Rodney George Laver is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the World No. 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 also was ranked the world No. 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 and a former record 17 men's 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.
Lewis Alan Hoad was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973. Hoad won four Major singles tournaments as an amateur. He was a member of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup four times between 1952 and 1956. Hoad turned professional in July 1957. He won the Kooyong Tournament of Champions in 1958 and the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in 1959. He won the Ampol Open Trophy world series of tournaments in 1959, which included the Kooyong tournament that concluded in early January 1960. Hoad's men's singles tournament victories spanned from 1951 to 1971.
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 tennis Majors in singles, including 8 Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record 15 Pro Slam titles; overall, he reached a record 35 Major finals. He won the Pro Grand Slam in 1963. Rosewall won a record 24 major men's doubles titles. He won 9 grand slam titles in men's doubles with a career men's doubles grand slam and also won 15 Pro Slam men's doubles titles.
Francis "Frank" Arthur Sedgman is a retired world No. 1 Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1945 until 1976. Sedgman won five Grand Slam singles tournaments as an amateur as well as 22 Grand Slam doubles tournaments. He is one of only five tennis players all-time to win a multiple slam set in two disciplines, matching Margaret Court, Roy Emerson, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams. In 1951, he and Ken McGregor won the men's doubles Grand Slam. Sedgman turned professional in 1953, and won the Wembley World Professional Indoor singles title in 1953 and 1958. He also won the Sydney Masters tournament in 1958, and the Melbourne Professional singles title in 1959. He won the Grand Prix de Europe Professional Tour in 1959.
John Albert Kramer was an American tennis player of the 1940s and 1950s. A world No. 1 player for 1946 and 1947 as an amateur and in 1948 as a professional in contemporary rankings. Kramer was one of the most important people in the establishment of modern men's "Open"-era tennis, and was the leading promoter of professional tennis tours in the 1950s and 1960s.
Marion Anthony Trabert was an American amateur world No. 1 tennis champion and long-time tennis author, TV commentator, instructor, and motivational speaker.
World number 1 ranked male tennis players is a year-by-year listing of the male tennis players who were ranked as world No. 1 by various contemporary and modern sources. The annual source rankings from which the No. 1 players are drawn are cited for each player's name, with a summary of the most important tennis events of each year also included.
The 1971 Australian Open, also known under its sponsored name Dunlop Australian Open, was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia from 7 to 14 March. The tournament was originally scheduled to be played in Melbourne but was moved to Sydney on account of a $125,000 sponsorship deal with Dunlop. The tournament date was moved from its regular January slot to March to accommodate scheduling requirements made by the commercial promoters World Championship Tennis and National Tennis League. It was the 59th edition of the Australian Open, the 17th and final one held in Sydney, and the first Grand Slam tournament of the year. The tournament was part of the 1971 World Championship Tennis circuit. The singles titles were won by Australians Ken Rosewall and Margaret Court. The tiebreak was introduced for all sets except the deciding set.
Rod Laver defeated Andrés Gimeno in the final, 6–3, 6–4, 7–5 to win the men's singles tennis title at the 1969 Australian Open. It was the first step in an eventual Grand Slam for Laver. This was the first edition of the tournament to be open to professional players, marking a period in tennis history known as the Open Era.
Pierre Darmon is a French former tennis player.
Owen Keir Davidson is a former professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s.
Rod Laver was the defending singles champion at the Australian Indoor Tennis Championships but did not compete that year. First-seeded John Newcombe won in the final 6–4, 6–3, 6–4 against Cliff Richey. Richey threatened to quit the match after being called for a foot fault but eventually played on when the linesman was changed. The final was the best of 5 sets while all other rounds were the best of 3 sets.
The Laver–Rosewall rivalry was a tennis rivalry in the 1960s and 1970s between Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, widely regarded as two of the greatest tennis players of all time. In 1956 both players toured in the amateur circuit but never faced each other. Rosewall turned professional in January 1957 and the two did not meet until January 1963 when Laver turned pro. They played many times until 1977 when both semi-retired from the main tour.
The 1970 New South Wales Open, also known by its sponsored name Dunlop Open, was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia. The tournament was held from 16 March through 22 March 1970. It was the 78th edition of the event and the second held in the Open era of tennis. The men's event consisted of a singles and doubles competition while the women only played a singles competition. The singles titles were won by Billie Jean King and Rod Laver who were both seeded first. It was Laver's second singles title after 1961 and he won AUS$5,000 first-prize money.
The 1968 Jack Kramer Tournament of Champions was a men's professional tennis tournament played on indoor carpet courts. It was the first edition of the British Indoor Championships in the Open era. The tournament took place at the Wembley Pool Arena in London, England and ran from 15 November through 21 November 1968.
Alvin Gardiner is a former professional tennis player from Australia.
Michael Wayman is a British former professional tennis player.
Greg Braun is an Australian former professional tennis player.
Bernard Paul is a French former professional tennis player.
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