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WCT Finals

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The WCT Finals was a 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 WCT, in 1974, was the first tennis tournament to experiment with electronic line calling.

The first edition of the WCT Finals in 1971 was played in November, just a few days before The Masters, the equivalent of the WCT Finals for the rival Grand Prix circuit. Because of TV pressure, the second edition was held in May 1972 and most of the following editions were organized in between months of March and May.

In 1972 another edition, less important and with half the prize money, was held in November in Rome. 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. John McEnroe was the most successful player winning a record five titles out of eight final appearances.

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 finals John McEnroe 6.

Results

Year Champion Runner-up Score
1971 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rod Laver 6–4, 1–6, 7–6, 7–6
1972 Australia Ken Rosewall Australia Rod Laver 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–7, 7–6
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, 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
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, 7–6
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)[3] Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl Argentina Guillermo Vilas 7–5, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4

See also

References

  1. ^ Lamar Hunt (April 1986). "Lamar Hunt muses on 16 years of the WCT". D Magazine.
  2. ^ George Hardie (March 1988). "George Hardie Remembers..." D Magazine.
  3. ^ held in January, 24-30, 1983