A racket or racquet is an item of sporting equipment used to strike a ball or shuttlecock in a variety of sports. A racket consists of three major components: a widened distal end known as the head, an elongated handle known as the grip, and a reinforced connection between the head and handle known as the throat or heart. The head of the racket forms a flattened firm surface, known as the face, which is used to strike the ball or shuttlecock.
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.
Ivan Lendl is a Czech-American former professional tennis player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest tennis players of all time. Lendl was ranked world No. 1 in singles for a then-record 270 weeks and won 94 singles titles. He won eight major singles titles and was runner-up 11 times, making him the first man to contest 19 major finals. Lendl also contested a record eight consecutive US Open finals and won seven year end championships including five Grand Prix Masters and two WCT Finals. Lendl is the only man in professional tennis history to have a match winning percentage of over 90% in five different years. He also had a comfortable head-to-head winning record against his biggest rivals, which translates to a 22–13 record against Jimmy Connors and a 21–15 record against John McEnroe. Lendl's dominance of his era was most evident at the year-end championships, which feature the eight best-ranked singles players. He holds a win–loss record at the event of 39–10, having contested the final nine consecutive times, a record. Commonly referred to as the 'Father Of Modern Tennis' and 'The Father Of The Inside-Out Forehand', Lendl pioneered a new style of tennis; his game was built around his forehand, hit hard and with a heavy topspin, and his success is cited as a primary influence in popularizing the now-common playing style of aggressive baseline power tennis. After retirement, he became a tennis coach for several players; in particular, he helped Andy Murray win three major titles and reach the world No. 1 ranking.
Miloslav Mečíř is a Slovak former professional tennis player. He won the men's singles gold medal at the 1988 Olympic Games, representing Czechoslovakia, and contested two major singles finals. In 1987 he won the WCT Finals, the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis tour. His son Miloslav Jr. is also a former professional tennis player.
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.
Four-time defending champion Björn Borg defeated John McEnroe in the final, 1–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–7(16–18), 8–6 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1980 Wimbledon Championships. It was his fifth consecutive Wimbledon title and tenth major title overall. The final has often been called one of the greatest and most exciting matches of all time, and was the core of the Borg–McEnroe rivalry. A dramatic depiction of the final featured as the central event of the 2017 movie Borg vs McEnroe.
John McEnroe defeated five-time defending champion Björn Borg in a rematch of the previous year's final, 4–6, 7–6(7–1), 7–6(7–4), 6–4, to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1981 Wimbledon Championships. It was his first Wimbledon singles title and third major singles title overall. Borg was attempting to equal William Renshaw's record of six consecutive Wimbledon titles and Roy Emerson's all-time record of 12 major titles.
Jimmy Connors defeated defending champion John McEnroe in the final, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5), 6–4 to win the gentlemen's singles tennis title at the 1982 Wimbledon Championships. It was his second Wimbledon title and sixth major title overall. The final was the first Wimbledon match in history that was deliberately scheduled to take place on a Sunday.
Yannick Noah defeated the defending champion Mats Wilander in the final, 6–2, 7–5, 7–6(7–3) to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1983 French Open. It was his first and only major singles title. Noah remains the most recent Frenchman to win the title, and his victory also marked the last time a man won a singles major with a wooden racket.
John McEnroe defeated Vitas Gerulaitis in the final, 7–5, 6–3, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1979 US Open. It was his first major singles title.
Defending champion John McEnroe defeated Björn Borg in the final, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–7(5–7), 5–7, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1980 US Open. It was his second US Open singles title and second major singles title overall. The final is often ranked among the best matches in tennis history, and was central to the Borg–McEnroe rivalry. It was the first successful US Open men's singles title defense in the Open Era.
Two-time defending champion John McEnroe defeated Björn Borg in a rematch of the previous year's final, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1981 US Open. It was his third US Open singles title and fourth major singles title overall. It was Borg's fourth runner-up finish at the US Open, his career-best finish at the event. The final would mark the last major appearance of eleven-time major champion Borg, due to his later retirement from the sport. He left the venue before the trophy ceremony, emotionally distraught.
Jimmy Connors defeated Ivan Lendl in the final, 6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1982 US Open. It was his fourth US Open singles title and seventh major singles title overall. It was the first of eight consecutive US Open finals for Lendl.
Jimmy Connors won in the final 6–3, 7–6 against Ivan Lendl.
This is a list of the main career statistics and records of retired Swedish professional tennis player Björn Borg. His professional career spanned from 1973 until 1984 with a brief comeback between 1991 and 1993.
The Lendl–McEnroe rivalry was a tennis rivalry between Ivan Lendl and John McEnroe, who met in 36 matches between 1980 and 1992. Their head-to-head is 21–15, favoring Lendl. It is one of the most notable tennis rivalries of the Open Era. Their most memorable match was the 1984 French Open final, when Lendl came from two sets down to win the championship, which McEnroe considered his worst loss.
Gosen Co., Ltd. is a Japanese company that produces synthetic strings for the fishing, manufacturing and racquet sport industries.
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).
This is a list of the main career statistics of former tennis player Jimmy Connors.
The 1982 Toronto Molson Light Challenge was a tennis tournament, won by Ivan Lendl 7–5, 3–6, 7–6, 7–5 against John McEnroe.
