John Newcombe

John David Newcombe (born May 23, 1944 in Sydney, Australia) is a former World No. 1 tennis champion.

A natural athlete, as a boy Newcombe played several sports until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962 and 1963 and became a member of Australia's Davis Cup winning team in 1964. He won his first Grand Slam major 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 would team up 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 1969. Together, Newcombe and Roche won 12 Grand Slam titles, more than any other men's team in tennis history.

Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. To the delight of fans, and the surprise of his opponent, he frequently came up with a second-serve ace. His play made him the No. 1 amateur in the world in 1967. As a pro, he was the world number one player in 1970, 1971 and 1973. In singles play, he was a two time winner of the Australian Open, a three time winner of Wimbledon, and the US Open twice.

As member of Lamar Hunt's, "World Championship Tennis" professional tour group, and part of the players union, he was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon championships and he boycotted the event in 1973. Very popular with the fans, Newcombe's absence resulted in urgent negotiations that ultimately resolved the issues. He served as President of the Association of Tennis Professionals in 1977 and 1978.

Newcombe and Rod Laver are the only players to ever win both the US Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles as an amateur and as a professional. The grass surfaces favored his game and although he made it to the 1964 finals, the French Open's clay surface was the only major singles championship he never won. However, he did take the French doubles title on three occasions. Overall, he won 25 Grand Slam major titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles.

John Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s and 1960s. 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 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. In 1986, his achievements were recognized with his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Still active in tennis, he was made captain of Australia's Davis Cup team in 1995.

Notoriously, he was revealed to be President George W. Bush's drinking companion on the night when he was charged with driving under the influence. This controversy surfaced during the 2000 US Presidential Election^*.

Grand Slam results

Australian Championships/Australian Open

Singles champion: 1973, 1975
- Singles finalist: 1976
Doubles champion: 1965, 1967, 1971, 1973, 1976
- Doubles finalist: 1963, 1966
Mixed champion: 1965

French Championships/French Open

Doubles champion: 1967, 1969, 1973
- Doubles finalist: 1964
Mixed champion: 1965

Wimbledon

Singles champion: 1967, 1970, 1971
- Singles finalist: 1969
Doubles champion: 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974
Mixed champion: 1965

US Championships/US Open

Singles champion: 1967, 1973
- Singles finalist: 1966
Doubles champion: 1967, 1971, 1973
- Doubles finalist: 1972
Mixed champion: 1964

Grand Slam singles finals

Wins (7)

'''Year	'''Championship	'''Opponent in Final	'''Score in Final
1967	Wimbledon Championships	Wilhelm Bungert	6-2, 6-1, 6-1
1967	U.S. Championships	Clark Graebner	6-4, 6-4, 8-6
	↓ Open Era ↓
1970	Wimbledon (2)	Ken Rosewall	5-7, 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
1971	Wimbledon (3)	Stan Smith	6-3, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
1973	U.S. Open (2)	Jan Kodeš	6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
1973	Australian Open	Onny Parun	6-3, 6-7, 7-5, 6-1
1975	Australian Open (2)	Jimmy Connors	7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6

Singles titles in the Open Era (31)

1968
- Hamburg

1969
- Rome

1970
- Casablanca WCT, Wimbledon

1971
- Chicago WCT, Dallas WCT, Gstaad, Montreal / Toronto, Philadelphia WCT, Toronto WCT, Wimbledon

1972
- Alamo WCT, Fort Worth WCT, Gothenburg WCT, Johannesburg-2, Las Vegas WCT, St. Louis WCT, Vancouver WCT

1973
- Australian Open, Djkarta, US Open

1974
- Dallas WCT, Lacosta WCT, Maui, New Orleans WCT, Orlando WCT, St. Petersburg WCT, Sydney Indoor, Tokyo, Tucson

1975
- Australian Open

Notes

External links

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