Question 1

True or false: Vilas was posthumously awarded a Grand Slam title decades after his playing career ended.

Accepted Answer

False. Vilas is still alive (as of 2025) and has never been posthumously awarded a title, though he has campaigned for retroactive No. 1 rankings.

Question 2

True or false: Vilas was a left-handed player known for his powerful serve-and-volley game.

Accepted Answer

False. Vilas was right-handed and a baseline player, famous for his heavy topspin forehand and grinding style on clay.

Question 3

True or false: Guillermo Vilas won the US Open in 1977 on the red clay of the West Side Tennis Club.

Accepted Answer

True. The 1977 US Open was played on clay at Forest Hills, and Vilas defeated Jimmy Connors in the final, his first Grand Slam title.

Question 4

True or false: He invented the ‘topspin lob’ that became a staple of modern clay-court tennis.

Accepted Answer

False. The topspin lob predates Vilas; it was popularized by players like Bjorn Borg and Ilie Năstase in the early 1970s.

Question 5

True or false: He won the 1977 French Open without losing a single set.

Accepted Answer

True. At Roland Garros in 1977, Vilas dominated, dropping no sets en route to the title, defeating Brian Gottfried in the final.

Question 6

True or false: He once played a match in Buenos Aires that lasted over six hours.

Accepted Answer

True. In the 1977 Davis Cup final vs. Australia, Vilas defeated Tony Roche in a 6 hour, 27 minute marathon, the longest Davis Cup match at the time.

Question 7

True or false: Vilas once won 46 consecutive matches, a record for the Open Era that still stands.

Accepted Answer

False. Vilas won 46 straight in 1977, but it's not the record; Bjorn Borg won 49 in 1978, and others have surpassed it.

Question 8

True or false: Vilas was ranked world No. 1 by multiple tennis publications in 1975 and 1977.

Accepted Answer

True. Though the ATP computer ranked him No. 2, publications like World Tennis and Tennis Magazine ranked him No. 1 in 1975 and 1977.

Guillermo Vilas Trivia Questions