Björn Rune Borg is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimbledon.
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.
The 1976 Wimbledon Championships was a 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 21 June until Saturday 3 July 1976. It was the 90th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the second Grand Slam tennis event of 1976. Despite the ongoing drought and heatwave of 1976, the 90th staging of the tournament went ahead as planned. Björn Borg and Chris Evert won the singles title.
The 1977 Wimbledon Championships was a 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 ran from 20 June until 2 July. It was the 91st staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1977.
The 1974 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 3 June until 16 June. It was the 78th staging of the French Open, and the second Grand Slam tennis event of 1974.
Jimmy Connors defeated Ken Rosewall in the final, 6–1, 6–0, 6–1 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1974 US Open. It was his first US Open singles title and third major singles title overall. The final set the record for the shortest ever major men's singles final, both in number of games and duration, lasting only 1 hour and 18 minutes and 20 games. Rosewall remains the oldest major men's singles finalist, aged 39 years, 10 months and 6 days.
Jan Kodeš defeated Alex Metreveli in the final, 6–1, 9–8(7–5), 6–3 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1973 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first Wimbledon title and third and last major singles title overall. The final included a tie-break played at 8–8 in the second set; it was the first ever Wimbledon singles final to feature a tie-break.
Björn Borg defeated Manuel Orantes in the final, 2–6, 6–7(4–7), 6–0, 6–1, 6–1 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1974 French Open. It was his first major title, and the first of six French Open titles.
The 1973 Western Championships, also known as the Cincinnati Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Queen City Racquet Club in the Sharonville suburb of Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States that was part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. The tournament was held from August 6 through August 12, 1973. Ilie Năstase and Evonne Goolagong won the singles titles.
The 1972 British Hard Court Championships, also known by its sponsored name Rothmans 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, England. The event was part of the Grand Prix circuit and categorized as B class. The tournament was held from 8 to 13 May 1972. Bob Hewitt and Evonne Goolagong won the singles titles.
The 1974 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament held in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States and played on outdoor clay courts. It was part of the men's Grand Prix and women's International Grand Prix. It was the 6th edition of the tournament and was held from August 5 through August 12, 1974. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the men's singles title and accompanying $16,000 prize money while Chris Evert took the women's title.
The 1973 Monte Carlo Open, also known by its sponsored name Craven Monte Carlo Championships, was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France. The tournament was part of the Rothmans Spring Mediterranean Circuit, a series of six tournaments held in France, Monaco, Spain and Italy from March to May 1973. It was the 67th edition of the event and was held from 16 April through 21 April 1973. First-seeded Ilie Năstase won his third successive singles title at the event.
The 1973 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's and women's tournament were part of the 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. It was the 30th edition of the tournament and was held from 2 June through 10 June 1973. The singles titles were won by Ilie Năstase and Evonne Goolagong.
The 1975 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played by men on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. The men's and women's tournament was part of the 1975 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix. It was the 32nd edition of the tournament and was held from 26 May through 3 June 1975. The singles titles were won by Raúl Ramírez and Chris Evert.
The 1979 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy. It was the 36th edition of the tournament. The men's tournament was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix while the women's tournament, held separately for the first time, was part of the Colgate Series. The women's event was played from 7 May through 13 May 1979 while the men's event was organized from 21 May through 27 May 1979. After a final that lasted five hours and nine minutes second-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the men's singles title, his second Italian Open title after 1977, and the accompanying $28,000 first-prize money. The women's singles title was won by third-seeded Tracy Austin. In the semifinal Austin defeated compatriot Chris Evert-Lloyd which ended Evert-Lloyd's record 125-match winning streak on clay that had started in August 1973.
The 1974 U.S. Clay Court Championships – Men's singles was an event of the 1974 U.S. Clay Court Championships tennis tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts in Indianapolis, Indiana in the United States from August 5 through August 12, 1974. The draw comprised 64 players and 12 of them were seeded. Fourth-seeded Manuel Orantes was the defending champion U.S. Clay Court Championships singles champion but lost in the semifinals to Jimmy Connors. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the title and $16,000 first-prize money by defeating third-seeded Björn Borg in the final, 5–7, 6–3, 6–4. It was their first encounter on clay courts.
The 1974 Melia Trophy, also known as the Madrid Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Real Sociedad Hípica Española Club de Campo in Madrid, Spain. The men's tournament was classified as Group A category and was part of the 1974 Grand Prix circuit. It was the third edition of the tournament and was held from 7 October until 13 October 1974. Ilie Năstase and Helga Masthoff won the singles titles.
The 1974 Italian Open – Men's singles was an event of the 1974 Italian Open tennis tournament and was played on outdoor clay courts at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy from 26 May through 3 June 1974. The draw comprised 64 players and 16 of them were seeded. Ilie Năstase was the defending champion. Third-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title, defeating first-seeded Ilie Năstase in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 6–2.
The 1974 Italian Open – Men's doubles was an event of the 1974 Italian Open tennis tournament and was played at the Foro Italico in Rome, Italy from 26 May through 3 June 1974. The draw comprised 32 teams of which four were seeded. John Newcombe and Tom Okker were the defending doubles champions but did not compete in this edition. Unseeded Brian Gottfried and Raúl Ramírez won the doubles title, defeating second-seeded Andrés Gimeno and Ilie Năstase in the final, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3.
Björn Borg [1] 
Chris Evert 
Raúl Ramírez [2] 
Olga Morozova 
