Wimbledon Review 1968
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Until the late 1960s, only amateurs were allowed to play
at Wimbledon and there was no prize money given to players
competing at The Championships. However, this was to change
in 1968, when for the first time, professionals were invited
to play at SW19.
The excitement surrounding the first Open at Wimbledon was
immense. For the first time, some of the great players of
the past were to tackle the challenge of Wimbledon once more.
Back came Laver after a five year gap as a professional and
with him from that same previously excluded grouping came
Pancho Gonzales, who had not played at Wimbledon since 1949,
Pancho Segura, Lew Hoad, Andres Gimeno, Butch Buchholz, and,
of course, Rosewall, who had been runner-up in the singles
final in 1954 and 1956.
Laver, champion in 1961 and 1962, was top seed. Rosewall
was placed second with Gimeno, the Spaniard at third place,
and John Newcombe, the 1967 champion, in fourth place. Newcombe
had turned professional after winning the title but the arrival
of open tennis meant there was no break in his playing at
Wimbledon.
Gonzales, a huge favourite, was seeded eighth but lasted
no further than the second round where he fell to the Russian,
Alex Metreveli. Rosewall, having been pushed by two strong
grass court players, Charlie Pasarell and Onny Parun, in the
second and third rounds, was beaten in the fourth by the 15th
seeded Australian left hander Tony Roche. Newcombe, too, was
a fourth round loser to the American Arthur Ashe while Gimeno
was defeated in the third round by the South African Ray Moore.
As the tournament narrowed to the last eight, with play starting
at 1pm on three days to counter the effects of the bad weather,
Laver and Buchholz were the lone survivors from the old professional
ranks and just Laver remained in the Semi-Finals where he
faced Ashe, the thirteenth seed, and his fifth American opponent.
Roche played another American, the unseeded Clark Graebner,
at the same stage. An all-Australian final, not exactly a
rarity at Wimbledon, resulted. The winner would earn £2000
in prize money.
It was a daunting task for Roche, the son of the butcher
from a hamlet called Tarcutta in New South Wales. He was less
known on the world stage and even though he was to become
a great champion and dominate Wimbledon doubles with Newcombe
he did not have the measure of Laver in a final between two
left handers. Laver won 6-3 6-4 6-2 and Wimbledon's first
open
tournament was over.
The Ladies' Championship was a triumph for the American Billie
Jean King who won for a third year running. Mrs King was seeded
to play another former winner, Margaret Court of Australia,
in the Final but instead played another Australian Judy Tegart
who beat Mrs Court in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals
Mrs King beat the British left hander Ann Jones and Miss Tegart
beat the American Nancy Richey. Mrs King won the final 9-7
7-5, earning £750.
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