 Rod Laver in 1970 | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 27 April 1970 – 9 December 1970 |
| Edition | 1st |
| Tournaments | 20 |
| Categories | Group A (3) Masters Group 1 (6) Group 2 (11) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most tournament titles | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Rod Laver (4) |
| Most tournament finals | Rod Laver (7) |
| Prize money leader |  Cliff Richey ($25,000) |
| Points leader | Cliff Richey (60) |
1971 → | |
The 1970 Pepsi-Cola ILTF Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour.[1] It was the inaugural edition of the Grand Prix circuit and consisted of men's tournaments recognised by the ILTF.[lower-alpha 1] The creation of the Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year, was announced in April 1970 by the president of the ILTF, Ben Barnett.[2] It was the brainchild of Jack Kramer, former tennis promoter and winner of the Wimbledon and US championships, and was aimed at countering the influence of commercial promoters, particularly Lamar Hunt and his World Championship Tennis circuit and George MacCall's National Tennis League.[3][4]
The tournaments were graded in one of three categories which determined the number of ranking points available: Class A, comprising the three Grand Slam tournaments, Class 1 and Class 2. The Pepsi-Cola Masters and Davis Cup Final are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix. In addition to the tournament prize money a bonus pool of $150,000 was available for the top 20 ranked players. The bonus pool was jointly funded by Pepsi-Cola as title sponsor and the participating tournaments which reserved 10% of their prize money.[5][6] Cliff Richey earned $25,000 bonus as the winner of the first Grand Prix circuit.[7] At the end of the season the top six ranked players qualified for a Masters round-robin tournament held in Tokyo which was won by Stan Smith.
All open tennis tournaments were eligible to be included in the Grand Prix circuit provided they committed to not paying any management fees to commercial organizations with players under contract. Originally the Italian Championships, played in April in Rome, was part of the Grand Prix calendar but it was withdrawn during the tournament when it became known that they had paid management fees to the competing World Championship Tennis organization.[8]
Schedule
- Key
| Class A tournaments |
| Grand Prix Masters |
| Group 1 tournaments |
| Group 2 tournaments |
| Team events |
April
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 Apr | Rothmans British Hard Court Championships Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay – $25,000 – 32S/16D/16XD Group 2 |  Mark Cox 6–1, 6–2, 6–3 | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Bob Hewitt | Gerald Battrick .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Nikola Pilić |  Georges Goven .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ismail El Shafei François Jauffret  Tom Okker |
| Tom Okker Tony Roche 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 | William Bowrey Owen Davidson | ||||
| Billie Jean King Bob Hewitt 6–2, 3–6, 6–1 | Virginia Wade Bob Maud |
May
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25 May | French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Group A Clay – 128S/101Q/72D/53XD Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles |  Jan Kodeš 6–2, 6–4, 6–0 | Željko Franulović | Cliff Richey Georges Goven | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Ilie Năstase Arthur Ashe François Jauffret  Martin Mulligan |
| Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac 6–2, 6–4, 6–3 | Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell | ||||
| Billie Jean King Bob Hewitt 3–6, 6–4, 6–2 | Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay |
June
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 Jun | Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam Group A Grass – 128S/80Q/64D/32Q/56XD/12Q Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles |
John Newcombe 5–7, 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 6–1 | Ken Rosewall | Roger Taylor .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Andrés Gimeno | Clark Graebner Tony Roche Bob Carmichael Roy Emerson |
| John Newcombe Tony Roche 10–8, 6–3, 6–1 | Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle | ||||
| Rosemary Casals Ilie Năstase 6–3, 4–6, 9–7 |
 Olga Morozova Alex Metreveli |
July
August
September
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Sep | US Open New York, United States Grand Slam Class A Grass – $176,000 – 108S/63D/34XD Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles | Ken Rosewall 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(5–2), 6–3 | Tony Roche | Cliff Richey John Newcombe | Dennis Ralston  Brian Fairlie Stan Smith Arthur Ashe |
| Pierre Barthès Nikola Pilić 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6 | Roy Emerson Rod Laver | ||||
| Margaret Court Marty Riessen 6–4, 6–4 | Judy Tegart Frew McMillan | ||||
| 21 Sep | Pepsi Pacific Southwest Open Los Angeles, United States Group 1 Hard – $65,000 – 64S/32D Singles – Doubles | Rod Laver 4–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–5) | John Newcombe | Arthur Ashe Tom Gorman | Stan Smith Clark Graebner Marty Riessen Pancho Gonzales |
| Tom Okker Marty Riessen 7–6, 6–2 | Bob Lutz Stan Smith | ||||
| 28 Sep | Pacific Coast Championships Berkeley, United States Group 2 Hard – 64S/32D | Arthur Ashe 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 | Cliff Richey | Stan Smith Dennis Ralston | Bob Carmichael Jan Kodeš  Jaime Fillol .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Thomaz Koch |
| Bob Lutz Stan Smith 6–2, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2 | Roy Barth Tom Gorman |
October
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 Oct | Phoenix Thunderbird Open Phoenix, United States Hard – 31S/16D Group 2 | Stan Smith 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 | Jim Osborne | Barry MacKay Bob Carmichael | Charlie Pasarell Jan Kodeš Frank Froehling Tom Edlefsen |
| Dick Crealy Ray Ruffels 7–6, 6–3 | Jan Kodeš Charlie Pasarell |
November
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 Dec | Pepsi-Cola Masters Tokyo, Japan Hard (i) – $50,000 – 6S/3D (round robin) Singles – Doubles | Stan Smith | Rod Laver | NA | NA |
| Arthur Ashe Stan Smith | Jan Kodeš Rod Laver |
Grand Prix point system
The tournaments listed above were divided into three categories. Class A consisted of the Grand Slams while the other tournaments were divided into Class 1 and Class 2. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. Ties were settled by the number of tournaments played. The points allocation is listed below:
|
|
|
Grand Prix rankings
| Position | Name | Nation | Points | Prize Money (US$) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cliff Richey | USA | 60 | 25,000 |
| 2 | Arthur Ashe | USA | 55 | 17,000 |
| 3 | Ken Rosewall | AUS | 53 | 15,000 |
| 4 | Rod Laver | AUS | 51 | 12,000 |
| 5 | Stan Smith | USA | 47 | 10,500 |
| 6 | Željko Franulović | YUG | 35 | 9,500 |
| 7 | John Newcombe | AUS | 35 | 8,500 |
| 8 | Jan Kodeš | CSK | 33 | 7,500 |
| 9 | Tony Roche | AUS | 32 | 6,500 |
| 10 | Bob Carmichael | AUS | 31 | 6,000 |
| 11 | Georges Goven | FRA | 25 | 5,500 |
| 12 | Ilie Năstase | ROM | 25 | 5,000 |
| 13 | Dick Crealy | AUS | 24 | 4,500 |
| 14 | Ray Ruffels | AUS | 22 | 4,000 |
| 15 | Clark Graebner | USA | 22 | 3,500 |
| 16 | Dennis Ralston | USA | 22 | 3,000 |
| 17 | Jaime Fillol | CHI | 20 | 2,500 |
| 18 | Ion Țiriac | ROM | 19 | 2,000 |
| 19 | Cliff Drysdale | RSA | 19 | 1,500 |
| 20 | Roy Emerson | AUS | 19 | 1,000 |
List of tournament winners
The list of winners and number of singles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), alphabetically by last name:
- Arthur Ashe (3) Australian Open, Berkeley, Paris Indoor
- Mark Cox (1) Bournemouth
- Dick Crealy (1) Båstad
- Željko Franulović (1) Buenos Aires
- Jan Kodeš (1) French Open
- Rod Laver (4) Louisville, South Orange, Los Angeles, Wembley
- John Newcombe (1) Wimbledon
- Cliff Richey (2) Washington, Indianapolis
- Tony Roche (2) Gstaad, Boston
- Ray Ruffels (1) Merion
- Ken Rosewall (2) Cincinnati, US Open
- Manuel Santana (1) Barcelona
- Stan Smith (3) Phoenix, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters
The list of winners and number of doubles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), last name alphabetically:
- Arthur Ashe (3) Indianapolis, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters
- Pierre Barthès (2) Munich, US Open
- William Bowrey (1) Merion
- Bob Carmichael (1) Buenos Aires
- Patricio Cornejo (1) South Orange
- Dick Crealy (2) Båstad, Phoenix
- Owen Davidson (1) Munich
- Roy Emerson (1) Boston
- Jaime Fillol (1) South Orange
- Clark Graebner (1) Indianapolis
- Bob Hewitt (1) Washington
- Rod Laver (1) Boston
- Bob Lutz (2) Australian Open, Berkeley
- Frew McMillan (1) Washington
- Ilie Năstase (2) French Open, Cincinnati
- John Newcombe (2) Wimbledon, Louisville
- Tom Okker (2) Bournemouth, Los Angeles
- Nikola Pilić (1) US Open
- Marty Riessen (1) Los Angeles
- Tony Roche (3) Bournemouth, Wimbledon, Louisville
- Ken Rosewall (1) London
- Ray Ruffels (3) Merion, Phoenix, Buenos Aires
- Stan Smith (5) Australian Open, Berkeley, London, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters
- Allan Stone (1) Båstad
- Ion Țiriac (2) French Open, Cincinnati
The list of winners and number of mixed doubles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), alphabetically by last name:
- Bob Hewitt (2) Bournemouth, French Open
- Ilie Năstase (1) Wimbledon
- Marty Riessen (1) US Open
The following players won their first singles title in 1970:
- Dick Crealy Båstad
- Jan Kodeš French Open
See also
Notes
- ↑ A Grand Prix circuit for women was introduced in 1971.
References
- General
- "1970 Grand Prix". Association of Tennis Professionals.
- Specific
- ↑ "How it All Began". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
- ↑ "Tennis Gets A Grand Prix". The Sydney Morning Herald. Apr 9, 1970.
- ↑ "Grand Prix Experiment In Tennis Is Planned". The Morning Record. Apr 9, 1970. p. 12.
- ↑ "Obituaries – Jack Kramer". The Daily Telegraph. London. 14 Sep 2009.
- ↑ "Tennis Assn. Ponders $200,000 Grand Prix". No. The Deseret News. UPI. Jun 23, 1970.
- ↑ "Tennis Grand Prix picks up more money". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. Aug 14, 1970.
- ↑ "Richey Clinches Grand Prix Title". The New York Times. Nov 25, 1970.
- ↑ John Barrett, ed. (1971). World of Tennis '71. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 133–136. ISBN 978-0-362-00091-7.
Further reading
- Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0.