Lorne Main has seen glory days before in tennis – 39 times as a champion by his own reckoning – as Canada's most successful senior player in solo and team tennis.
But at 81, the Vancouver-born Main has outlasted – to say nothing of outlived – most of his rivals. Few in the days of the thunderous serves of Milos Raonic and the teamwork of Canadian veteran Daniel Nestor recall that Main was once regarded as Canada's premier player.
But the former winner of the 1954 Monte Carlo Open is still the No. 1-ranked tennis player in the world in the over-80 category by the International Tennis Federation. The senior star will be recognized Tuesday by the ITF at a dinner during the French Open.
"About two months ago, I get a letter from the ITF that I'd be the inaugural honoree as a senior at the ITF dinner in the middle of the French championships," Main said in an interview as he prepared for his flight to the French Open at Roland Garros stadium in Paris, where he is to be feted.
"For a Canadian to get a tennis award, too. ... Danny Nestor's been our very best player ever, with his Grand Slam events, and a gold medal at the Olympics with Sébastien Lareau. And big Milos Raonic, he's the real deal as a singles player.
"But as seniors, Ken Sinclair and myself have won 13 gold medals in team championships in our age group for Canada, and 13 doubles golds and I've got 13 singles golds. … So 39 gold medals is the reason they picked me to represent the seniors. It's nice to be the first. They've done other top players every year but it occurred to the ITF they hadn't done seniors."
Main, who still plays and will contest the world men's doubles with Sinclair in September, has always been a skilled player rather than a power-dependent server, using two handed shots on both forehand and backhand. He has thick grey hair, stands 5 foot 8, and remains close to his playing weight at 135 pounds.
He has a career record of 298 singles wins in seniors play against just 18 losses, according to ITF statistics. There are 500 ranked players in the ITF's Super Seniors (60-85) category, he says.
Main, ranked No. 1 in Canada in 1951, 1953 and 1954, played in 11 Grand Slam tournaments in singles in his prime, and won the Monte Carlo championship in 1954.
"I missed Princess Grace [former Hollywood star Grace Kelly] by two years, but I did get a handshake from Prince Rainier, and a nice trophy and 20 francs to have a good time at the casinos. … We were amateurs back then, and there was little money around," said Main, whose companion is an Australian senior player, Adrienne Avis. She is 20 years his junior and won the 2009 world seniors crown for women with fellow Australian Helen Worland.
Main was part of Canada's Davis Cup team in the middle of the last century. "I played my first Davis Cup match in 1949, and placed the ball with two hands. I used two hands from both sides. I was unique at the time, and it was said that two hands would be a great big thing in tennis. …
"We had some juniors coming up and I was to go to Australia to show their young players how to hit a two-handed shot. … The juniors were Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall and Lew Hoad. Good thing I didn't get down there to teach them."