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© Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum |
It used to be run of the mill for an Australian to win at
Wimbledon. Even today their names evoke fond memories of players
who not only played to win, but also knew how to enjoy themselves.
Theirs is a bygone era for currently we are overrun
by professionalism and a dedication to winning virtually at
all costs.
Newcombe was the last player to win The Championships as
an amateur, the year before the game went ‘Open’
in 1968. He again reached the final two years later, bowing
to the superiority of a rampant Rod Laver. In 1970 he regained
the crown and safely defended it the following year.
He might have made it three in a row but for administrative
and political wrangles on the Tour. Players who were contracted
to certain circuits were banned from The Championships.
Newcombe fell in that category, having signed up with WCT.
As a result ‘Newk’, as he was affectionately
known, was unable to defend his title in 1972.
Then came the ‘Year of the Boycott’, 1973,
with Newcombe, a title favourite along with defending champion
Stan Smith, opting out in support of their ATP colleagues
in their fight with the ILTF; so again Newcombe missed out.
But Newk, with his famous Mexican moustache, was not just
a singles player. He also collected six doubles title at
The Championships, five in partnership with Tony Roche,
and the other with Ken Fletcher, all part of a doubles record
that he admits, he is probably more proud of than his singles
– bearing in mind he also won five Australian, three
US Open and three French Open doubles titles. No mean feat.
A gifted serve-and-volleyer, Newcombe had the perfect game
for grass, always advancing quickly to the net where he
was quick to kill off any point. He was equally devastating
overhead and, when playing doubles with Roche, their combined
efforts provided a wall for opponents to try to penetrate.
Newcombe also collected two US Championships, one as an
amateur (1967) and the other as a professional (1973). His
two Australian Open titles followed (1973 and 1975) but
he never took the title in France, where his best result
was a quarter-final appearance in 1969. In all he won 25
Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles and mixed, more than
any other player except fellow Aussie Roy Emerson, who totalled
28.
Davis Cup also played an important part in his tennis life.
As a member of four winning Australian teams (1965-67 and
1973), he played 32 matches and won 22 of them.
Late in the 1990s he became Davis Cup captain and led the
team to two finals, in 1999 and 2000. The team won in 2000.
The big Aussie with a big heart retired as a player in
1978, the year he was awarded the OBE for services to tennis.
His rugged style of play made him popular with spectators
around the world and he can still be seen contesting the
‘senior’ events at Wimbledon.
Indeed Wimbledon – and the Davis Cup – have
played important parts in Newcombe’s life. “The
history of Wimbledon is what is special to me as it goes
back to when the game started. It is all very special and
when you look up and see your name on the roll of honour
with all those great names of tennis, the feeling is very,
very special. It is an event immersed in history and tradition
and you English, unlike any other country, know how to preserve
it.”
Newcombe believes that the surface is what makes Wimbledon
special and the tournament should continue to be played
on grass. “It must never change from grass because
it provides players with a whole new contest for them to
challenge. Tennis at the end of the day is a game and it
should be played because of one’s love for the game.”
Written by Henry Wancke
JOHN NEWCOMBE
Singles Champion: 1967, 1970, 1972
Singles Runner-up: 1969
Doubles Champion: 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974
