James Scott Connors is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 weeks. By virtue of his long and prolific career, Connors still holds three prominent Open Era men's singles records: 109 titles, 1,557 matches played, and 1,274 match wins. His titles include eight major singles titles and three year-end championships. In 1974, he became the second man in the Open Era to win three major titles in a calendar year, and was not permitted to participate in the fourth, the French Open. Connors finished year end number one in the ATP rankings from 1974 to 1978. In 1982, he won both Wimbledon and the US Open and was ATP Player of the Year and ITF World Champion. He retired in 1996 at the age of 43.
Ilie Theodoriu Năstase is a Romanian former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top singles spot from 23 August 1973 to 2 June 1974, and was the first man to hold the position on the computerized ATP rankings. Năstase is one of the 10 players in history who have won over 100 total ATP titles, with 64 in singles and 45 in doubles. Năstase won seven major titles: two in singles, three in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles. He also won four Masters Grand Prix year-end championship titles. He was the first professional sports figure to sign an endorsement contract with Nike, doing so in 1972. Năstase wrote several novels in French in the 1980s, and was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.
Guillermo Vilas is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the world No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He won four major titles, the year-end championships. He won 62 singles titles and 16 doubles titles during his career on the ATP tour. World Tennis, Agence France-Presse and Livre d'or du tennis 1977, among other rankings and publications, rated him as world No. 1 in 1977. In the computerized ATP rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in April 1975, a position he held for a total of 83 weeks, although some have argued that Vilas should have been ranked No. 1 for at least 10 weeks, particularly in 1977 when he won 2 majors. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991, two years after his first retirement.
The 1982 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 24 May until 6 June. It was the 86th staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Slam tennis event of 1982.
The 1978 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 29 May until 11 June. It was the 82nd staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Slam tennis event of 1978.
The 1977 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 81st staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam tennis event of 1977.
The 1974 South American Championships was a men's tennis tournament for male players that was part of the 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. It was played in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and held from 18 November through 24 November 1974. First-seeded Guillermo Vilas won the singles title.
The 1973 Masters was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at Hynes Auditorium in Boston, Massachusetts in the United States. Mateflex is a soft plastic, interlocking tile court, with the slower ball speed of clay but the low maintenance of a hard surface. It was the fourth edition of the Masters Grand Prix and was held from December 4 through December 8, 1973. Ilie Năstase won his third consecutive Masters title and earned $15,000 prize money.
The 1982 Masters was a men's tennis tournament held in Madison Square Garden, New York City, United States between 18–23 January 1983. It was the year-end championship of the 1982 Volvo Grand Prix tour and was played on indoor carpet courts. The round-robin format of previous editions was replaced by a knock-out tournament featuring the 12 highest ranking singles players as well as the six best doubles teams of the Grand Prix circuit. The top four seeds in the singles event received a bye in the first round and all singles matches were played as best-of-three sets, except the final which was a best-of-five set match.
The 1976 Masters was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at The Summit in Houston in the United States. It was the 7th edition of the Masters Grand Prix and was held from December 7 through December 12, 1976. Manuel Orantes won the singles Masters title and $40,000 first-prize money.
The 1983 Volvo Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four grand slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments, and two team tournaments. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC).
The 1982 Volvo Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four grand slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC). On 30 April 1981 World Championship Tennis (WCT) announced its withdrawal from the Grand Prix circuit, which it had been incorporated into since 1978, and the re-establishment of its own tour calendar for the 1982 season. To counter the threat of player leaving the Grand Prix tour for the WCT the MIPTC introduced a mandatory commitment to play at least 10 Grand Prix Super Series tournaments.
The 1981 Volvo Grand Prix was the only men's professional tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of the four Grand Slam tournaments and the Grand Prix tournaments. The World Championship Tennis (WCT) Tour was incorporated into the Grand Prix circuit. The WCT tour consisted of eight regular tournaments, a season's final, three tournaments categorized as special events and a doubles championship. In total 89 tournaments were held divided over 29 countries. The circuit was administered by the Men's International Professional Tennis Council (MIPTC).
The 1980 Volvo Grand Prix was a men's professional tennis circuit held that year. It incorporated the four grand slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments. The Grand Prix circuit is a precursor to the ATP Tour.
The 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments and the Nations Cup, a team event.
The 1977 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Colgate-Palmolive Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking. Colgate-Palmolive was the new tour sponsor, taking over from Commercial Union. Guillermo Vilas won the Grand Prix circuit, having accumulated the most points (2,047), and received the largest share from the bonus pool ($300,000). The top eight points ranked singles players as well as the top four doubles teams qualified for the season-ending Masters tournament
The 1976 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.
The 1975 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters, Davis Cup Final and Nations Cup are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix.
The 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. The season-ending Commercial Union Assurance Masters and Davis Cup Final are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix ranking.
The 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. Bonus points were awarded to players who were nominated to play in certain 1973 Davis Cup ties and who miss tournaments through competing in those ties. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix.
Guillermo Vilas [1] 
