith and Graebner. He got by them all. Against Ashe, Pasarell had to use his brain instead of his bomb when he hit a wild streak and could not find the court with his first serve. He switched tactics by easing up, angling his serves wide into the corners, and rushing the net consistently. Time after time, he caught Ashe out of position with quick, accurate volleys.

Pasarell salvaged the first set 13-11, and won the second easily 6-2. He seemed to have the title all wrapped up when Ashe suddenly rallied to take the third set 6-2, and went on to break Charlito's serve in the first game of the fourth. But Pasarell retaliated by breaking Ashe's serve. And after that, both men held on steadily until, with the core 8-7 and Ashe serving, Charlito rattled off four straight points--the last on a cross-court backhand passing shot that Ashe could only watch go by as he shook his head in frustration.

* In the women's finals at Winchester, Mass., California's Billie Jean King, 23, also won her second straight indoor title, beating Trudy Groenman of The Netherlands 6-1, 6-0.

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