Cliff Drysdale

South African tennis player

Cliff Drysdale

Drysdale in 2009

Full name| Eric Clifford Drysdale
Country (sports)|  South Africa
Residence| Austin, Texas, United States[1]
Born|  (1941-05-26) 26 May 1941 (age 84)
Nelspruit, South Africa
Height| 1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Turned pro| 1968 (amateur from 1962)
Retired| 1980
Plays| Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF| 2013 (member page)
Official website| www.cliffdrysdale.com
Singles
Career record| 685–345 (66.5%) in pre Open-Era & Open Era[2]
Career titles| 23[3]
Highest ranking| No. 4 (1965, Lance Tingay)[4]
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)
Drysdale at the 1966 Davis Cup in the Netherlands

Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis announcer.

## Life and career

[edit]

Born Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale in Nelspruit (today known as Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa) on May 26, 1941 and completed his high school at Grey High School, Port Elizabeth.[5]

Drysdale won the singles title at the Dutch Open in 1963 and 1964. In 1965, he reached the singles final of the 1965 U. S. Championships[6] and he won the singles title at the German Championships. He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. During his Open-era career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles, including the 1972 US Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor.[7] He was a pioneer of the two-handed backhand shot, which he used to great effect during his playing career.

Drysdale was included among the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis group.[8] He became president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), an association that Drysdale had formed in 1972 with Jack Kramer and Donald Dell.[4][9]

Following retirement, Drysdale became a naturalized American citizen. He has been a tennis commentator for ESPN since the network's inception in 1979.[10] In 1998, the USTA awarded Drysdale the William M. Johnston award for his contribution to men's tennis.[11] In 2013, he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.[12]

## Grand Slam finals

[edit]

### Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

[edit]

Result  | Year  | Championship  | Surface  | Opponent  | Score

|
|
|
|
|

Loss | 1965 | U.S. Championships | Grass |  Manuel Santana | 2–6, 9–7, 5–7, 1–6

### Doubles: 1 (1 title)

[edit]

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

[edit]

### Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups)

[edit]

Result  | Year  | Tournament  | Surface  | Opponent  | Score

|
|
|
|
|

Loss | 1971 | Boston WCT | Hard |  Ken Rosewall | 4–6, 3–6, 0–6
Loss | 1972 | Las Vegas | Hard |  John Newcombe | 3–6, 4–6

## Open Era finals

[edit]

### Singles (5 titles)

[edit]

Result  | No.  | Date  | Tournament  | Surface  | Opponent  | Score

|
|
|
|
|
|

Win | 1. | Jul 1968 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay |  Tom Okker | 6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Win | 2. | Apr 1971 | Miami WCT, U. S. | Hard |  Rod Laver | 6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Win | 3. | May 1971 | Brussels, Belgium | Clay |  Ilie Năstase | 6–0, 6–1, 7–5
Win | 4. | Mar 1974 | Miami WCT (2) | Hard |  Tom Gorman | 6–4, 7–5
Win | 5. | Jan 1978 | Baltimore, U. S. | Carpet (i) |  Tom Gorman | 7–5, 6–3

## Grand Slam singles performance timeline

[edit]

Key  W |  F | SF  | QF  | #R  | RR | Q#  | DNQ  | A  | NH

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

(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.

Tournament | 1962 | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 |  SR

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

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  | 4R | 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

[edit]

1. ^ Cliff Drysdale partners
2. ^ "Cliff Drysdale: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
3. ^ "Cliff Drysdale: Career tournament results". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Archived from the original on 1 December 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
4. ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
5. ^ "Cliff Drysdale - ESAT". esat.sun.ac.za. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
6. ^ Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. p. 140\. OCLC 172306.
7. ^ 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.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ "Gear Talk: Q&A with Cliff Drysdale". Tennis.com. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2012.
10. ^ "Cliff Drysdale".
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.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cliff Drysdale.

* Cliff Drysdale at the Association of Tennis Professionals
* Cliff Drysdale at the International Tennis Federation
* Cliff Drysdale at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
* Cliff Drysdale at IMDb
* Biography and images of Cliff on the Cliff Drysdale site
* Red Ledges Cliff Drysdale Tennis Academy in Utah
* ESPN's Cliff Drysdale to emcee "Legends Ball"
* Cliff Drysdale ESPN Bio

* v
* t
* e

US Open men's doubles champions

Amateur Era|

* 1881: Clarence Clark / Frederick Winslow Taylor
* 1882: Richard Sears / James Dwight
* 1883: Richard Sears / James Dwight
* 1884: Richard Sears / James Dwight
* 1885: Richard Sears / Joseph Clark
* 1886: Richard Sears / James Dwight
* 1887: Richard Sears / James Dwight
* 1888: Oliver Campbell / Valentine Hall
* 1889: Henry Slocum / Howard Taylor
* 1890: Valentine Hall / Clarence Hobart
* 1891: Oliver Campbell / Bob Huntington
* 1892: Oliver Campbell / Bob Huntington
* 1893: Clarence Hobart / Fred Hovey
* 1894: Clarence Hobart / Fred Hovey
* 1895: Malcolm Chace / Robert Wrenn
* 1896: Carr Neel / Sam Neel
* 1897: Leo Ware / George Sheldon
* 1898: Leo Ware / George Sheldon
* 1899: Holcombe Ward / Dwight F. Davis
* 1900: Holcombe Ward / Dwight F. Davis
* 1901: Holcombe Ward / Dwight F. Davis
* 1902: Reginald Doherty / Laurence Doherty
* 1903: Reginald Doherty / Laurence Doherty
* 1904: Holcombe Ward / Beals Wright
* 1905: Holcombe Ward / Beals Wright
* 1906: Holcombe Ward / Beals Wright
* 1907: Fred Alexander / Harold Hackett
* 1908: Fred Alexander / Harold Hackett
* 1909: Fred Alexander / Harold Hackett
* 1910: Fred Alexander / Harold Hackett
* 1911: Raymond Little / Gus Touchard
* 1912: Maurice McLoughlin / Tom Bundy
* 1913: Maurice McLoughlin / Tom Bundy
* 1914: Maurice McLoughlin / Tom Bundy
* 1915: Clarence Griffin / Bill Johnston
* 1916: Clarence Griffin / Bill Johnston
* 1917: Fred Alexander / Harold Throckmorton
* 1918: Vincent Richards / Bill Tilden
* 1919: Norman Brookes / Gerald Patterson
* 1920: Clarence Griffin / Bill Johnston
* 1921: Vincent Richards / Bill Tilden
* 1922: Vincent Richards / Bill Tilden
* 1923: Brian Norton / Bill Tilden
* 1924: Howard Kinsey / Robert Kinsey
* 1925: Vincent Richards / R. Norris Williams
* 1926: Vincent Richards / R. Norris Williams
* 1927: Frank Hunter / Bill Tilden
* 1928: George Lott / John F. Hennessey
* 1929: George Lott / John Doeg
* 1930: George Lott / John Doeg
* 1931: Wilmer Allison / John Van Ryn
* 1932: Ellsworth Vines / Keith Gledhill
* 1933: George Lott / Lester Stoefen
* 1934: George Lott / Lester Stoefen
* 1935: Wilmer Allison / John Van Ryn
* 1936: Don Budge / Gene Mako
* 1937: Gottfried von Cramm / Henner Henkel
* 1938: Don Budge / Gene Mako
* 1939: John Bromwich / Adrian Quist
* 1940: Jack Kramer / Ted Schroeder
* 1941: Jack Kramer / Ted Schroeder
* 1942: Gardnar Mulloy / Bill Talbert
* 1943: Jack Kramer / Frank Parker
* 1944: Robert Falkenburg / Don McNeill
* 1945: Gardnar Mulloy / Bill Talbert
* 1946: Gardnar Mulloy / Bill Talbert
* 1947: Jack Kramer / Ted Schroeder
* 1948: Gardnar Mulloy / Bill Talbert
* 1949: John Bromwich / Bill Sidwell
* 1950: John Bromwich / Frank Sedgman
* 1951: Ken McGregor / Frank Sedgman
* 1952: Mervyn Rose / Vic Seixas
* 1953: Rex Hartwig / Mervyn Rose
* 1954: Vic Seixas / Tony Trabert
* 1955: Kosei Kamo / Atsushi Miyagi
* 1956: Lew Hoad / Ken Rosewall
* 1957: Ashley Cooper / Neale Fraser
* 1958: Alex Olmedo / Ham Richardson
* 1959: Roy Emerson / Neale Fraser
* 1960: Roy Emerson / Neale Fraser
* 1961: Chuck McKinley / Dennis Ralston
* 1962: Rafael Osuna / Antonio Palafox
* 1963: Chuck McKinley / Dennis Ralston
* 1964: Chuck McKinley / Dennis Ralston
* 1965: Roy Emerson / Fred Stolle
* 1966: Roy Emerson / Fred Stolle
* 1967: John Newcombe / Tony Roche

Open Era|

* 1968: Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
* 1969: Ken Rosewall / Fred Stolle
* 1970: Pierre Barthès / Nikola Pilić
* 1971: John Newcombe / Roger Taylor
* 1972: Cliff Drysdale / Roger Taylor
* 1973: Owen Davidson / John Newcombe
* 1974: Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
* 1975: Jimmy Connors / Ilie Năstase
* 1976: Tom Okker / Marty Riessen
* 1977: Bob Hewitt / Frew McMillan
* 1978: Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
* 1979: Peter Fleming / John McEnroe
* 1980: Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
* 1981: Peter Fleming / John McEnroe
* 1982: Kevin Curren / Steve Denton
* 1983: Peter Fleming / John McEnroe
* 1984: John Fitzgerald / Tomáš Šmíd
* 1985: Ken Flach / Robert Seguso
* 1986: Andrés Gómez / Slobodan Živojinović
* 1987: Stefan Edberg / Anders Järryd
* 1988: Sergio Casal / Emilio Sánchez
* 1989: John McEnroe / Mark Woodforde
* 1990: Pieter Aldrich / Danie Visser
* 1991: John Fitzgerald / Anders Järryd
* 1992: Jim Grabb / Richey Reneberg
* 1993: Ken Flach / Rick Leach
* 1994: Jacco Eltingh / Paul Haarhuis
* 1995: Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde
* 1996: Todd Woodbridge / Mark Woodforde
* 1997: Yevgeny Kafelnikov / Daniel Vacek
* 1998: Sandon Stolle / Cyril Suk
* 1999: Sébastien Lareau / Alex O'Brien
* 2000: Lleyton Hewitt / Max Mirnyi
* 2001: Wayne Black / Kevin Ullyett
* 2002: Mahesh Bhupathi / Max Mirnyi
* 2003: Jonas Björkman / Todd Woodbridge
* 2004: Mark Knowles / Daniel Nestor
* 2005: Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan
* 2006: Martin Damm / Leander Paes
* 2007: Simon Aspelin / Julian Knowle
* 2008: Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan
* 2009: Lukáš Dlouhý / Leander Paes
* 2010: Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan
* 2011: Jürgen Melzer / Philipp Petzschner
* 2012: Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan
* 2013: Leander Paes / Radek Štěpánek
* 2014: Mike Bryan / Bob Bryan
* 2015: Pierre-Hugues Herbert / Nicolas Mahut
* 2016: Jamie Murray / Bruno Soares
* 2017: Jean-Julien Rojer / Horia Tecău
* 2018: Mike Bryan / Jack Sock
* 2019: Juan Sebastián Cabal / Robert Farah
* 2020: Mate Pavić / Bruno Soares
* 2021: Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
* 2022: Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
* 2023: Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
* 2024: Max Purcell / Jordan Thompson

* v
* t
* e

Members of the International Tennis Hall of Fame

Men|

| Master players|

* Manuel Alonso Areizaga
* James Anderson
* Mal Anderson
* Bunny Austin
* Wilfred Baddeley
* Jean Borotra
* John Bromwich
* Norman Brookes
* Jacques Brugnon
* Clarence Clark
* Henri Cochet
* Ashley Cooper
* Jim Courier
* Jack Crawford
* Owen Davidson
* Sven Davidson
* Jaroslav Drobný
* Neale Fraser
* Chuck Garland
* Andrés Gimeno
* Arthur Gore
* Bryan Grant
* Lew Hoad
* Harry Hopman
* Frederick Hovey
* Karel Koželuh
* René Lacoste
* Herbert Lawford
* Gene Mako
* Ken McGregor
* Robert Lindley Murray
* Hans Nüsslein
* Alex Olmedo
* Manuel Orantes
* Gerald Patterson
* Theodore Pell
* Fred Perry
* Adrian Quist
* Ernest Renshaw
* William Renshaw
* Mervyn Rose
* Frank Sedgman
* Pancho Segura
* Gottfried von Cramm
* Anthony Wilding

|

Players|

* Fred Alexander
* Wilmer Allison
* Karl Behr
* Don Budge
* Oliver Campbell
* Malcolm Greene Chace
* Joseph Clark
* William Clothier
* Dwight F. Davis
* John Doeg
* Laurence Doherty
* Reginald Doherty
* James Dwight
* Bob Falkenburg
* Pancho Gonzales
* Harold Hackett
* Joe Hunt
* Francis Hunter
* Bill Johnston
* Jack Kramer
* William Larned
* Art Larsen
* George Lott
* Maurice McLoughlin
* Frank Parker
* Vincent Richards
* Bobby Riggs
* Ted Schroeder
* Richard Sears
* Frank Shields
* Henry Slocum
* Bill Talbert
* Bill Tilden
* John Van Ryn
* Ellsworth Vines
* Holcombe Ward
* Watson Washburn
* Malcolm Whitman
* R. Norris Williams
* Sidney Wood
* Robert Wrenn
* Beals Wright

Recent players|

* Andre Agassi
* Arthur Ashe
* Boris Becker
* Björn Borg
* Michael Chang
* Jimmy Connors
* Rick Draney
* Stefan Edberg
* Roy Emerson
* David Hall
* Lleyton Hewitt
* Yevgeny Kafelnikov
* Jan Kodeš
* Gustavo Kuerten
* Goran Ivanišević
* Rod Laver
* Ivan Lendl
* John McEnroe
* Chuck McKinley
* Frew McMillan
* Don McNeill
* Gardnar Mulloy
* Ilie Năstase
* John Newcombe
* Yannick Noah
* Rafael Osuna
* Leander Paes
* Budge Patty
* Nicola Pietrangeli
* Pat Rafter
* Dennis Ralston
* Tony Roche
* Andy Roddick
* Ken Rosewall
* Marat Safin
* Pete Sampras
* Manuel Santana
* Dick Savitt
* Vic Seixas
* Stan Smith
* Randy Snow
* Michael Stich
* Fred Stolle
* Tony Trabert
* Guillermo Vilas
* Mats Wilander
* Todd Woodbridge
* Mark Woodforde

Court tennis players|

* Pierre Etchebaster
* Tom Pettitt

Women|

| Master players|

* Daphne Akhurst
* Blanche Bingley
* Dorothy Bundy Cheney
* Charlotte Cooper
* Thelma Coyne Long
* Françoise Dürr
* Marion Jones Farquhar
* Hilde Krahwinkel Sperling
* Suzanne Lenglen
* Simonne Mathieu
* Kathleen McKane Godfree
* Elisabeth Moore
* Angela Mortimer
* Betty Nuthall
* Nancy Richey
* Ellen Roosevelt
* Dorothy Round
* Elizabeth Ryan
* Margaret Scriven
* Eleonora Sears
* Bertha Townsend
* Lesley Turner Bowrey
* Marie Wagner
* Nancye Wynne Bolton

|

Players|

* Juliette Atkinson
* Maud Barger-Wallach
* Pauline Betz
* Molla Bjurstedt Mallory
* Louise Brough
* Mary Browne
* Mabel Cahill
* Maureen Connolly
* Lottie Dod
* Dorothea Douglass Lambert Chambers
* Shirley Fry
* Althea Gibson
* Ellen Hansell
* Darlene Hard
* Doris Hart
* Ann Haydon Jones
* Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman
* Helen Hull Jacobs
* Alice Marble
* Sarah Palfrey Cooke
* Helen Wills

Recent players|

* Tracy Austin
* Maria Bueno
* Jennifer Capriati
* Rosemary Casals
* Kim Clijsters
* Lindsay Davenport
* Chris Evert
* Gigi Fernández
* Evonne Goolagong Cawley
* Steffi Graf
* Justine Henin
* Martina Hingis
* Billie Jean King
* Monique Kalkman-Van Den Bosch
* Li Na
* Hana Mandlíková
* Conchita Martínez
* Amélie Mauresmo
* Martina Navratilova
* Jana Novotná
* Margaret Osborne duPont
* Mary Pierce
* Gabriela Sabatini
* Arantxa Sánchez Vicario
* Monica Seles
* Pam Shriver
* Margaret Smith Court
* Helena Suková
* May Sutton
* Chantal Vandierendonck
* Esther Vergeer
* Virginia Wade
* Natasha Zvereva

Contributors|

* Russ Adams
* George Adee
* Lawrence Baker
* John Barrett
* Nick Bollettieri
* Vic Braden
* Jane Brown Grimes
* Butch Buchholz
* Philippe Chatrier
* Gianni Clerici
* Bud Collins
* Joseph Cullman
* Allison Danzig
* Mike Davies
* Herman David
* Donald Dell
* Cliff Drysdale
* Steve Flink
* David Gray
* Clarence Griffin
* Gustaf V
* Derek Hardwick
* Gladys Heldman
* William Hester
* Lamar Hunt
* Nancy Jeffett
* Robert Walter Johnson
* Perry T. Jones
* Robert J. Kelleher
* Peachy Kellmeyer
* Al Laney
* Alastair Martin
* Dan Maskell
* William McChesney Martin
* Mark McCormack
* Julian Myrick
* Arthur Nielsen
* Original 9
* Mary Ewing Outerbridge
* Brad Parks
* Charlie Pasarell
* Gene Scott
* Lance Tingay
* Ted Tinling
* Ion Țiriac
* Brian Tobin
* Jimmy Van Alen
* Dennis Van der Meer
* Walter Clopton Wingfield

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template