Cliff Drysdale

Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a retired tennis player from South Africa. The former highly ranked professional player of the 1960s and early 1970s became a well-known tennis announcer.

Cliff Drysdale
Drysdale at the 1966 Davis Cup in the Netherlands
Full nameEric Clifford Drysdale
Country (sports) South Africa
ResidenceAustin, Texas, United States[1]
Born (1941-05-26) 26 May 1941
Nelspruit, South Africa
Height1.89 m (6 ft 2 1⁄2 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1962)
Retired1980
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2013 (member page)
Official websitewww.cliffdrysdale.com
Singles
Career record685-345 (66.5%) [2]
Career titles23 [3]
Highest rankingNo. 4 (1965, Lance Tingay)[4]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1971)
French OpenSF (1965, 1966)
WimbledonSF (1965, 1966)
US OpenF (1965)
Other tournaments
WCT FinalsQF (1971, 1972, 1977)
Doubles
Career record189–160 (54.15%)
Career titles6
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open1R (1971)
French Open3R (1973)
WimbledonSF (1974, 1977)
US OpenW (1972)
Drysdale in 2009

Drysdale reached the singles final of the U. S. Championships in 1965 (beating Dennis Ralston and Rafael Osuna before losing to Manuel Santana).[5] 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.[6] 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.[4][7]

He 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 US Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor.[8] 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. He is the founder of Cliff Drysdale Tennis (along with partner Don Henderson) which specializes in resort, hotel, and club tennis management.[9]

Drysdale has served as a tennis commentator on ESPN since the network's founding in 1979.[10]

In 1998, Drysdale won the William M. Johnston award for contribution to men’s tennis, given by the USTA.[11] In 2013, Drysdale was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[12]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1965U.S. ChampionshipsGrass Manuel Santana2–6, 9–7, 5–7, 1–6

Doubles: 1 (1 title)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1972 US Open Grass Roger Taylor Owen Davidson
John Newcombe		 6–4, 7–6(7–3), 6–3

Grand Prix Championship Series finals

Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1971Boston WCTHard Ken Rosewall4–6, 3–6, 0–6
Loss1972Las VegasHard John Newcombe3–6, 4–6

Open Era titles
No. Date Championship Surface Opponent Score
1.22 July 1968Gstaad, SwitzerlandClay Tom Okker6–3, 6–3, 6–0
2.5 April 1971Miami WCT, U. S.Hard Rod Laver6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
3.24 May 1971Brussels, BelgiumClay Ilie Năstase6–0, 6–1, 7–5
4.4 March 1974Miami WCT (2)Hard Tom Gorman6–4, 7–5
5.23 January 1978Baltimore, U. S.Carpet (i) Tom Gorman7–5, 6–3

Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)
Tournament1962196319641965196619671968196919701971197219731974197519761977197819791980SR
Australian Open A A A A A A A A A QF A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1
French Open 1R 2R QF SF SF A A 1R A A A 2R A A A A A A A 0 / 7
Wimbledon 1R 1R 2R SF SF 4R 3R QF 3R 1R A A 3R A 2R 3R A 1R 2R 0 / 15
US Open 3R 2R 3R F 3R 2R QF 1R 2R A 5R 3R A 2R A 1R 1R A A 0 / 14
Strike Rate 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 37

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

Notes

  1. Cliff rysdal partners
  2. "Cliff Drysdale: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  3. "Cliff Drysdale: Career tournament results". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  4. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  5. "U. S. Open 1965". www.tennis.co.nf.
  6. Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.
  7. "Gear Talk: Q&A with Cliff Drysdale". Tennis.com.
  8. Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins history of tennis : an authoritative encyclopedia and record book (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 478. ISBN 9780942257700.
  9. http://cliffdrysdale.com/
  10. https://espnpressroom.com/us/bios/drysdale_cliff/
  11. "The William M. Johnston Award". USTA. Archived from the original on 20 August 2012. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
  12. "Hingis elected to International Tennis Hall of Fame". ITF Tennis. 4 March 2013. Retrieved 6 March 2013.

See also
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