Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the World No. 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years before and three years after the start of the Open Era in 1968. He also was ranked the world No. 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 tennis Majors in singles, including 8 Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles; overall, he reached a record 35 Major finals. He won the Pro Grand Slam in 1963. Rosewall won a record 24 major men's doubles titles. He won 9 grand slam titles in men's doubles with a career men's doubles grand slam and also won 15 Pro Slam men's doubles titles.
Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE is an Australian former professional tennis player.
The 1968 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Monday 24 June until Saturday 6 July 1968. It was the 82nd staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1968.
World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments around the world were affiliated with WCT and players were ranked in a special WCT ranking according to their results in those tournaments.
The 1971 Australian Open, also known under its sponsored name Dunlop Australian Open, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 7 to 14 March. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in Melbourne but was moved to Sydney on account of a $125,000 sponsorship deal with Dunlop. The tournament date was moved from its regular January slot to March to accommodate scheduling requirements made by the commercial promoters World Championship Tennis and National Tennis League. It was the 59th edition of the Australian Open, the 17th and final one held in Sydney, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. The singles titles were won by Australians Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court. The tiebreak was introduced for all sets except the deciding set.
Stan Smith defeated Jan Kodeš in the final, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6(5–3) to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1971 US Open.
Defending champion Ken Rosewall defeated Mal Anderson in the final, 7–6(7–2), 6–3, 7–5 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1972 Australian Open.
John Newcombe defeated Onny Parun in the final, 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, 6–1 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1973 Australian Open.
Arthur Ashe defeated Tom Okker in the final, 14–12, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1968 U.S. Open. Ashe became the first African-American man to win a major.
The 1972 U.S. Professional Indoor was a WCT men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Wachovia Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from February 8 through February 13, 1972. Total attendance for the tournament was 57,882. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his third at the event after 1969 and 1970.
The 1972 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 2nd edition of the WCT Finals and was the season-ending tournament of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. The top eight points winners of the circuit qualified for the tournament which was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and ran from May 8 through May 14, 1972. Ken Rosewall won the singles title and the $50,000 first prize. The final was broadcast live in the United States by NBC and watched by an estimated 21.3 million viewers. In his book, The Education of a Tennis Player, finalist Rod Laver commented "I think if one match can be said to have made tennis in the United States, this was it.".
The 1981 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 11th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix. The tournament was played at the Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from April 27 through May 3, 1981. The winners of the eight WCT tournaments that were part of the 1981 Grand Prix circuit qualified for the tournament augmented by the next best performers in the WCT points standings. Guillermo Vilas qualified by winning the last tournament held just before the WCT Finals, the River Oaks Tournament in Houston, but was unavailable to play. Jimmy Connors withdrew before the tournament due to gastroenteritis and Yannick Noah could not participate due to a shoulder injury. They were replaced by Sandy Mayer and Sam Giammalva respectively. First-seeded John McEnroe won the title and $100,000 prize money.
The 1973 Australian Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. It was part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix as a Group B category tournament. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from 4 November through 11 November 1973. Rod Laver won the singles title and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money.
Rod Laver was the defending singles champion at the Australian Indoor Tennis Championships but did not compete that year. First-seeded John Newcombe won in the final 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 against Cliff Richey. Richey threatened to quit the match after being called for a foot fault but eventually played on when the linesman was changed. The final was the best of 5 sets while all other rounds were the best of 3 sets.
The 1977 Custom Credit Australian Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney in Australia and was part of the 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. The tournament was held from 17 October through 23 October 1977. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the singles title.
The 1973 Rothmans Canadian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club in Toronto in Canada that was part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix and of the 1973 WTA Tour. The tournament was held from August 20 through August 26, 1973.
The 1973 Fred Perry Japan Open Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts and took place in Tokyo, Japan. The tournament was held from 8 October through 14 October 1973. The men's events were part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit and graded as B category whereas the women's competition was a non-tour event. Ken Rosewall won the men's singles title, earning him the $12,000 first prize, while Evonne Goolagong won the women's singles event and received $5,000.
The 1974 Japan Open Tennis Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on hard courts and took place in Tokyo, Japan. The men's events were part of the 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix while the women's tournament was a non-tour event. The tournament was held from 7 October through 13 October 1974. First-seeded John Newcombe won the men's singles title and the accompanying $15,000 first prize money and Maria Bueno won the women's singles event.
Ken Rosewall and Fred Stolle defeated Roy Emerson and Rod Laver 6–3, 6–4, 6–3 in the final to win the men's doubles title at the 1968 French Open tennis tournament. John Newcombe and Tony Roche were the defending champions but chose not to defend their title.
Ken Rosewall 
