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WCT Finals

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WCT Finals
Tournament information
Founded1971
Abolished1989
Editions19
LocationDallas, Texas
United States
VenueMoody Coliseum (1971–1979)
Reunion Arena (1980–1989)
CategoryYear-end championships
SurfaceCarpet / Indoor

The WCT Finals was a men's tennis tournament that served as the season-ending championship for the World Championship Tennis circuit. From 1971–1989 the event was held annually in Texas on indoor carpet courts. The 1971 quarterfinals and semifinals were played in Houston, and final played at Moody Coliseum in Dallas.[1] The 1972–1979 editions were played at Moody Coliseum, and the 1980–1989 tournaments at Reunion Arena in Dallas.[2] The 1974 edition was the first tennis tournament to experiment with electronic line calling. The first edition of the WCT Finals was in November 1971, just a few days before the equivalent event of the rival Grand Prix circuit. But the second edition occurred just six months later to accommodate NBC's new tennis coverage; the tournament final between Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver is credited as "the match that made tennis in the United States" because its unprecedented domestic television audience of 23 million fueled a massive increase in the sport's popularity.[3][4] The ensuing editions were also held in the spring. John McEnroe had the most overall success, winning a record five titles. Because of the popularity of the 1972 final, another edition, less important and with half the prize money, was held in November in Rome.The prize money offered to the winner, Arthur Ashe, was US$25,000 compared to the US$50,000 won by Ken Rosewall for the main edition in May. A decade later there were three editions of the WCT Finals; the most important one in Dallas, and the others in autumn in Naples, Italy, and in winter (in January 1983) in Detroit. The tournament was sponsored by Buick between 1985 and 1986, a brand of General Motors, and was called the "Buick WCT Finals".

Finals

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Year Champion Runner-up Score
1971 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rod Laver 6–4, 1–6, 7–6(7–3), 7–6(7–4)
1972 Australia Ken Rosewall (2) Australia Rod Laver 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5)
1973 United States Stan Smith United States Arthur Ashe 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
1974 Australia John Newcombe Sweden Björn Borg 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–2
1975 United States Arthur Ashe Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–0
1976 Sweden Björn Borg Argentina Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–1
1977 United States Jimmy Connors United States Dick Stockton 6–7(5–7), 6–1, 6–4, 6–3
1978 United States Vitas Gerulaitis United States Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 6–2, 6–1
1979 United States John McEnroe Sweden Björn Borg 7–5, 4–6, 6–2, 7–6(7–5)
1980 United States Jimmy Connors (2) United States John McEnroe 2–6, 7–6(7–4), 6–1, 6–2
1981 United States John McEnroe (2) South Africa Johan Kriek 6–1, 6–2, 6–4
1982 Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl United States John McEnroe 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3
1983 United States John McEnroe (3) Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0)
1984 United States John McEnroe (4) United States Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
1985 Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl (2) United States Tim Mayotte 7–6(7–4), 6–4, 6–1
1986 Sweden Anders Järryd West Germany Boris Becker 6–7(3–7), 6–1, 6–1, 6–4
1987 Czechoslovakia Miloslav Mečíř United States John McEnroe 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–2
1988 West Germany Boris Becker Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–4, 1–6, 7–5, 6–2
1989 United States John McEnroe (5) United States Brad Gilbert 6–3, 6–3, 7–6(7–3)

Seasonal finals events

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Year Champion Runner-up Score
1972 winter (Rome) United States Arthur Ashe United States Bob Lutz 6–2, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6
1982 fall (Naples) Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl Poland Wojciech Fibak 6–4, 6–2, 6–1
1982 winter (Detroit)[5] Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl Argentina Guillermo Vilas 7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4

Records

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# Titles
5 United States John McEnroe
2 Australia Ken Rosewall
United States Jimmy Connors
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
# Finals
8 United States John McEnroe
4 Sweden Björn Borg
3 United States Jimmy Connors
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
2 Australia Ken Rosewall
Australia Rod Laver
United States Arthur Ashe
Germany Boris Becker
# Appearances
9 United States John McEnroe
6 United States Arthur Ashe
5 Australia Rod Laver
Sweden Björn Borg
United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States Jimmy Connors
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
# Match wins
21 United States John McEnroe
10 Sweden Björn Borg
United States Jimmy Connors
Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl
7 Australia Ken Rosewall
United States Arthur Ashe
United States Vitas Gerulaitis


See also

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References

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  1. ^ Lamar Hunt (April 1986). "Lamar Hunt muses on 16 years of the WCT". D Magazine.
  2. ^ George Hardie (March 1988). "George Hardie Remembers..." D Magazine.
  3. ^ "1972: The Rod Laver vs. Ken Rosewall WCT Final in Dallas". tennis.com.
  4. ^ Only one match has since had a larger U.S. TV audience: the legendary Battle of the Sexes the following year, signifying how popular tennis had become during this boom period.
  5. ^ held in January, 24-30, 1983
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