Biography

A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion from 1961 to 1963 and was a member of Australia's Davis Cup winning team in 1964. He won his first Grand Slam title in 1965 by taking the Australian Championships doubles title with fellow Australian Tony Roche. That same year, the duo won the Wimbledon doubles title. They teamed to win the Australian doubles championship three more times, Wimbledon another four times and the US Championships in 1967, the French Championships in 1967, and the French Open in 1969. They won 12 Grand Slam titles, which remained the all-time record for a men's doubles team until 2013, when it was surpassed by Bob and Mike Bryan.

Newcombe's powerful serve and volley was the backbone of his attacking game. He frequently came up with a second-serve ace. He was the top ranked amateur in the world in 1967 according to Lance Tingay, although Rex Bellamy ranked him second behind Roy Emerson. As a professional, Newcombe was the joint world No. 1 player in 1970 and 1971. In singles play, he was a two-time winner of the Australian Open, a three-time winner of Wimbledon, and a two-time winner of the US Open.

In January 1968 he signed a three-year professional contract with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis (WCT) and became part of the "Handsome Eight", the original eight WCT players. As a member of the WCT professional tour group and the players' union, Newcombe was banned by the International Tennis Federation from competing in the 1972 Wimbledon Championships and he joined the ATP boycott of the event in 1973.

Newcombe was the last of the Australians who dominated tennis in the 1950s, 60s and 70s.

In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Newcombe in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.

Newcombe was captain of the Australian Davis Cup team from 1995 until 2000.

Newcombe was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 1985 and in 1986, his achievements were recognised with his induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (7 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1966	U.S. Championships	Grass	Fred Stolle	6-4, 10-12, 3-6, 4-6
Winner	1967	Wimbledon	Grass	Wilhelm Bungert	6-2, 6-1, 6-1
Winner	1967	U.S. Championships	Grass	Clark Graebner	6-4, 6-4, 8-6
Runner-up	1969	Wimbledon	Grass	Rod Laver	4-6, 7-5, 4-6, 4-6
Winner	1970	Wimbledon	Grass	Ken Rosewall	5-7, 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1
Winner	1971	Wimbledon	Grass	Stan Smith	6-3, 5-7, 2-6, 6-4, 6-4
Winner	1973	Australian Open	Grass	Onny Parun	6-3, 6-7, 7-5, 6-1
Winner	1973	US Open	Grass	Jan Kodeš	6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3
Winner	1975	Australian Open	Grass	Jimmy Connors	7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 7-6
Runner-up	1976	Australian Open	Grass	Mark Edmondson	7-6, 3-6, 6-7, 1-6

Performance timeline

Main article: John Newcombe career statistics

Singles

Tournament	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978
Grand Slam Tournaments
Australian Open	1R	A	QF	QF	QF	SF	SF	SF	A	QF	QF	3R	QF	W	QF	W	F	QF	A
French Open	A	3R	3R	A	2R	QF	3R	4R	A	QF	A	A	A	1R	A	A	1R	A	A
Wimbledon	A	1R	2R	1R	1R	4R	3R	W	4R	F	W	W	A	A	QF	A	3R	A	4R
U.S. Open	A	A	A	4R	A	A	F	W	QF	SF	SF	1R	3R	W	SF	A	A	A	A

Source: ITF

Distinctions

• Newcombe served as chairman of the International Tennis Players Association which formed in 1969.
• He served as President of the Association of Tennis Professionals in 1977 and 1978.
• Overall, he won 26 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles (27 if his 1965 mixed doubles shared win is added).
• Newcombe and Rod Laver are the only players to ever win both the US Open and Wimbledon men's singles titles as an amateur and as a professional. The grass surfaces favoured his game, and the French Open's clay surface was the only major singles championship he never won. However, he did take the French doubles title on three occasions.
• He is an Australian Living Treasure.
• The Newcombe Medal, awarded yearly to the most outstanding Australian tennis player, is named in honour of his tennis achievements.
• He runs the John Newcombe Tennis Ranch & Tennis Academy in New Braunfels, Texas.
• In 2001 he was revealed to be President George W. Bush's drinking companion on the night of 4 September 1976, when Bush was charged with driving under the influence. This controversy surfaced during the 2000 US Presidential Election.
• He partners with Cliff Drysdale to develop the John Newcombe Estate & Country Club in New Braunfels, Texas.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]