Wikipedia

Tony Roche

For the English television, radio and film comedy writer, see Tony Roche (writer).

Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player.

Tony Roche
AO MBE
Full nameAnthony Dalton Roche
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceTurramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Born (1945-05-17) 17 May 1945 (age 79)
Wagga Wagga, Australia
Height1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1963)
Retired1979
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$ 529,199
Int. Tennis HoF1986 (member page)
Singles
Career record838-338 (71.2%)[1]
Career titles46[2]
Highest rankingNo. 2 (1969, Lance Tingay)[3]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1965, 1967, 1969, 1975)
French OpenW (1966)
WimbledonF (1968)
US OpenF (1969, 1970)
Doubles
Career record208–94 (Open era)
Career titles18 (Open era)
Highest rankingNo. 1 (1965)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1977)
French OpenW (1967, 1969)
WimbledonW (1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974)
US OpenW (1967)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1966)
WimbledonW (1976)
Team competitions
Davis CupW (1965, 1966, 1967, 1977)

A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga.[4] He won one Grand Slam singles title, the 1966 French Open at Roland Garros, and 15 Grand Slam doubles titles.

In 1968, Roche won the WCT/NTL combined professional championship in men's singles in the final event of the season at Madison Square Garden. He was ranked World No. 2 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1969.[3]

He won the U.S. Pro Championships in 1970 at Longwood in Boston. Roche won the New South Wales Open twice, in 1969 and 1976. He won a key Davis Cup singles match in 1977.

He also coached multi-Grand Slam winning world No. 1s Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt as well as former World No. 4 Jelena Dokic.

Playing career

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Amateur

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Roche at the Amsterdam tournament in 1969

Roche started to play tennis at school when he was nine. His father, who worked as a butcher, and his mother were both recreational tennis players and encouraged his interest.[5] Roche grew up playing in Australia under the tutelage of Harry Hopman, who also coached other Australian tennis players such as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall.

 
Roche at Wimbledon circa 1983 in mixed doubles

Roche had a successful singles and double career. He won one singles Grand Slam tournament, the 1966 French Open at Roland Garros, defeating István Gulyás in the final. He was five times the runner-up at Grand Slam tournaments: the French Championships in 1965 and 1967, losing to Fred Stolle and Roy Emerson respectively, Wimbledon in 1968, losing to Rod Laver, and the US Open in 1969 and 1970, losing to Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. With compatriot John Newcombe, he won 12 Grand Slam men's doubles tournaments.

Professional

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In January 1968, Roche turned professional, signing with World Championship Tennis, joining other pros like John Newcombe, Cliff Drysdale, Nikola Pilić and Roger Taylor to form the "Handsome Eight".[6][7][8] Roche was guaranteed $125,000 annually, an amount equivalent to the annual salary of Willie Mays, the top paid baseball player.[9]

Roche was the leading money winner on the WCT tour in 1968.[10] In the 1968 final for the combined WCT/NTL professional tours at Madison Square Garden, Roche defeated Rod Laver in the semifinal and Pancho Gonzales in the final to become the combined professional champion for 1968.[11]

Roche held a personal head-to-head edge over Laver during the latter's Grand Slam season of 1969, 5 to 4. Roche and Laver played a classic match against each other in the 1969 Australian Open at Brisbane.[12] Roche also contested the final match of Laver's Grand Slam run that year, the 1969 U.S. Open final.[13]

Roche won the U.S. Pro Championships at Longwood, Boston in 1970, defeating Laver in a hard fought five set final. Roche won two New South Wales Open titles, in 1969 over Rod Laver in a close four-set final, and in 1976 against Dick Stockton in the final.

Perhaps one of his greatest achievements came in 1977, playing singles in the finals of the Davis Cup tournament versus Italy, nearly 10 years since he had last played for Australia. In the tie, Roche upset top Italian Adriano Panatta, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 to lead Australia to a 3–1 victory, winning the Davis Cup.

Shoulder and elbow injuries cut short his career after having finished in the top 10 for six consecutive years.

Coaching career

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After completing his playing career, Roche has developed a highly successful career as a tennis coach. He was the player-coach of the Denver Racquets who won the first World Team Tennis in competition 1974, and he was named WTT Coach of the Year.[14] Ivan Lendl hired Roche in 1985 as a full-time coach for Roche's advice on volleying.[15][16] Lendl dreamed of winning Wimbledon, and because Roche had been a fine grass court player, he sought his tutelage. Roche also coached former world no. 1 Patrick Rafter from 1997 to the end of his career in 2002. Roche coached world no. 1 Roger Federer from 2005 to 12 May 2007. It is reputed this was on a "handshake agreement" with no contract; Roche was paid by the week. Federer hired Roche for the opposite reason that Lendl hired him: to work on his clay-court game (as Roche had won the 1966 French Championships). He also coached two-time Grand Slam singles titlist Lleyton Hewitt, who was aiming to get his career back on track after a number of unsuccessful years on the ATP Tour.[17]

Honours

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Roche was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001.[18][19] He entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame alongside doubles partner and close friend John Newcombe in 1986.[20] In 1990 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[21] He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001.[22][23]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles: 6 (1 title, 5 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1965 French Championships Clay   Fred Stolle 6–3, 0–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win 1966 French Championships Clay   István Gulyás 6–1, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 1967 French Championships Clay   Roy Emerson 1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Loss 1968 Wimbledon Grass   Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1969 US Open Grass   Rod Laver 9–7, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 1970 US Open Grass   Ken Rosewall 6–2, 4–6, 6–7, 3–6

Doubles: 15 (13 titles, 2 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1964 French Championships Clay   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Ken Fletcher		 5–7, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Win 1965 Australian Championships Grass   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Fred Stolle		 3–6, 4–6, 13–11, 6–3, 6–4
Win 1965 Wimbledon Championships Grass   John Newcombe   Ken Fletcher
  Bob Hewitt		 7–5, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 1966 Australian Championships (2) Grass   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Fred Stolle		 9–7, 3–6, 8–6, 12–14, 10–12
Win 1967 Australian Championships (2) Grass   John Newcombe   Bill Bowrey
  Owen Davidson		 3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–8, 8–6
Win 1967 French Championships Clay   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Ken Fletcher		 6–3, 9–7, 12–10
Win 1967 US Championships Grass   John Newcombe   Bill Bowrey
  Owen Davidson		 6–8, 9–7, 6–3, 6–3
↓ Open Era ↓
Win 1968 Wimbledon (2) Grass   John Newcombe   Ken Fletcher
  Ken Rosewall		 3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3
Win 1969 French Open (2) Clay   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver		 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1969 Wimbledon (3) Grass   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen		 7–5, 11–9, 6–3
Win 1970 Wimbledon (4) Grass   John Newcombe   Ken Rosewall
  Fred Stolle		 10–8, 6–3, 6–1
Win 1971 Australian Open (3) Grass   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen		 6–2, 7–6
Win 1974 Wimbledon (5) Grass   John Newcombe   Bob Lutz
  Stan Smith		 8–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 1976 Australian Open (4) Grass   John Newcombe   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters		 7–6, 6–4
Win 1977 Australian Open (January) (5) Grass   Arthur Ashe   Charlie Pasarell
  Erik van Dillen		 6–4, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1965 Wimbledon Championships Grass   Judy Tegart   Margaret Smith
  Ken Fletcher		 10–12, 3–6
Win 1966 Australian Championships Grass   Judy Tegart   Robyn Ebbern
  William Bowrey		 6–1, 6–3
Loss 1967 Australian Championships Grass   Judy Tegart   Lesley Turner
  Owen Davidson		 7–9, 4–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Loss 1969 Wimbledon (2) Grass   Judy Tegart   Ann Haydon
  Fred Stolle		 2–6, 3–6
Win 1976 Wimbledon Grass   Françoise Dürr   Rosemary Casals
  Dick Stockton		 6–3, 2–6, 7–5

Grand Slam Singles performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 Career SR
Australian Open A QF SF QF SF A SF QF 3R A A 2R SF QF 3R 1R QF 3R 0 / 14
French Open 1R 2R F W F A SF A A A A A A A A A A 1 / 6
Wimbledon 1R 2R 2R QF 2R F SF QF 1R A A 3R SF 4R A 1R A 0 / 13
US Open 3R QF A 3R A 4R F F A A A 3R 2R A A A A 0 / 8
Grand Slam SR 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 3 1 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 1 1 / 41

Open-Era finals

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Singles

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Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1968 Wimbledon, London Grass   Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 2. 1968 WCT/NTL Professional Championships Final
Madison Square Garden, New York City 		Indoor   Pancho Gonzales 6-3, 6-4
Win 3. 1969 Hobart, Australia Grass   Fred Stolle 3–6, 6–0, 4–6, 1–6
Win 4. 1969 Sydney, Australia Grass   Rod Laver 6–4, 4–6, 9–7, 12–10
Win 5. 1969 Auckland, New Zealand Grass   Rod Laver 6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Loss 6. 1969 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Pro Indoor Carpet   Rod Laver 5–7, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 7. 1969 Rome, Italy Clay   John Newcombe 3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 7–5, 3–6
Win 8. 1969 Hamburg, Germany Clay   Tom Okker 6–1, 5–7, 8–6, 7–5
Loss 9. 1969 US Open, New York Grass   Rod Laver 9–7, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 10. 1969 Wembley, UK Carpet (i)   Rod Laver 4–6, 1–6, 3–6
Loss 11. 1970 Philadelphia WCT, US Carpet   Rod Laver 3–6, 6–8, 2–6
Win 12. 1970 Dublin, Ireland Grass   Rod Laver 6–3, 6–1
Win 13. 1970 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Tom Okker 7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Win 14. 1970 Boston, US Pro Hard   Rod Laver 3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss 15. 1970 US Open, New York Grass   Ken Rosewall 6–2, 4–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win 16. 1972 Washington WCT, US Clay   Marty Riessen 3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Loss 17. 1974 Bombay, India Clay   Onny Parun 3–6, 3–6, 6–7
Loss 18. 1975 Nottingham, England Grass   Tom Okker 1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win 19. 1976 Charlotte WCT, US Carpet   Vitas Gerulaitis 6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Win 20. 1976 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass   Dick Stockton 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 21. 1977 Brisbane, Australia Grass   Vitas Gerulaitis 7–6, 1–6, 1–6, 5–7
Win 22. 1978 London/Queen's Club, England Grass   John McEnroe 8–6, 9–7

Doubles

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Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1968 Wimbledon, London Grass   John Newcombe   Ken Rosewall
  Fred Stolle 		3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3
Loss 1. 1968 Hamburg, Germany Clay   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		4–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss 2. 1968 Hobart, Australia Grass   Fred Stolle   Mal Anderson
  Roger Taylor 		5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 4–6
Loss 3. 1969 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–8, 4–6
Win 2. 1969 French Open, Paris Clay   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver 		4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 3. 1969 Wimbledon, London Grass   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		7–5, 11–9, 6–3
Win 4. 1970 Wimbledon, London Grass   John Newcombe   Ken Rosewall
  Fred Stolle 		10–8, 6–3, 6–1
Win 5. 1970 Louisville, U.S. Hard   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver 		8–6, 5–7, 6–4
Win 6. 1971 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–2, 7–6
Win 7. 1971 Miami WCT, U.S. Hard   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver 		7–6, 7–6
Loss 4. 1971 Chicago WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–7, 6–4, 6–7
Win 8. 1971 Rome, Italy Clay   John Newcombe   Andrés Gimeno
  Roger Taylor 		6–4, 6–4
Win 9. 1971 Tehran WCT, Iran Clay   John Newcombe   Bob Carmichael
  Ray Ruffels 		6–4, 6–7, 6–1
Loss 5. 1972 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–7, 6–7
Loss 6. 1972 Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   Arthur Ashe
  Bob Lutz 		3–6, 7–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 1972 Charlotte WCT, U.S. Clay   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		4–6, 6–4, 6–7
Loss 8. 1972 Las Vegas WCT, U.S. Hard   John Newcombe   Roy Emerson
  Rod Laver 		DEF
Win 10. 1972 St. Louis WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   John Alexander
  Phil Dent 		7–6, 6–2
Loss 9. 1972 Washington WCT, U.S. Clay   John Newcombe   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win 11. 1972 Boston WCT, U.S. Hard   John Newcombe   Arthur Ashe
  Bob Lutz 		6–3, 1–6, 7–6
Win 12. 1974 Toronto WCT, Canada Carpet   Raúl Ramírez   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen 		6–3, 2–6, 6–4
Loss 10. 1974 Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco Clay   Manuel Orantes   John Alexander
  Phil Dent 		6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win 13. 1974 Wimbledon, London Grass   John Newcombe   Bob Lutz
  Stan Smith 		8–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 11. 1974 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i)   John Newcombe   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters 		4–6, 4–6
Win 14. 1976 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass   John Newcombe   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters 		7–6, 6–4
Win 15. 1976 Charlotte WCT, U.S. Carpet   John Newcombe   Vitas Gerulaitis
  Gene Mayer 		6–3, 7–5
Win 16. 1977 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass   Arthur Ashe   Charlie Pasarell
  Erik van Dillen 		6–4, 6–4
Loss 12. 1977 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet   Ross Case   Wojtek Fibak
  Tom Okker 		4–6, 4–6
Loss 13. 1977 Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada Carpet   Ross Case   Wojtek Fibak
  Tom Okker 		4–6, 1–6
Win 17. 1977 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i)   John Newcombe   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters 		6–7, 6–3, 6–1
Win 18. 1978 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i)   John Newcombe   Mark Edmondson
  John Marks 		6–4, 6–3

References

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  1. ^ "Tony Roche: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
  2. ^ "Tony Roche: Career tournament results". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  3. ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
  4. ^ "Sporting Hall of Fame – Roche, Tony". www.wagga.nsw.gov.au. Museum of the Riverina. Retrieved 13 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Big break for leading junior". The Australian Women's Weekly. National Library of Australia. 8 May 1963. p. 54 Supplement: Teenagers' Weekly. Retrieved 30 October 2012.
  6. ^ "Newcombe: One Of 'Biggest Pacts'". The St. Petersburg Times. 3 January 1968.
  7. ^ "Tennis Stars Sign". The Age. 5 January 1968.
  8. ^ Wind, Herbert Warren (1979). Game, Set, and Match : The Tennis Boom of the 1960s and 70s (1. ed.). New York: Dutton. pp. 65–70. ISBN 0525111409.
  9. ^ "With the US Open underway, a look at end of 'shamateur' tennis - Wilmington News Journal". 29 August 2017.
  10. ^ McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. p. 255.
  11. ^ McCauley (2000), pp. 156, 255.
  12. ^ 1969 Australian Open. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maUzQvkJX_k
  13. ^ 1969 U.S. Open final. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwPo-6Hxiuk
  14. ^ "World Tennis title is better thrill than expected". The Prescott Courier. 27 August 1974.
  15. ^ "How Ivan Lendl Reinvented Himself". International Tennis Hall of Fame. 20 December 2018.
  16. ^ "Rewind 1985: The Rise of Ivan Lendl and the Fall of John McEnroe". Bleacher Report. 11 August 2009.
  17. ^ "Lleyton Hewitt hires celebrated tennis coach Tony Roche". International Herald Tribune. 18 July 2007. Retrieved 19 July 2007.
  18. ^ "Roche, Anthony Dalton, MBE". It's an Honour. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  19. ^ "ROCHE, Anthony Dalton (Tony), AO". It's an Honour. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  20. ^ "Hall of Famers – Tony Roche". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 13 August 2010.
  21. ^ "Tony Roche". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  22. ^ "Roche, Tony: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
  23. ^ "ROCHE, Tony Dalton: Centenary Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 17 December 2013.
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