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, three year-end championships, and 17 Grand Prix Super Series titles. 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.
Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 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 was also ranked the world number 1 amateur in 1961 by Lance Tingay and 1962 by Tingay and Ned Potter.
John David Newcombe AO OBE is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a former record 17 men's doubles titles, and two mixed doubles titles. He also contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the majors. Tennis magazine rated him the 10th best male player of the period 1965–2005.
The 1997 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London in the United Kingdom. It was the 111th edition of the Wimbledon Championships and was held from 23 June to 6 July 1997.
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 1972 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 scheduled to be held from Monday 26 June until Saturday 8 July 1972 but rain on the final Saturday meant that the men's singles, women's doubles and mixed doubles finals were played on Sunday 9 July. It was the first time in the tournament's history that finals were played on a Sunday. It was the 86th staging of the Wimbledon Championships, and the third Grand Slam tennis event of 1972.
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.
Jimmy Connors defeated Ken Rosewall in the final, 6–1, 6–1, 6–4 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1974 Wimbledon Championships.
Jimmy Connors defeated Phil Dent in the final, 7–6(9–7), 6–4, 4–6, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1974 Australian Open. For the first time in the Open Era, none of the semifinalists at a major had previously won a major title.
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. The final included a tie-break played at 8–8 in the second set; it was the first ever Wimbledon singles final to include a tie-break.
The 1975 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 5th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1975 World Championship Tennis circuit. The event was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 7 through May 11, 1975. The draw consisted of the eight best performing players of the 1975 WCT season. First-seeded Arthur Ashe won the tournament and the accompanying $50,000 first-prize money.
The 1976 World Championship Tennis Finals was a tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 6th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1976 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas, in the United States and was held from May 4 through May 9, 1976.
The 1979 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 9th edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 1 through May 6, 1979. Third-seeded John McEnroe won the title.
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 1974 Australian Indoor Championships was a men's professional tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia. It was part of the 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit as a Group A category event. It was the second edition of the tournament and was held from 13 October through 20 October 1974. First-seeded John Newcombe won the singles title.
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 1974 World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit was one of the two rival professional male tennis circuits of 1974, the other being the Grand Prix circuit. It was organized by World Championship Tennis (WCT). It was the fourth edition of the WCT circuit and a total of 84 players participated. All players took part in the opening U.S. Pro Indoor tournament in Philadelphia and afterwards were divided into three groups of 28 players, with each group playing eight further tournaments. The season final was played in Dallas by the eight best performers, the top two of each group plus the next two highest point winners, and was won by Australian John Newcombe who defeated Björn Borg from Sweden in four sets.
The 1974 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor green clay courts (Har-Tru) at the Longwood Cricket Club in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in the United States. It was classified as a Group AA category tournament and was part of the 1974 Grand Prix circuit. It was the 47th edition of the tournament and was held from August 20 through August 26, 1974. Fourth-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and the accompanying $16,000 first prize money. En route to the final Borg survived match points in both his quarterfinal match against Marty Riessen as well as his semifinal match against Jan Kodeš. With his victory Borg became the youngest winner of the US Pro Championships at 18 years and two months, surpassing title-holder Jimmy Connors who did not defend his title but instead elected to play the Eastern Grass Court Championship in preparation for the US Open. After the final, which was watched by a crowd of almost 6,000, Okker commented "This was the first time I've played Björn Borg and at the moment I'm hoping it will be the last!".
John Newcombe [1] 