France's Davis Cup captain Yannick Noah remembers big help from U.S. Davis Cup captain Arthur Ashe

Jet, Feb 27, 1995

When French Open tennis champ Yannick Noah made a recent appearance in St. Petersburg, FL, as captain of France's Davis Cup, it was during the second anniversary of the death of tennis legend Arthur Ashe, who rescued the then 9-year-old youngster from a life of poverty in Cameroon, West Africa, and helped him achieve fame as a charismatic tennis pro.

During a break in the tennis matches, Noah, as captain of the French Davis Cup team, recalled in press interviews what it was like to have a mentor like Ashe, whose legendary life was ended after losing a battle against AIDS, which was traced to a blood transfusion in 1983.

"The way I see things, what I do, the way I behave--he's really a part of me," says Noah, who joined Ashe in 1978 as the first Black doubles team to play at Wimbledon.

He recalled that Ashe, one of Wimbledon's greatest singles champions, discovered him while touring with tennis pros in Cameroon.

Noah said he had heard of the tennis titan, but wasn't aware he was Black. "It surprised me that he was Black. I had no idea, so of course, him having the same color as me, he was my hero," Noah told USA Today. "After we hit (some tennis balls), I asked him for an autograph, and he gave me a racket instead. That was very special to me. In many ways, I cherished that racket. You must understand, at the time, I was living in a home with no electricity," Noah added.

It was Ashe, who urged French officials to include the youngster in their junior training program. He did and followed in the footsteps of Ashe, winning championships. And just as Ashe became the first Black to captain the U.S. Davis Cup tennis team, Noah became the first Black to captain the French Davis Cup tennis team.

His team was eliminated by the U.S. Davis Cup team in recent competition at Bayfront Center Arena in St. Petersburg.