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All this before sun up. THE INTERNATIONAL TENNIS HALL OF FAME Built in 1880, the Newport Casino was a playground for the "mega-rich." From their oceanfront "summer cottages" along Bellevue Avenue, the Astors, Whitneys and Vanderbilts flocked there with their guests. The new game of lawn tennis was all the rage. The U.S. Championships took place at the Casino until 1915, when World War I swept away the Gilded Age. Tennis decamped for larger quarters — Forest Hills, NY. Today they are played at New York's Flushing Meadows. ON THE WAY UP Bollittieri has hobnobbed with the well- to-do throughout his long career. In his book, he tells about his coaching gig at Puerto Rico's Dorado Beach Resort, owned by Laurance Rockefeller and family. Bollettieri describes how he transformed the golf-heavy resort into a tennis Mecca by using his "street smarts." After a stint coaching at the Rockefeller estate in Tarrytown, NY, his career path was set: developing exceptional students. Several are already in the Hall of Fame, with more on the way. TENNIS GUYS AND (NEWSPAPER) DOLLS In Newport, RI, Bollettieri will be enshrined in the Contributor category. Only 39 of the 240 honorees over the years have been acknowl- edged for "outstanding contributions to the game off-court." The Players category represents star perform- ers past and present, including Frenchwoman Suzanne Rachel Flore Lenglen (1899-1938). She was inducted in 1978. "La Divine," the French press called her. Lenglen created a sensation. On the Riviera, tennis fans scrambled to nearby rooftops to watch her ballet-like grace. At Wimbledon the queues stretched for over a mile. In 1922, a new (and current) stadium was built to accommodate her legions of admirers. Her father molded her into a dedicated cham- pion. Along with two Olympic Gold medals and one Bronze, Lenglen won 81 singles, 73 doubles and eight mixed championship titles. Papa soothed her nerves between games by throwing her brandy-coated sugar cubes. Suzanne Lenglen won several Olympic medals in tennis for France. Photo from Wikimedia Commons Sarasota News Leader May 30, 2014 Page 91