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.
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.
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 8 Grand Slam titles for a total 23 titles at pro and amateur majors. He also won 15 Pro Majors in doubles and 9 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.Rosewall had a renowned backhand and enjoyed a long career at the highest levels from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. Rosewall was ranked as the world No. 1 tennis player by multiple sources from 1961 to 1964, multiple sources in 1970 and Rino Tommasi in 1971 and 1972. Rosewall was first ranked in the top 20 in 1952 and last ranked in the top 20 in 1977. Rosewall is the only player to have simultaneously held Pro Grand Slam titles on three different surfaces (1962–63). At the 1971 Australian Open, he became the first man during the Open Era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. Rosewall won world professional championship tours in 1963, 1964, and the WCT titles in 1971 and 1972. A natural left-hander, Rosewall was taught by his father to play right-handed. He developed a powerful, effective backhand but never had anything more than an accurate but relatively soft serve. He was 1.70 m tall, weighed 67 kg (148 lb)and sarcastically was nicknamed "Muscles" by his fellow-players because of his lack of them. He was, however, fast, agile, and tireless, with a deadly volley. A father of two and grandfather of five, Rosewall lives in Sydney.
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 Swedish Pro Tennis Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 1st edition of Swedish Pro Tennis Championships, and was part of the 1972 World Championship Tennis circuit. It took place at the Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden, from 30 October until 5 November 1972.
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 1973 World Championship Tennis Finals was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the 3rd edition of the WCT Finals and was part of the 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit. The tournament was played at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas in the United States and was held from May 7 through May 13, 1973. First-seeded Stan Smith won the singles title and earned $50,000 first-prize money.
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 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 1977 season of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit was one of the two rival professional male tennis circuits of 1977. It was organized by World Championship Tennis (WCT) and consisted of a preliminary series of twelve tournaments leading up to a singles play-off in Dallas and doubles play-off in Kansas City in May. 23 players participated and the season final was played by the eight best performers. It was won by American Jimmy Connors who defeated compatriot Dick Stockton in four sets. The total prize money for the 1977 WCT circuit was $2,400,000.
The 1974 Barcelona WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Barcelona, Spain. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the second edition of the event and was held from 25 February through 3 March 1974. First-seeded Arthur Ashe won the singles title.
The 1974 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 blue group of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit. It was the fourth edition of the tournament and was held from April 15 through April 21, 1974 at the Julian J. Clark Tennis Stadium on the grounds of the Olde Providence Racquet Club in Charlotte, North Carolina in the United States. Eighth-seeded Jeff Borowiak won the singles title.
The 1974 São Paulo WCT, also known as the São Paulo Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in São Paulo, Brazil. The tournament was part of Green Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the event and was held from 11 March through 17 March 1974. Second-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money.
The 1974 St. Petersburg WCT, also known as the Raymond-James World Championship Tennis Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Bayfront Center Arena in St. Petersburg, Florida in the United States. The tournament was part of Blue Group of the 1974 World Championship Tennis circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the event and was held from February 4 through February 10, 1974. First-seeded John Newcombe won the singles title and earned $10,000 first-prize money. The tournament mad a loss of $30,000.
John Newcombe [1] 