As he goes into this week's Wimbledon tournament, Gerulaitis, 23, is the fourth-ranked tennis player in the world and the sport's indisputable No. 1 man-about-town. After matches, the "Lithuanian Lion" leads both teammates and opponents to discos like Le Club or Régine's—"she has thrown a lot of parties for me"—or to soirees at his $300,000 Long Island home, which has a $12,000 stereo system and a racket-shaped pool. In his garage sit two Rollses, a Mercedes, a Porsche and a Cadillac—but no longer a supercharged Lamborghini because "my license was suspended twice for speeding."
Come dawn, whether Vitas is in his mirror-walled bedroom at home or on the road, he is unlikely to be alone. His preference, says his sister, Ruta, 22, runs to "lanky, lithe, lovely models." "If I did as well on the court as I do off the court," Vitas acknowledges, "I'd be No. 1 by now."
Despite some notable victories—last year the Australian and Italian opens; this year the World Championship of Tennis—Gerulaitis has languished, in his own way, behind tennis's big three: Borg, Connors and Vilas. (He did take Borg through a classic five-set, three-hour match in last year's Wimbledon semifinal before losing.)
Gerulaitis is quick to deny that his social life hurts his game. "Staying out is no problem," he insists. "I am hopeless in the mornings anyway, so why not spend the time sleeping?" He never drinks. "In the most elegant restaurant he'll order a Coke," says Ruta, herself a pro ranked 57th nationally. "There is the half the press doesn't see." Among the virtues she has in mind is her brother's generosity. "He gives nice gifts," she says, adding, "Lately, though, there is no one in particular he is giving gifts to."
Which brings up marriage. "Maybe, if I fall in love," says Vitas. "But I haven't fallen in love yet. At least I'm pretty sure I haven't." (His mother, Aldona, says prayerfully, "I want him to marry an old-fashioned girl.")
It may be that World Team Tennis is hurting Vitas more than Studio 54. He signed with the WTT four years ago because "I didn't think I could win the big ones" on the tour. His Apples salary is a reported $80,000, but coach Stolle admits Gerulaitis could make "three or four times the money if he was playing all the big tournaments." When Vitas does compete at Wimbledon or Forest Hills, he seems drained by the WTT travel schedule. (He made a handsome $274,324 on the tour last year, but that was considerably less than the earnings of the big three, and the year before Gerulaitis made only $67,217.)
He was raised in Brooklyn by Lithuanian immigrant parents who came to the U.S. in 1949. His father, who now owns a travel agency in Queens, was Lithuania's national tennis champion (1937 to '40), and after the war he teamed with wife Aldona to win the mixed-doubles table tennis championships in Germany. At 15 Vitas could already beat his dad on the court, but seemed almost as interested in music. A survivor of 10 years of classical piano, he organized a rock band in his basement. "The house was always shaking. I went around with earplugs," recalls Aldona. "But I was worried about drugs and I wanted them at home." An A student, Vitas enrolled at Columbia in September 1972 but dropped out in April because school interfered with his tournament schedule. "He could have gotten by at an easier college," his mother says. Vitas turned pro in 1974.
As doubles partners he and Ruta made it to the quarterfinals at Forest Hills three years ago—but have not played together since. "He embarrassed and humiliated me in front of many people," she recalls. "I would walk off crying. Now he plays with Billie Jean King and wouldn't dare say anything to her."
Vitas and Ruta are still close, though, and he sometimes drags her along on dates. "I'm sure some of the girls think, 'Oh God, there she is again,' " Ruta laughs. She feels sorry for any woman who gets involved with a touring player—if only because of the aggressive tennis groupies. "It is very in to make it with a tennis pro," she says. "The groupies are in hotels, bars, everywhere."
Besides the Long Island retreat (shared with his family), Vitas keeps an apartment in the city "for emergencies." After Wimbledon he plans to shop for a full-time coach to help him organize his game, if not his life. "I'm 75 percent of the way to becoming No. 1 in the world," he figures. "But the last 25 percent is so tough, especially in New York with all the distractions. I hate missing out on anything."
Saved by the Bell Reunion
The hookups, the meltdowns, the memoires
The case reveals what was really going on what they think of each other now!
