Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was ranked the world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969 and by some sources also in 1964 and 1970. He was also ranked as the number 1 amateur in 1961 and 1962. Laver won 198 singles titles which is the most won by a singles tennis player in history.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including a record 15 Pro Majors and eight Grand Slam titles for a total 23 titles at pro and amateur majors. He also won 15 Pro Majors in doubles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles. Rosewall achieved a Pro Slam in singles in 1963 by winning the three Pro Majors in one year and he completed the Career Grand Slam in doubles.
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 WCT Finals was a men's tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis circuit. From 1971–1989 the event was held annually in Texas on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody Coliseum in Dallas. The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas. The 1974 edition was the first tennis tournament to experiment with electronic line calling. The first edition of the WCT Finals was in November 1971, just a few days before the equivalent event of the rival Grand Prix circuit. But the second edition occurred just six months later to accommodate NBC's new tennis coverage; the tournament final between Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver is credited as "the match that made tennis in the United States" because its unprecedented domestic television audience of 23 million fueled a massive increase in the sport's popularity. The ensuing editions were also held in the spring. John McEnroe had the most overall success, winning a record five titles. Because of the popularity of the 1972 final, another edition, less important and with half the prize money, was held in November in Rome. The prize money offered to the winner, Arthur Ashe, was US$25,000 compared to the US$50,000 won by Ken Rosewall for the main edition in May. A decade later there were three editions of the WCT Finals; the most important one in Dallas, and the others in autumn in Naples, Italy, and in winter in Detroit. The tournament was sponsored by Buick between 1985 and 1986, a brand of General Motors, and was called the "Buick WCT Finals".
The 1972 U.S. Professional Indoor was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was played at the Spectrum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States that was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the fifth edition of the tournament and was held from February 8 through February 13, 1972. Total attendance for the tournament was 57,282. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title, his third at the event after 1969 and 1970.
The 1971 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor Sportface carpet courts. It was the first edition of the WCT Finals and the concluding event of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. The eight top players in ranking points after the initial 20 tournaments of the circuit qualified for the play-off event. The quarterfinals and semifinals were played at the Hofheinz Pavilion in Houston, Texas from November 19 through November 21 while the final, watched by 8,200 spectators, was played at the Memorial Auditorium in Dallas, Texas, United States on November 26. Ken Rosewall win the event and the accompanying $50,000 first-prize money. Neil Armstrong presented the prizes.
Ken Rosewall won the singles title of the 1971 World Championship Tennis Finals with a 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4) victory in the final against Rod Laver.
In the 1972 World Championship Tennis Finals - Singles, Ken Rosewall was the defending champion, having previously won the tennis competition, and won in the final 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5) against Rod Laver. Of particular note, the final is credited as the "match that made tennis in the United States" because its unprecedented domestic television audience of 23 million fueled a massive increase in the sport's popularity.
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 1968 British Hard Court Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at The West Hants Club in Bournemouth in England. It was the first tournament in the Open Era of tennis. The tournament was held from 22 April to 27 April 1968. Ken Rosewall and Virginia Wade won the first open singles titles while the men's team of Roy Emerson and Rod Laver and the women's team of Christine Truman Janes and Nell Truman won the first open doubles titles.
The 1971 Redwood Bank Pacific Coast Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Berkeley Tennis Club in Berkeley, California in the United States. The event was part of both the 1971 Grand Prix and World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 83rd edition of the tournament and ran from September 27 through October 3, 1971. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1971 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in the United States and was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the 44th edition of the tournament and was held from August 2 through August 8, 1971. Sixth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, his third U.S. Pro title, and the accompanying $10,000 first-prize money. The final was watched by 5,500 spectators.
The 1971 First National Tennis Classic, also known as the Louisville WCT, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Louisville Tennis Center in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from July 19 through July 25, 1971. The tournament was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit and offered total prize money of $50,000. The singles final was won by Tom Okker who earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1972 Charlotte Tennis Classic, also known by its sponsored name North Carolina National Bank Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts that was part of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from April 18 through April 23, 1972 at the Julian J. Clark Tennis Stadium, owned by the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States. Second-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title.
The 1972 Charlotte Tennis Classic – Singles was an event of the 1972 Charlotte Tennis Classic tennis tournament played at the Julian J. Clark Tennis Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States from April 18 through April 23, 1972. Arthur Ashe was the defending singles champion but lost in the first round. Second-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title, defeating unseeded Cliff Richey in the final, 2–6, 6–2, 6–2.
The 1972 River Oaks Tennis Tournament, also known as the River Oaks Invitational, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas, U.S. in the United States. It was the 38th edition of the tournament and was held from April 3 through April 9, 1972. The tournament was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit and offered total prize money of $50,000. The singles title was won by first-seeded Rod Laver who earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1972 Fidelity WCT Tournament, also known as the Richmond WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the Group A of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the Richmond Coliseum in Richmond, Virginia in the United States. It was the seventh edition of the tournament and was held from February 2 through February 6, 1972. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1971 Rothmans International Vancouver, also known as the Vancouver WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on indoor carpet courts at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 3 October through 11 October 1971. Fourth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1973 Cleveland Tennis Classic, also known as the Cleveland WCT, was a men's tennis tournament held on indoor carpet courts in Cleveland, Ohio in the United States that was part of the Group B circuit of the World Championship Tennis. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held between the April 9 and April 15, 1973. Fifth-seeded Ken Rosewall won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money as well as 10 WCT ranking points.
The 1970 Rawlings Tennis Classic, also known as the St. Louis WCT, was a men's professional tennis tournament that was part of the 1970 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was held on outdoor hard courts at the Dwight Davis Tennis Center in Forest Park in St. Louis, Missouri in the United States. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was scheduled from May 25 through June 1, 1970 but both finals were delayed due to a power outage on the day before the finals and rain on the day of the finals. The singles finalists then had to travel to New York to compete in the Tennis Champions Classic before returning. Due to persistent bad weather the singles final was played indoor at the Washington University Field House on June 4, 1970. First-seeded Rod Laver won the singles title and earned $8,000 first-prize money. The doubles finalists Andrés Gimeno and John Newcombe had to travel to Casablanca, Morocco for the Moroccan Pro Championships and their final was rescheduled and played on August 24, 1970. This was followed by a Rawlings Challenge Cup match between tournament winner Rod Laver and Wimbledon champion John Newcombe which was won by Laver 6–3, 8–6.
Ken Rosewall [1]