Tony Roche

For the comedy writer, see Tony Roche (writer).

Tony Roche

Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	N/A
Height	5'10 (177 cm)
Turned pro	N/A
Retired	N/A
Plays	Left-handed; one-handed backhand
Prize money	US$529,199
Int. Tennis HoF	1986 (member page)
Singles
Career record	235–114
Career titles	7
Highest ranking	8 (16 November 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1964)
French Open	W (1966)
Wimbledon	F (1968)
US Open	F (1969, 1970)
Doubles
Career record	208–94
Career titles	18
Highest ranking	748 (25 June 1984)
Last updated on: 26 January 2007.

Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche (born 17 May 1945) is a former professional Australian tennis player, born in Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He is also very well known for coaching multi-grand slam winning World Number Ones Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, Roger Federer, Lleyton Hewitt and former World Number 4, Jelena Dokic.

Playing career

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.

A left-hander, Roche had a successful singles and double career. He won one singles Grand Slam tournament - the 1966 French Open at Roland Garros. He was five times the runner-up at Grand Slam tournaments - the French Championships in 1965 and 1967, Wimbledon in 1968, and the US Open in 1969 and 1970. With John Newcombe, he won 12 Grand Slam men's doubles tournaments.

In 1968, Roche turned professional, signing with World Championship Tennis, joining other pros like Cliff Drysdale, Nikki Pilic, and Roger Taylor to form the "Handsome Eight".

Perhaps one of his greatest achievements came in 1977, being called up to play 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

After completing his playing career Roche has developed a highly successful career as a tennis coach. Ivan Lendl hired Roche as a full-time coach for Roche's advice on volleying. (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 current 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 French Open). He also coached two-time Grand Slam singles titlist Lleyton Hewitt, who is aiming to get his career back on track after a number of unsuccessful years on the ATP Tour. On the day of her first round match against Alisa Kleybanova, former World no. 4, Jelena Dokic, requested an hour-long session from Roche as last minute training. Tony Roche also coaches many junior players at Sydney Olympic Park, in preparation for their ATP junior qualification pro tours, starting in November.

Honours

Roche entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame alongside doubles partner and close friend John Newcombe in 1986.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 6 (1-5)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1965	French Championships	Clay	Fred Stolle	3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3
Winner	1966	French Championships	Clay	István Gulyás	6–1, 6–4, 7–5
Runner-up	1967	French Championships	Clay	Roy Emerson	6–1, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
Runner-up	1968	Wimbledon	Grass	Rod Laver	6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	1969	US Open	Grass	Rod Laver	7–9, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	1970	US Open	Grass	Ken Rosewall	2–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–3

Doubles: 15 (13-2)

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

Mixed doubles: 5 (2-3)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1965	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Margaret Smith Ken Fletcher	12–10, 6–3
Winner	1966	Australian Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Robyn Ebbern William Bowrey	6–1, 6–3
Runner-up	1967	Australian Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Lesley Turner Owen Davidson	9–7, 6–4
Runner-up	1969	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Judy Tegart	Ann Haydon Fred Stolle	6–2, 6–3
Winner	1976	Wimbledon	Grass	Françoise Durr	Rosemary Casals Dick Stockton	6–3, 2–6, 7–5

Grand Slam record

Australian Championships/Open

• Men's Doubles champion: 1965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1977 (Jan.)
• Men's Doubles runner-up: 1966
• Mixed Doubles champion: 1966
• Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1967

French Championships/Open

• Singles champion: 1966
• Singles runner-up: 1965, 1967
• Men's Doubles champion: 1967, 1969
• Men's Doubles runner-up: 1964

Wimbledon

• Singles runner-up: 1968
• Men's Doubles champion: 1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974
• Mixed Doubles champion: 1976
• Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1965, 1969

U.S. Championships/Open

• Singles runner-up: 1969, 1970
• Men's Doubles champion: 1967

Open-Era singles titles (9)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1969	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Rod Laver	6–4, 4–6, 9–7, 12–10
2.	1969	Auckland, New Zealand	Grass	Rod Laver	6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
3.	1969	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Tom Okker	6–1, 5–7, 8–6, 7–5
4.	1970	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Tom Okker	7–5, 7–5, 6–3
5.	1970	Boston, U.S.	Hard	Rod Laver	3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2
6.	1972	Washington WCT, U.S.	Clay	Marty Riessen	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
7.	1976	Charlotte WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
8.	1976	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Dick Stockton	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
9.	1978	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	John McEnroe	8–6, 9–7

Singles runner-ups (10)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1968	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Rod Laver	6–3, 6–4, 6–2
2.	1968	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Fred Stolle	6–3, 0–6, 6–4, 6–1
3.	1969	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Rod Laver	7–5, 7–5, 6–4
4.	1969	Rome, Italy	Clay	John Newcombe	6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 5–7, 6–3
5.	1969	U.S. Open, New York	Grass	Rod Laver	7–9, 6–1, 6–2, 6–2
6.	1970	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Rod Laver	6–3, 8–6, 6–2
7.	1970	U.S. Open, New York	Grass	Ken Rosewall	2–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–3
8.	1974	Bombay, India	Clay	Onny Parun	6–3, 6–3, 7–6
9.	1975	Nottingham, England	Grass	Tom Okker	6–1, 3–6, 6–3
10.	1977	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–7, 6–1, 6–1, 7–5

Doubles titles (18)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1968	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle	3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3
2.	1969	French Open, Paris	Clay	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
3.	1969	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	7–5, 11–9, 6–3
4.	1970	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle	10–8, 6–3, 6–1
5.	1970	Louisville, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	8–6, 5–7, 6–4
6.	1971	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–2, 7–6
7.	1971	Miami WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	7–6, 7–6
8.	1971	Rome, Italy	Clay	John Newcombe	Andrés Gimeno Roger Taylor	6–4, 6–4
9.	1971	Tehran WCT, Iran	Clay	John Newcombe	Bob Carmichael Ray Ruffels	6–4, 6–7, 6–1
10.	1972	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	John Alexander Phil Dent	7–6, 6–2
11.	1972	Boston WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Arthur Ashe Robert Lutz	6–3, 1–6, 7–6
12.	1974	Toronto WCT, Canada	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
13.	1974	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	8–6, 6–4, 6–4
14.	1976	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Newcombe	Ross Case Geoff Masters	7–6, 6–4
15.	1976	Charlotte WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Vitas Gerulaitis Gene Mayer	6–3, 7–5
16.	1977	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Arthur Ashe	Charlie Pasarell Erik Van Dillen	6–4, 6–4
17.	1977	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Ross Case Geoff Masters	6–7, 6–3, 6–1
18.	1978	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Mark Edmondson John Marks	6–4, 6–3

Runner-ups (13)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	1968	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 6–4, 7–5
2.	1968	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Fred Stolle	Mal Anderson Roger Taylor	7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 1–6, 6–4
3.	1969	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	8–6, 6–4
4.	1971	Chicago WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	7–6, 4–6, 7–6
5.	1972	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	7–6, 7–6
6.	1972	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Arthur Ashe Robert Lutz	6–3, 6–7, 6–3
7.	1972	Charlotte WCT, U.S.	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 4–6, 7–6
8.	1972	Las Vegas WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	DEF
9.	1972	Washington WCT, U.S.	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	3–6, 6–3, 6–2
10.	1974	Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco	Clay	Manuel Orantes	John Alexander Phil Dent	7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
11.	1974	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Ross Case Geoff Masters	6–4, 6–4
12.	1977	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Ross Case	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	6–4, 6–4
13.	1977	Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada	Carpet	Ross Case	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	6–4, 6–1

External links

• ATP Official Profile
• Tennis Hall of Fame profile
• Roche's page at Sporting-heroes.net