Cliff Drysdale
Drysdale at the 1966 Davis Cup in the Netherlands
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| Full name | Eric Clifford Drysdale |
|---|---|
| Country (sports) |  South Africa |
| Residence | Miami, Florida, United States |
| Born | 26 May 1941 Nelspruit, South Africa |
| Height | Lua error in Module:Convert at line 1851: attempt to index local 'en_value' (a nil value). |
| Turned pro | 1968 (amateur tour from 1962) |
| Retired | 1980 |
| Plays | Right-handed (two-handed backhand) |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 2013 (member page) |
| Official website | www.cliffdrysdale.com |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 308–186 (62.34%) |
| Career titles | 5 (Open era) |
| Highest ranking | No. 4 (1965, Lance Tingay)[1] |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | QF (1971) |
| French Open | SF (1965, 1966) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1965, 1966) |
| US Open | F (1965) |
| Other tournaments | |
| WCT Finals | QF (1971, 1972, 1977) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 189–160 (54.15%) |
| Career titles | 6 |
| Grand Slam Doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 1R (1971) |
| French Open | 3R (1973) |
| Wimbledon | SF (1974, 1977) |
| US Open | W (1972) |
Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale (born 26 May 1941, Nelspruit, South Africa) is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis (WCT) group.[2] He became President of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) when it was formed by Jack Kramer, Donald Dell, and himself in 1972. Drysdale was ranked World No. 4 in 1965 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.[1][3]
Drysdale won the singles title at the Dutch Open in Hilversum in 1963 and 1964. In 1965 he won the singles title at the German Championships by defeating Boro Jovanović in the final. During his Open era career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles including winning the 1972 U.S. Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor.[4] He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. He was a pioneer of the two-handed backhand which he used to great effect in the 1960s [USA Today, 11 July 2013]. He became a naturalized United States citizen after retiring as a player. Today, he serves as a tennis commentator on ESPN.[3] He is the founder of Cliff Drysdale Tennis (along with partner Don Henderson) which specializes in resort, hotel, and club tennis management.[5]
In 1998 Drysdale won the William M. Johnston Award for contribution to men’s tennis, given by the USTA.[6] In 2013 Drysdale was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[7]
Contents
Grand Slam finals
Singles
- Runner-ups (1)
| Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent in final | Score |
| 1965 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Manuel Santana |
2–6, 9–7, 5–7, 1–6 |
Doubles
- Title (1)
| Year | Championship | Surface | Partnering | Opponent in final | Score |
| 1972 | US Open | Grass |  Roger Taylor |
 Owen Davidson John Newcombe |
6–4, 7–6(7–3), 6–3 |
Grand Prix Championship Series singles finals
Runner-up (2)
| Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1971 | Boston WCT | Ken Rosewall |
4–6, 3–6, 0–6 |
| 1972 | Las Vegas | John Newcombe |
3–6, 4–6 |
Open Era titles
| No. | Date | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 22 July 1968 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay |  Tom Okker |
6–3, 6–3, 6–0 |
| 2. | 5 April 1971 | Miami WCT, U. S. | Hard | Rod Laver |
6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
| 3. | 24 May 1971 | Brussels, Belgium | Clay |  Ilie Năstase |
6–0, 6–1, 7–5 |
| 4. | 4 March 1974 | Miami WCT (2) | Hard |  Tom Gorman |
6–4, 7–5 |
| 5. | 23 January 1978 | Baltimore, U. S. | Carpet | Tom Gorman |
7–5, 6–3 |
References
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
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- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ http://cliffdrysdale.com/
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External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cliff Drysdale. |
- Cliff Drysdale at the Association of Tennis Professionals
- Cliff Drysdale at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
- Cliff Drysdale at the Internet Movie Database
- Biography and images of Cliff on the Cliff Drysdale site
- Legends of Tennis:Cliff Drysdale
- Red Ledges Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy in Utah
- ESPN's Cliff Drysdale to emcee "Legends Ball"
- Cliff Drysdale ESPN Bio
See also
- Use dmy dates from July 2012
- Use South African English from July 2012
- All Wikipedia articles written in South African English
- Pages using infobox tennis biography with tennishofid
- Commons category link is defined as the pagename
- 1941 births
- Living people
- People from Nelspruit
- Sportspeople from Miami, Florida
- South African emigrants to the United States
- South African male tennis players
- Tennis commentators
- Tennis people from Florida
- Tennis people from Texas
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles
- International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees
