#9. Ken Rosewall- World Tour Finals and Wimbledon
The 1950s was a period where Australia were the premier dominants of World Tennis and Ken Rosewall was one of the finest exponents of the sport during this period. Primarily a back-court player, Rosewall was recognized for his pace, agility, powerful volley and most notably, his backhand which is regarded to be one of the best in the history of the sport.Over a 24-year playing career, Rosewall won a total of 133 career Singles titles including eight Grand Slams that included four Australian Open titles in 1953, 1955, 1971 (where he became the first player during the Open Era to win a Grand Slam title without dropping a set), and 1972, two French Open titles in 1953 and 1968 and two US Open titles in 1956 and 1970. However, the only Grand Slam missing from Rosewall’s trophy cabinet is the Wimbledon; the final of which he reached four times in 1954, 1956, 1970, and 1974.In his first final in 1954, Rosewall was the third seed and had two hardly fought wins in the quarters and the semis against eighth seed Rex Hartwig and top seed Tony Hrabert before locking horns with eleventh seeded Czech-Egyptian Jaroslav Drobny who beat him in four sets by the scoreline of 13-11, 4-6, 6-2, 9-7.His second final came two years later where he was the second seed and was up against top seeded compatriot Lew Hoad. Rosewall lost the match in similar fashion as in 1954 with Hoad prevailing in four sets by the scoreline of 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4. With the Wimbledon having a decade-long ban from 1957-1967, Rosewall did not reach another Wimbledon final until 1970. This time, the competition was intense with the likes of Rod Laver, Tony Roche, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith and Ilie Nastase being fierce competitors. However, Rosewall, now the fifth seed, defeated compatriot Tony Roche in the quarter-finals and Briton Roger Taylor in the semi-finals to set up a final encounter against second seeded compatriot John Newcombe. The match was a thriller with Newcombe eventually prevailing in five sets by the scoreline of 5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
During the 1974 Championships, Rosewall avenged his 1970 final defeat against Newcombe in the last eight and beat fourth seeded Stan Smith in the semi-finals to setup a final meeting with Jimmy Connors who comprehensively beat him in straight sets. This also was Rosewall’s second last appearance at Wimbledon with his final appearance coming the following year.Another major prize Rosewall couldn’t capture was the World Tour Finals where he ended 3rd in the round robin in 1970, behind Stan Smith and Rod Laver.
Who Are Roger Federer's Kids? Know All About Federer's Twins
