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.
