Owen Davidson

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Owen Davidson
Davidson in 1988
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1943-10-04)4 October 1943
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Died12 May 2023(2023-05-12) (aged 79)
Conroe, Texas, U.S.
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1969 (amateur from 1962)
Retired1974
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2010 (member page)
Singles
Career record403-253 (61.4%) [1]
Career titles7 [2]
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1967, The New York Times)[3]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967)
French OpenQF (1967)
WimbledonSF (1966)
US OpenQF (1966, 1967)
Professional majors
US ProSF (1967)
Doubles
Career record127–65
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1972)
French Open3T (1968)
WimbledonF (1966)
US OpenW (1973)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1965, 1967)
French OpenW (1967)
WimbledonW (1967, 1971, 1973, 1974)
US OpenW (1966, 1967, 1971, 1973)

Owen Keir Davidson (4 October 1943 – 12 May 2023) was an Australian professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s.

Alongside Billie Jean King, Davidson won eight grand slam mixed doubles titles. In 1967 he won a calendar year slam for mixed doubles, when he won the Australian Championships (with Lesley Turner Bowrey), and the French Championships, Wimbledon and the US Championships (with King).

Davidson became the first player to win a match in the open era of tennis when he defeated John Clifton in the first round of the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth played in April 1968.[4][5][6]

His best grand slam singles result was at Wimbledon in 1966, when he reached the semifinals (beating top seed Roy Emerson before losing to Manuel Santana).[7] He was also the 1972 Australian Open and the 1973 US Open men's doubles champion, partnering John Newcombe and Ken Rosewall respectively. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 2010. He was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on 26 January 2011 (Australia Day).

Davidson died in Conroe, Texas, on 12 May 2023, at the age of 79.[8][9]

Grand Slam finals[edit]

Men's doubles: 6 (2–4)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1966 Wimbledon Grass Australia Bill Bowrey Australia Ken Fletcher
Australia John Newcombe
3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 1967 Australian Championships Grass Australia Bill Bowrey Australia John Newcombe
Australia Tony Roche
6–3, 3–6, 5–7, 8–6, 6–8
Loss 1967 US Championships Grass Australia Bill Bowrey Australia John Newcombe
Australia Tony Roche
8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 3–6
Win 1972 Australian Open Grass Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ross Case
Australia Geoff Masters
3–6, 7–6, 6–3
Loss 1972 US Open (2) Grass Australia John Newcombe South Africa Cliff Drysdale
United Kingdom Roger Taylor
4–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win 1973 US Open Grass Australia John Newcombe Australia Rod Laver
Australia Ken Rosewall
7–5, 2–6, 7–5, 7–5

Mixed doubles: 12 (11–1)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1965 Australian Championships Grass Australia Robyn Ebbern Australia Margaret Smith
Australia John Newcombe
shared, final not played
Win 1966 US Championships Grass United States Donna Floyd Fales United States Carol Hanks Aucamp
United States Ed Rubinoff
6–1, 6–3
Win 1967 Australian Championships (2) Grass Australia Lesley Turner Bowrey Australia Judy Tegart-Dalton
Australia Tony Roche
9–7, 6–4
Win 1967 French Championships Clay United States Billie Jean King United Kingdom Ann Haydon-Jones
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–3, 6–1
Win 1967 Wimbledon[10] Grass United States Billie Jean King Brazil Maria Bueno
Australia Ken Fletcher
7–5, 6–2
Win 1967 US Championships (2) Grass United States Billie Jean King United States Rosemary Casals
United States Stan Smith
6–3, 6–2
Loss 1968 French Open Clay United States Billie Jean King France Françoise Dürr
France Jean-Claude Barclay
1–6, 4–6
Win 1971 Wimbledon (2) Grass United States Billie Jean King Australia Margaret Court
United States Marty Riessen
3–6, 6–2, 15–13
Win 1971 US Open (3) Grass United States Billie Jean King South Africa Bob Maud
Netherlands Betty Stöve
6–3, 7–5
Win 1973 Wimbledon (3) Grass United States Billie Jean King United States Janet Newberry
Mexico Raúl Ramírez
6–3, 6–2
Win 1973 US Open (4) Grass United States Billie Jean King Australia Margaret Court
United States Marty Riessen
6–3, 3–6, 7–6
Win 1974 Wimbledon (4) Grass United States Billie Jean King United Kingdom Lesley Charles
United Kingdom Mark Farrell
6–3, 9–7

Career finals[edit]

Open-era doubles (10 wins, 10 losses)[edit]

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1969 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Australia John Newcombe United States Pancho Gonzales
United States Dennis Ralston
7–5, 11–13, 6–2, 6–1
Win 2. 1969 London/Queen's Club, England Grass United States Dennis Ralston Brazil Thomaz Koch
Sweden Ove Nils Bengtson
8–6, 6–3
Loss 1. 1970 Rome, Italy Clay Australia Bill Bowrey Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–0, 8–10, 3–6, 8–6, 1–6
Win 3. 1970 Hilversum, Netherlands Hard Australia Bill Bowrey Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2. 1970 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Australia Bob Carmichael United States Arthur Ashe
United States Stan Smith
0–6, 7–5, 5–7
Win 4. 1971 Bournemouth, England Clay Australia Bill Bowrey Chile Patricio Cornejo
Chile Jaime Fillol
8–6, 6–2, 3–6, 4–6, 6–3
Win 5. 1972 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Ross Case
Australia Geoff Masters
3–6, 7–6, 6–3
Loss 3. 1972 US Open, New York Grass Australia John Newcombe South Africa Cliff Drysdale
United Kingdom Roger Taylor
4–6, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 4. 1973 Montreal, Canada Hard Australia John Newcombe Australia Rod Laver
Australia Ken Rosewall
5–7, 6–7
Win 6. 1973 US Open, New York Grass Australia John Newcombe Australia Roy Emerson
Australia Rod Laver
7–5, 2–6, 7–5, 7–5
Win 7. 1973 Chicago, US Carpet Australia John Newcombe United Kingdom Gerald Battrick
United Kingdom Graham Stilwell
6–7, 7–6, 7–6
Loss 5. 1973 Fort Worth, US Hard Australia John Newcombe United States Brian Gottfried
United States Dick Stockton
6–7, 4–6
Win 8. 1973 London Carpet United Kingdom Mark Cox United Kingdom Gerald Battrick
United Kingdom Graham Stilwell
6–4, 8–6
Loss 6. 1974 Baltimore, US Carpet United States Clark Graebner West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Karl Meiler
6–7, 5–7
Win 9. 1974 St. Petersburg WCT, US Hard Australia John Newcombe United States Clark Graebner
United States Charlie Pasarell
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 7. 1974 New Orleans WCT, US Australia John Newcombe United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
6–4, 4–6, 6–7
Win 10. 1974 Orlando WCT, US Clay Australia John Newcombe United States Brian Gottfried
United States Dick Stockton
7–6, 6–3
Loss 8. 1974 Charlotte, US Clay Australia John Newcombe United Kingdom Buster Mottram
Mexico Raúl Ramírez
3–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss 9. 1974 World Doubles WCT, Montreal Carpet Australia John Newcombe South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 2–6
Loss 10. 1974 Maui, US Hard Australia John Newcombe United States Dick Stockton
United States Roscoe Tanner
3–6, 6–7

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Owen Davidson: Career Match Record". app.thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SAL. 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  2. ^ "Owen Davidson: Career Match Record". app.thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SAL. 2018. Retrieved 27 July 2018.
  3. ^ "Mulligan, Emerson Lead World Tennis Standing", New York Times, May 21, 1967
  4. ^ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. pp. 144, 145. ISBN 9780942257700.
  5. ^ John Barrett, ed. (1993). The International Tennis Federation : World of Tennis 1993. London: Collins Willow. p. 7. ISBN 9780002185080.
  6. ^ "The First Open Makes Its Mark". Sports Illustrated. 6 May 1968.
  7. ^ "Wimbledon 1966". www.tennis.co.nf.
  8. ^ Drucker, Joel. "2010 Hall of Fame Inductee Owen Davidson dies at 79". tennis.com. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Australian tennis player Owen Davidson, who won 13 Grand Slam doubles titles, dies at 79". Associated Press. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  10. ^ "The Championships, Wimbledon 2007 – Grand Slam Tennis". Archived from the original on 5 September 2009. Retrieved 6 May 2007.

External links[edit]