Mark Cox (born 5 July 1943) is a former tennis player from England, who played professional and amateur tennis in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was ranked as high as World No. 13 on the ATP rankings (achieving that ranking in August 1977). Cox was educated at Wyggeston Boys' School in Leicester and Millfield School in Somerset.
Cox obtained an economics undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge (Downing College), where he was a member of the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.
During his career, he won eight singles titles and three doubles titles, reached the quarterfinals at the US Nationals (in 1966), and the final at the event in Cincinnati (in 1977). He also played on Great Britain's Davis Cup team, and was on the team that reached the 1978 final against the United States. He has also gone down in tennis history as the first amateur player to beat a professional. In May 1968, at the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth, he beat the American Pancho Gonzales in five sets in two and a quarter hours. Cox also achieved big upset wins over No. 1 seed, Rod Laver, at the 1971 Australian Open, and over No. 2 seed, Ken Rosewall, at the 1972 US Open. Cox retired from playing in 1981. During his latter playing years and after his retirement, Cox has worked as a coach, and also as a television commentator for the BBC. He is also a Patron of a charity "CRY" (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and an Ambassador for the Win Tennis Academy at Bisham. He lives with his wife Susie in London.
Career finals
Singles (8 titles, 8 runner-ups)
Outcome | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1969 | Caracas, Venezuela | Clay | Thomaz Koch | 6-8, 3-6, 6-2, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1972 | Louisville WCT, US | Clay | Arthur Ashe | 4-6, 4-6 |
Winner | 1. | 1972 | Cleveland WCT, US | Hard | Ray Ruffels | 6-3, 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1973 | London WCT, England | Hard (i) | Brian Fairlie | 6-2, 2-6, 2-6, 6-7 |
Winner | 2. | 1973 | Denver WCT, US | Carpet | Arthur Ashe | 6-1, 6-1 |
Winner | 3. | 1973 | Eastbourne, England | Grass | Patrice Dominguez | 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1974 | Bologna WCT, Italy | Carpet | Arthur Ashe | 4-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1974 | London WCT, England | Hard (i) | Björn Borg | 7-6, 6-7, 4-6 |
Winner | 4. | 1975 | London WCT, England | Carpet | Brian Fairlie | 6-1, 7-5 |
Winner | 5. | 1975 | Washington Indoor WCT, US | Carpet | Dick Stockton | 6-2, 7-6 |
Winner | 6. | 1975 | Atlanta WCT, US | Carpet | John Alexander | 6-3, 7-6 |
Winner | 7. | 1976 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Manuel Orantes | 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 |
Winner | 8. | 1977 | Helsinki, Finland | Carpet | Kjell Johansson | 6-3, 6-3 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1977 | London/Queen's Club, England | Grass | Raúl Ramírez | 7-9, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1977 | Cincinnati, US | Clay | Harold Solomon | 2-6, 3-6 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1980 | Stuttgart Indoor, Germany | Hard (i) | Tomáš Šmíd | 1-6, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, 4-6 |
Doubles (3 titles, 8 runner-ups)
Outcome | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 1973 | Copenhagen WCT, Denmark | Carpet | Graham Stilwell | Erik Van Dillen Tom Gorman |
4-6, 4-6 |
Winner | 1. | 1973 | Cologne WCT, Germany | Carpet | Graham Stilwell | Tom Okker Marty Riessen |
7-6, 6-3 |
Winner | 2. | 1973 | London, England | Carpet | Owen Davidson | Gerald Battrick Graham Stilwell |
6-4, 8-6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 1974 | Denver WCT, US | Carpet | Jun Kamiwazumi | Arthur Ashe Roscoe Tanner |
3-6, 6-7 |
Runner-up | 3. | 1975 | San Antonio WCT, US | Hard | Cliff Drysdale | John Alexander Phil Dent |
6-7, 6-4, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 1975 | Memphis, US | Carpet | Cliff Drysdale | Erik Van Dillen Dick Stockton |
6-1, 5-7, 4-6 |
Runner-up | 5. | 1975 | Atlanta WCT, US | Carpet | Cliff Drysdale | Anand Amritraj Vijay Amritraj |
3-6, 2-6 |
Runner-up | 6. | 1975 | World Doubles WCT, Mexico | Carpet | Cliff Drysdale | Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez |
6-7, 7-6, 2-6, 6-7 |
Runner-up | 7. | 1976 | Washington WCT, US | Carpet | Cliff Drysdale | Eddie Dibbs Harold Solomon |
4-6, 5-7 |
Runner-up | 8. | 1977 | London WCT | Hard (i) | Eddie Dibbs | Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta |
6-7, 7-6, 3-6 |
Winner | 3. | 1977 | Basel, Switzerland | Carpet | Buster Mottram | John Feaver John James |
7-5, 6-4, 6-3 |