1979 Italian Open (tennis)

Last updated
1979 Italian Open
Date21 - 27 May (M)
7 – 13 May (W)
Edition36th
Draw64MS/32WS/32MD/16WD
Prize money$175,000 (M)
$100,000 (W)
Surface Clay / outdoor
LocationRome, Italy
Venue Foro Italico
Champions
Men's singles
Flag of the United States.svg Vitas Gerulaitis [1]
Women's singles
Flag of the United States.svg Tracy Austin
Men's doubles
Flag of the United States.svg Peter Fleming / Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd [2]
Women's doubles
Flag of the Netherlands.svg Betty Stöve / Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wendy Turnbull
  1978  · Italian Open ·  1980  

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 (Category AAA). 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. [3] 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. [4] [5]

Contents

Finals

Men's singles

Flag of the United States.svg Vitas Gerulaitis defeated Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Vilas 6–7, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–2

Women's singles

Flag of the United States.svg Tracy Austin defeated Flag of Germany.svg Sylvia Hanika 6–4, 1–6, 6–3

Men's doubles

Flag of the United States.svg Peter Fleming / Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Tomáš Šmíd defeated Flag of Argentina.svg José Luis Clerc / Flag of Romania (1965-1989).svg Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–1, 7–5

Women's doubles

Flag of the Netherlands.svg Betty Stöve / Flag of Australia (converted).svg Wendy Turnbull defeated Flag of Australia (converted).svg Evonne Goolagong / Flag of Australia (converted).svg Kerry Reid 6–3, 6–4

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tracy Austin</span> American tennis player

Tracy Ann Austin Holt is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. She won three Grand Slam titles: the women's singles titles at the 1979 and 1981 US Opens, and the mixed doubles title at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships. Additionally, she won the WTA Tour Championships in 1980 and the year-ending Toyota Championships in 1981, both in singles.

The 1979 US Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at the USTA National Tennis Center in New York City in New York in the United States. It was the 99th edition of the US Open and the third Grand Slam tennis event of the year. The tournament was held from August 28 to September 9, 1979. John McEnroe and Tracy Austin won the singles titles.

The 1979 Custom Credit Australian Indoor Championships was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts at the Hordern Pavilion in Sydney, Australia and was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix. It was the seventh edition of the tournament and was held from 15 October through 21 October 1979. First-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the singles title.

The 1984 South African Open was a tennis tournament played on indoor hard courts in Johannesburg, South Africa that was part of the 1984 Volvo Grand Prix and the 1984 Virginia Slims World Championship Series. It was the 81st edition of the tournament. The women's tournament was held from 30 April through 6 May 1984 while the men's tournament was held from 19 November through 25 November 1984.

The 1977 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 tournament was part of the Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate Series. The tournament was held from 16 May through 22 May 1977. The singles titles were won by eight-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis and fifth-seeded Janet Newberry who earned $21,000 and $6,000 first-prize money respectively. Gerulaitis competed despite being contracted to play for the Indiana Loves World Team Tennis (WTT) franchise and was fined $19,000 for failing to play Björn Borg in the weekend of the final.

The 1980 Monte Carlo Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France that was part of the 1980 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the 74th edition of the tournament and was held from 31 March through 6 April 1980. First-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title, his third after 1977 and 1979.

The 1979 Monte Carlo Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts at the Monte Carlo Country Club in Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France that was part of the 1979 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the 73rd edition of the tournament and was held from 9 April through 15 April 1979. First-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title, his second at the event after 1977.

The 1974 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 tournament was part of the 1974 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix circuit while the women's tournament was part of the Women's International Grand Prix circuit. The tournament was held from 26 May through 3 June 1974. The singles titles were won by third-seeded Björn Borg and first-seeded Chris Evert.

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 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a men's Grand Prix and women's Colgate Series tennis tournament. The event was held for the first time at the newly built Indianapolis Sports Center in Indianapolis in the United States and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 11th edition of the tournament in the Open Era and was held in from August 6 through August 12, 1979. First-seeded Jimmy Connors won the men's singles title and the $25,000 first-prize money. First-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd claimed the women's singles title and $20,000 first-prize money.

The 1978 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 tournament was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate International Series. It was the 35th edition of the tournament and was held from 22 May through 28 May 1978. The singles titles were won by first-seeded Björn Borg, who won his second Italian Open title after 1974, and third-seeded Regina Maršíková.

The 1980 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts. For the first time in the history of the tournament the men and women competed in different locations. The men's event was held at the traditional location of Foro Italico in Rome, while the women played in Perugia. It was the 37th edition of the tournament. The men's tournament was part of the 1980 Volvo Grand Prix while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate Series. The women's event was played from 5 May through 11 May 1980 while the men's event was organized from 19 May through 25 May 1980. First-seeded Guillermo Vilas, runner-up in 1976 and 1979, won the men's singles title and the accompanying $28,000 first-prize money. The women's singles title was won by first-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd, her third Italian Open title after 1974 and 1975.

The 1981 Italian Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that was played on outdoor clay courts. For the second time in the history of the tournament the men and women competed in different locations. The men's event was held at the traditional location of Foro Italico in Rome, while the women played in Perugia. It was the 38th edition of the tournament. The men's tournament was part of the 1981 Volvo Grand Prix while the women's tournament was part of the Toyota Series. The women's event was played from 4 May through 10 May 1981 while the men's event was organized from 18 May through 24 May 1981. Third-seeded José Luis Clerc won the men's singles title and the accompanying $24,000 first-prize money. The women's singles title was won by first-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd, her fourth Italian Open title after 1974, 1975 and 1980.

The 1978 Milan Indoor, also known by its sponsored name Ramazzotti Cup, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts at the Palazzo dello Sport in Milan in Italy. The event was part WCT Tour which was incorporated into the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the inaugural edition of the tournament and was held from 27 March through 2 April 1978. Second-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title. Total attendance for the tournament was 76,841.

The 1978 Richmond WCT, also known by its sponsored name United Virginia Bank Classic, was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The event was part WCT Tour which was incorporated into the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit. It was the 13th edition of the tournament and was held from January 30 through February 5, 1978. Second-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the singles title.

The 1978 German Open was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor red clay courts. The men's tournament was part of the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix circuit, categorized as a four-star event, while the women's tournament was part of the Colgate Series and classified as an A category event. It was the 70th edition of the tournament and took place at the Am Rothenbaum in Hamburg, West Germany, from 15 May through 21 May 1978. Guillermo Vilas and Mima Jaušovec, both first-seeded, won the singles titles.

The Men’s Singles tournament of the 1977 Italian Open tennis championships took place in Rome between 16 May and 1 July 1977. 64 players from 19 countries competed in the 6-round tournament. The final winner was Vitas Gerulaitis of the USA, who defeated Antonio Zugarelli of Italy. The defending champion from 1976, Adriano Panatta of Italy, was eliminated in the quarter-finals by Gerulaitis.

The 1980 U.S. Clay Court Championships was a men's Grand Prix and women's Colgate Series tennis tournament held at the Indianapolis Sports Center in Indianapolis in the United States and played on outdoor clay courts. It was the 12th edition of the tournament and was held from August 4 through August 10, 1980. Eighth-seeded José Luis Clerc and top-seeded Chris Evert-Lloyd won the singles titles.

The 1978 Birmingham WCT was a men's tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the sixth edition of the Grand Prix Birmingham, and part of the 1978 Colgate Palmolive Grand Prix. It took place in Birmingham, Alabama, United States from January 9 through January 15, 1978. First-seeded Björn Borg won the singles title and earned $30,000 first-prize money.

The 1982 Florence Open was a men's tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts in Florence, Italy that was part of the 1982 Volvo Grand Prix circuit. It was the tenth edition of the tournament and was played from 10 May until 16 May 1982. Second-seeded Vitas Gerulaitis won the singles title.

References

  1. "ATP – 1979 Rome Men's Singles draw". ATP.
  2. "ATP – 1979 Rome Men's Doubles draw". ATP.
  3. "Gerulaitis Outlasts Vilas at Rome". The Palm Beach Post. 28 May 1979. p. D3.
  4. "Lloyd streak was one of top feats in tennis". Lawrence Journal-World. AP. 20 May 1979. p. 6B.
  5. John Barrett, ed. (1980). World of Tennis 1980 : a BP yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 88–89, 144–145. ISBN   9780362020120. OCLC   237184610.