John Newcombe

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John Newcombe
AO OBE
John Newcombe 1968.jpg
Newcombe in 1968
Full nameJohn David Newcombe
Country (sports) Flag of Australia (converted).svg
ResidenceSydney, Australia
Born (1944-05-23) 23 May 1944 (age 81)
Sydney, Australia
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro1967 (amateur from 1960)
Retired1981
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,062,408
Int. Tennis HoF 1986 (member page)
Singles
Career record1072–401 (72.8%)
Career titles68 (41 open era titles listed by ATP)
Highest ranking No. 1 (1967, Lance Tingay ) [1]
No. 1 (3 June 1974, ATP)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open W (1973, 1975)
French Open QF (1965, 1969)
Wimbledon W (1967, 1970, 1971)
US Open W (1967, 1973)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals SF (1973, 1974)
WCT Finals W (1974)
Professional majors
Doubles
Career record333–115 (74.3)
Career titles33
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1965)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open W (1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976)
French Open W (1967, 1969, 1973)
Wimbledon W (1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974)
US Open W (1967, 1971, 1973)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open W (1965)
French Open F (1965)
US Open W (1964)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973)

John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in both men's singles and men's doubles. Newcombe won a combined 26 major titles: seven in singles, a former record 17 in men's doubles, and two in mixed doubles. He also contributed to five Davis Cup titles for Australia during an age when the Davis Cup was deemed as significant as the majors. [2] Tennis magazine rated him the 10th best male player of the period 1965–2005.[ citation needed ]

Contents

Career

Amateur

Newcombe played several sports as a boy before devoting himself to tennis. Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. He frequently came up with a second-serve ace. He was the Australian junior champion from 1961 to 1963 and was a member of Australia's Davis Cup winning team in 1964.

In singles, Newcombe entered the Australian Championships in January 1960 aged 15 years and 8 months and lost in the first round to Bob Mark. [3] He was younger than three other 15 year old entrants: Vivian McGrath in 1932 (who was about to turn 16), [4] Dinny Pails (15 years and 10 months) in 1937 [5] and Lleyton Hewitt (15 years and 10 months) in 1997. [6] Newcombe's first Grand Slam singles final was at the US championships in 1966 when he lost in four sets to Fred Stolle (both players were unseeded). [7]

Newcombe's first Grand Slam singles title came at Wimbledon 1967, when he lost five games in beating Wilhelm Bungert in the final. [8] At the 1967 U.S. Championships, he beat Clark Graebner in straight sets in the final. [9] Newcombe was the top ranked amateur in the world in 1967 according to Lance Tingay, World Tennis [10] and an Ulrich Kaiser panel of 13 experts [11] and was the first recipient of the Martini and Rossi award after finishing top of their points system in 1967. [12]

Professional

In January 1968, Newcombe signed a three-year professional contract with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis (WCT) and became part of the "Handsome Eight", the original eight WCT players. [13] Newcombe was guaranteed $135,000 annually, which was higher than what the best paid baseball player received that year. [14] The open era began in April 1968.

Although all his Grand Slam singles titles were won on grass, Newcombe showed his prowess on clay when he won the 1968 German Open, beating Cliff Drysdale in straight sets in the final [15] and the 1969 Italian Open, beating Tony Roche in five sets in the final. [16] In the 1969 Wimbledon final, Newcombe led 4–1 in the third set at one set all before Rod Laver won in four sets. [17]

In the 1970 Wimbledon quarter finals, Newcombe outlasted Roy Emerson 11–9 in the fifth set in a "dour three-hour serve-and volley battle". [18] In the final Newcombe beat Rosewall in five sets. "If Rosewall had the shots and the crowd behind him, Newcombe had the youth, the strength- and the service". [19] He was ranked world number one in 1970 by Tingay, [20] World Tennis, [21] Bud Collins, [22] Mike Gibson [23] and Tennis magazine (Germany). [24]

In the 1971 Wimbledon final, Newcombe beat Stan Smith in five sets. It "was a battle of power serves and volleys, with the Aussie's experience finally winning out". [25] He was ranked world No. 1 in 1971 by Tingay, [20] Rex Bellamy, [26] Collins, [22] Frank Rostron [27] and World Tennis [28] and he and Stan Smith were joint recipients of The 'Martini and Rossi' Award, voted for by 11 journalists. [29] As a member of the WCT professional tour group and the Players' Union, Newcombe was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships and he joined the ATP boycott of the event in 1973.

Newcombe won his first Australian Open singles title in 1973 with a four set victory over Onny Parun in the final. [30] In the quarter finals of the 1973 US Open Newcombe beat Jimmy Connors, not losing his serve in a straight sets win. [31] In the semis he overcame Rosewall [32] and in the final, Newcombe beat Jan Kodeš in five sets. "Newcombe's superior service power- he thundered down 15 aces against 6 by Kodes- got him the victory". [32] In 1973 Newcombe was ranked world No. 1 by Tingay [20] and Judith Elian. [33]

Newcombe was the WCT champion for 1974, defeating Tom Okker, [34] Stan Smith, [34] and Björn Borg in the final. "Big John, puffing and snorting like an old bull, handled Borg's flashy, go-for-broke attack with sometimes casual confidence". [34] In winning his last Grand Slam singles title in 1975, Newcombe won his quarter final against Geoff Masters 10-8 in the fifth set, [35] then came from 5-2 down and 3 match points down in the fifth set to beat Roche in the semi finals [36] and in the final beat Connors in four sets. [37] His last Grand Slam singles final at the 1976 Australian Open was played during a severe windstorm that caused the match to be suspended for half an hour and Newcombe lost in four sets to Mark Edmondson. [38]

Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

Doubles

He won his first Grand Slam title in 1965 by taking the Australian Championships doubles title with fellow Australian Tony Roche. That same year, the duo won the Wimbledon doubles title. They teamed to win the Australian doubles championship three more times, Wimbledon another four times and the US Championships in 1967, the French Championships in 1967, and the French Open in 1969. They won 12 Grand Slam titles, which remained the all-time record for a men's doubles team until 2013, when it was surpassed by Bob and Mike Bryan. [39]

Legacy

Newcombe was captain of the Australian Davis Cup team from 1995 until 2000, leading his team to victory in 1999, defeating France in the final. [40]

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time. [41] In 2018 tennis.com listed Newcombe as the 15th greatest player in the open era. [42]

Newcombe was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 [43] and in 1986 his achievements were recognised with his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. [44]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 10 (7 titles, 3 runner-ups)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1966 U.S. Championships Grass Flag of Australia (converted).svg Fred Stolle 6–4, 10–12, 3–6, 4–6
Win1967 Wimbledon Grass Flag of Germany.svg Wilhelm Bungert 6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Win1967U.S. ChampionshipsGrass Flag of the United States.svg Clark Graebner 6–4, 6–4, 8–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Loss 1969 WimbledonGrass Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rod Laver 4–6, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Win 1970 WimbledonGrass Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ken Rosewall 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1
Win 1971 WimbledonGrass Flag of the United States.svg Stan Smith 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1973 Australian Open Grass Flag of New Zealand.svg Onny Parun 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, 6–1
Win 1973 US OpenGrass Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jan Kodeš 6–4, 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 6–3
Win 1975 Australian OpenGrass Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Connors 7–5, 3–6, 6–4, 7–6
Loss 1976 Australian Open Grass Flag of Australia (converted).svg Mark Edmondson 7–6, 3–6, 6–7, 1–6

Grand Slam performance timeline

Singles

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 SR W–L Win %
Australian Open 1R A QF QF QF SF SF SF A QF QF 3R QF W QF W F A QF A1 / 146–1476.7
French Open A 3R 3R 2R 2R QF 3R 4R A QF AAA 1R AA 1R AA1 / 716–1061.5
Wimbledon A 1R 2R 1R 1R 4R 3R W 4R F W W AA QF A 3R A 4R 2 / 1245–1180.4
US Open AAA 4R 3R A F W QF SF SF 1R 3R W SF AAAA0 / 645–983.3
Win–loss0–10–25–35–35–410–314–420–27–218–413–28–24–212–112–36–07–33–13–14 / 26152–4477.6

Source: ITF [45]

Distinctions

See also

References

  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
  2. Tignor, Steve (6 December 2013). "40 Years Ago: Look Out, Cleveland". tennis.com. Retrieved 12 May 2015.
  3. "Stolle captures U. S. net crown, rejects pro bid". The Age. 27 January 1960. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  4. "Lawn tennis". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 February 1932. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  5. "Remarkable tennis by boy players: Pails (15) gives Hopman great fight". The Advertiser (Adelaide). 23 January 1937. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  6. "Rafter bundled out in three sets". The Age. 15 January 1997. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  7. "Stolle captures U. S. net crown, rejects pro bid". The Morning Record. 12 September 1966. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  8. "John Newcombe collects easy Wimbledon win". Herald-Journal. 8 July 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  9. "Newcombe nabs U. S. title, eyes pros; King triumphs". The Press-Courier. 11 September 1967. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  10. "The Star Press (Muncie), 14 November 1967". newspapers.com. 14 November 1967.
  11. "Around the World..." World Tennis. Vol. 15, no. 9. New York. February 1968. p. 65.
  12. "The Baltimore Sun, 12 September 1967". newspapers.com. 12 September 1967.
  13. "$1,418,000 goal for Newcombe and Roche". The Canberra Times . 4 January 1968. p. 26 via National Library of Australia.
  14. "With the US Open underway, a look at end of 'shamateur' tennis - Wilmington News Journal". 29 August 2017.
  15. "Newcombe wins". The Montreal Gazette. 13 August 1968. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  16. "Heldman wins first major tennis crown". St. Joseph Gazette. 29 April 1969. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  17. "Laver wins fourth Wimbledon crown". Toledo Blade . 6 July 1969. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  18. "Court cleared for big match". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 July 1970. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  19. "Newcombe outlasts Rosewall". The Press-Courier. 5 July 1970. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  20. 1 2 3 Barrett, John, ed. (1990). World Of Tennis. London: Collins Willow. pp. 235–237. ISBN   9780002183550.
  21. Muscles, Ken Rosewall as told to Richard Naughton, 2012, p.208
  22. 1 2 Collins & Hollander (1997), p. 651
  23. "Around the world..." World Tennis. Vol. 18, no. 10. New York. March 1971. p. 75.
  24. "Around the world..." World Tennis. Vol. 18, no. 9. New York. February 1971. p. 62.
  25. "Newcombe rallies for Wimbledon title". Star News. 4 July 1971. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  26. The Times (London), 31 December 1971, p. 5
  27. "Around the world..." World Tennis. Vol. 19, no. 10. New York. March 1972. p. 72.
  28. The Times (London), 20 November 1971, p. 16
  29. "Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 19 December 1971". newspapers.com. 19 December 1971.
  30. "Newcombe's scheme to lure world's tennis stars". The Sydney Morning Herald. 2 January 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  31. "Only one service break in U. S. match". The Glasgow Herald. 6 September 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  32. 1 2 "Newcombe wins U. S. Open". The Pittsburgh Press. 10 September 1973. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  33. Quidet, Christian (1989). La Fabuleuse Histoire du Tennis (in French). Paris: Nathan. p. 772. ISBN   9782092864388.
  34. 1 2 3 "Newcombe cools off Borg for WCT title". Schenectady Gazette. 13 May 1974. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  35. "Survival as Newc. gears up for Jim". The Age. 31 December 1974. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  36. "Jimmy v. Newc". The Age. 2 January 1975. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  37. "Newcombe beats Connors for Australian title". The Telegraph Herald. 2 January 1975. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  38. "Unseeded Edmondson wins over Newcombe". Bangor Daily News . 5 January 1976. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
  39. "Bryan bros beat Aussie slam record". news.co.au.
  40. "1999 Davis Cup final". Davis Cup. International Tennis Federation (ITF).
  41. In his 1979 autobiography, Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
  42. "The 50 Greatest Players of the Open Era (M): No. 15, John Newcombe". tennis.com.
  43. "John Newcombe". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  44. "John Newcombe". International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  45. "Player Details – John Newcombe". ITF. Archived from the original on 8 October 2015. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  46. "Net Group to Discuss South African Ban". The Milwaukee Journal. 24 June 1969. Retrieved 21 September 2012.[ permanent dead link ]
  47. UK list: "No. 47549". The London Gazette (Supplement). 2 June 1978. p. 6248.
  48. "THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY 1989 HONOURS". Commonwealth of Australia Gazette. Special . No. S192. Australia. 12 June 1989. p. 2. Retrieved 29 August 2022 via National Library of Australia.
  49. "The Awards". www.tennis.com.au. Tennis Australia.
  50. Fenton, Ben. (9 March 2001) Newcombe recalls Bush's brush with law. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved on 2016-07-12.
  51. John Newcombe Estate & Country Club. newcombeestate.com (March 2008)

Bibliography

Achievements
Preceded by world No. 1
3 June 1974 – 28 July 1974
Succeeded by