WCT Finals

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WCT Finals
Tournament information
Founded 1971
Abolished 1989
Location Dallas
USA
Venue Moody Coliseum (1972–1979)
Reunion Arena (1980–1989)
Category Year-end championships
Surface Carpet / 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 and 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.[citation needed] 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.

Sponsorship

Between 1985 and 1986 this event was sponsored by Buick, a brand of General Motors, and was called the Buick WCT Finals

Records

  • Most titles: John McEnroe 5.
  • Most finals: John McEnroe 8.
  • Most consecutive titles John McEnroe and Ken Rosewall 2.
  • Most consecutive finals John McEnroe 6.

Results

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 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 United States John McEnroe 2–6, 7–6, 6–1, 6–2
1981 United States John McEnroe United States 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 Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–0)
1984 United States John McEnroe United States Jimmy Connors 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
1985 Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl United States Tim Mayotte 7–6, 6–4, 6–1
1986 Sweden Anders Järryd West Germany Boris Becker 6–7, 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 United States Brad Gilbert 6–3, 6–3, 7–6

Seasonal finals events

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

See also

References

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  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

External links