Ken Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall is an Australian former world No. 1 professional tennis player. Rosewall won 147 singles titles, including 23 majors: a record 15 Pro Majors and eight Grand Slam tournaments. He also won 15 Pro Majors in doubles and nine Grand Slam doubles titles. Rosewall achieved a Pro Slam in singles in 1963 by winning the three Pro Majors in one year, and completed the career Grand Slam in doubles.
Rosewall had a renowned backhand and enjoyed a long career at the highest levels from the early 1950s to the early 1970s. He was ranked as the world No. 1 men's tennis player by multiple sources from 1961 to 1964, multiple sources in 1970, and Rino Tommasi in 1971 and 1972. Rosewall was first ranked in the top 20 in 1952, and last ranked in the top 20 in 1977. Rosewall is the only player to have simultaneously held Pro Slam titles on three different surfaces. At the 1971 Australian Open, he became the first man in the Open Era to win a Grand Slam tournament without dropping a set. Rosewall won world professional championship tours in 1963, 1964, and the WCT titles in 1971 and 1972.
A natural left-hander, Rosewall was taught by his father to play right-handed. He developed a powerful, effective backhand, but his serve was merely accurate and relatively soft. He was tall, weighed, and sarcastically was nicknamed "Muscles" by his fellow-players because of his lack of them; however, he was fast, agile, and tireless, with a deadly volley. A father of two and grandfather of five, Rosewall lives in Brisbane, having previously lived in northern Sydney and the Gold Coast.
Early life and tennis
Rosewall was born on 2 November 1934 in Hurstville, Sydney. His father, Robert Rosewall, was a grocer in Penshurst, New South Wales, and when Ken was one year old, they moved to Rockdale where his father bought three clay tennis courts. Ken started playing tennis at age 3 with a shortened racket and using both hands for forehand and backhand shots. They practised early in the morning, focusing on playing one type of shot for a period of weeks. He was a natural left-hander but was taught to play right-handed by his father. He played his first tournament when he was nine and lost to the eventual winner. At age eleven Rosewall won the Metropolitan Hardcourt Championships for under fourteen.In his youth, Rosewall often played Lew Hoad, and they became known as the Sydney "twins", but they had very different physiques, personalities and playing styles. Their first match in Sydney in January 1947 was played as an opener of an exhibition match between Australia and America. Rosewall won 6–0, 6–0. The two played again a few weeks later, and Rosewall won again in straight sets. Rosewall beat Hoad twice later in 1947 in state age-group championships. "At this stage the consistent baseline strategy of Rosewall was able to doggedly unravel any questions asked by his more aggressive, hard-hitting rival". In 1949, at age 14, Rosewall became the junior champion at the Australian Hardcourt Championships in Sydney, the youngest player to win an Australian title.
Tennis career
Amateur career: 1950 to 1956
;1950In September 1950, at the age of 15, and still a junior player, Rosewall reached the final of the 1950 New South Wales Metropolitan hard court championships, where he lost to Jim Gilchrist. In October, Rosewall reached the semifinals of the 1950 New South Wales Metropolitan grass court Championships, where he was defeated by the world-class adult player Ken McGregor.
;1951
Rosewall won his first men's tournament in Manly, New South Wales in January against Gilchrist and was "the youngest player ever to capture the seaside title. It was also Rosewall's first important win in a tennis tournament. Rosewall played almost flawless ground shots. When he did come into the net, he made no mistake about volleying his winners. Rosewall's only weakness was his smash. He seemed to hurry this shot, and in the second set, he missed eight consecutive smashes." Rosewall beat Adrian Quist in the semifinals of the Brisbane exhibition tournament in August, but he lost the final to Lew Hoad. Ken lost in the final of Metropolitan Hardcourt championships at Naremburn to George Worthington in September. In the New South Wales championships in November, Rosewall pushed reigning Australian and Wimbledon champion Dick Savitt to four sets.
;1952
In 1952, still only 17, Rosewall reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Championships, upsetting the top-seeded Vic Seixas in the fourth round in five sets and then losing to Gardnar Mulloy in five sets. In his end-of-year rankings, the British tennis expert Lance Tingay ranked Rosewall and Lew Hoad, his equally youthful doubles partner, jointly as the tenth best amateur players in the world.
;1953
Rosewall was only 18 years old when he won his first singles title at a Grand Slam event in 1953, defeating American Vic Seixas in the semifinals and compatriot Mervyn Rose in the final of the Australian Championships. He also won the French Championships, beating Seixas in the final in four sets, when "the young Australian's mastery in all phases of the game disheartened Seixas as Rosewall beat him repeatedly with perfectly placed shots". Rosewall was the top seed at Wimbledon, but lost in the quarterfinals to Kurt Nielsen. Rosewall reached the semifinals at the U.S. Championships, where he was defeated by Tony Trabert in straight sets.
At the Pacific Southwest Championships Rosewall beat Trabert in the semifinals and Seixas in the final in five sets and in the end "Rosewall's superior backhand probably decided the match." Rosewall lost to Trabert in the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup in Melbourne in three sets. Rosewall, however, won the fifth and deciding rubber of this tie, defeating Seixas in four sets. In early September, Tingay placed Trabert first and Rosewall second in his annual amateur rankings. The editors of Tennis de France magazine ranked Rosewall third behind Hoad and Trabert in a full season ranking for 1953. Harry Hopman ranked Rosewall third behind Hoad and Trabert in a full season ranking.
;1954
In 1954, Rosewall lost in the semifinals of the Australian championships to Rose. Rosewall played "a fine net game" in beating Mal Anderson in the final of the Darling Downs tournament in April. He defeated Trabert in a five-set semifinal at Wimbledon but lost the final to crowd-favorite Jaroslav Drobný in four sets. At the U.S. Championships, Rosewall lost in the semifinals to Rex Hartwig. At the Victorian championships in December, Rosewall won the title, beating Seixas in the final.
;1955
Rosewall won the singles title at the Australian Championships for the second time in 1955, defeating Hoad in the final in three sets. Rosewall's "angled shots rattled Hoad and his returns of service were a match-winning factor. Hoad made 74 errors to Rosewall's 52." Ken did not play in the 1955 French Championships because it did not fit in the preparation of the Australian team for the Davis Cup. At Wimbledon, Rosewall lost in the semifinals to unseeded Kurt Nielsen. At the U.S. Championships, Trabert defeated Rosewall in the final in three sets.
;1956
In 1956, Rosewall and Hoad captured all the Grand Slam men's doubles titles except at the French Championships, from which Rosewall was absent. For several years in their youthful careers, Rosewall and Hoad were known as "The Gold Dust Twins." In singles, Rosewall lost to Hoad in the final of two Grand Slam tournaments. At the Australian Championships, Hoad defeated Rosewall in four sets and at Wimbledon, Hoad won in four sets. Rosewall, however, prevented Hoad from winning the Grand Slam when Rosewall won their final at the U.S. Championships in four sets. "Rosewall owner of the best backhand in the game, ripped the lines with his passing shots, sent trickly lobs into the swirling winds and caught Hoad flat-footed with stop volleys and drop shots. Frequently Hoad would stop and shake his head in disbelief at some of Rosewall's returns."
Tingay and the editors of Tennis de France both ranked Rosewall No. 2 behind Hoad for 1956.
During his amateur career, Rosewall helped Australia win three Davis Cup Challenge Rounds. Rosewall won 15 of the 17 Davis Cup singles rubbers he played those years, including the last 14 in a row.
Professional career: 1957 to March 1968
Promoter and former tennis great Jack Kramer tried unsuccessfully to sign the "Whiz Kids" to professional contracts in late 1955. But one year later, Rosewall accepted Kramer's offer on 30 December 1956. Rosewall, during the Challenge Round of the Davis Cup, tried to convince his partner Hoad to do the same, but he rejected the proposition.1957
Rosewall played his first professional match on 14 January 1957 at Kooyong Stadium in Melbourne against Pancho Gonzales, the reigning king of professional tennis, who won a close five-set match. The following day, Rosewall defeated Gonzales in straight sets. Gonzales opened a lead of 5 to 1 in the Australian series. Rosewall explained later that there was a huge gap between the amateur level and the professional level. In their head-to-head world series tour in Australia and the U.S., Gonzales won 50 matches to Rosewall's 26. During this period, Rosewall also entered two tournaments, the Ampol White City Tournament of Champions at Sydney in February and the U.S. Pro in Cleveland, Ohio] in April. At both events, he was defeated in the semifinals in straight sets; by Frank Sedgman and Pancho Segura, respectively. At the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, a round-robin event held in New York, Rosewall defeated Segura and Hoad but lost to Gonzales, Sedgman and Trabert to finish in joint third place.In September, Rosewall won the Wembley Pro title, beating Segura in a five-set final. This was a significant victory for Rosewall because, of the top professional players, only Sedgman and Tony Trabert did not play. At the end of the year, Rosewall won an Australian tour featuring Lew Hoad, Sedgman, and Segura. Rosewall was offered an undercard position against Trabert for the 1958 world championship tour, but declined.