The 1973 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix was a tennis circuit administered by the International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) which served as a forerunner to the current Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour and the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Tour. The circuit consisted of the four modern Grand Slam tournaments and open tournaments recognised by the ILTF. Bonus points were awarded to players who were nominated to play in certain 1973 Davis Cup ties and who missed tournaments through competing in those ties. The Commercial Union Assurance Masters is included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix.
Ilie Năstase finished the year as the inaugural ATP world No. 1. He won 14 titles during the season, including a major at the French Open, as well as the Masters Grand Prix. | |
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 3 January 1973 – 26 December 1973 |
| Edition | 4th |
| Tournaments | 72 |
| Categories | Group AA (3) Masters (1) Group A (11) Group B (19) Group C (18) |
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most titles | Ilie Năstase (14) |
| Most finals | Ilie Năstase (17) |
| Prize money leader | Ilie Năstase |
| Points leader | Ilie Năstase |
← 1972 1974 → | |
Schedule
- Key
| AA events |
| Grand Prix Masters |
| A events |
| B events |
| C events |
| Team events |
December 1972
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 Dec | Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam – Group A Grass – $27,450 – 56S/32D Singles – Doubles | John Newcombe 6–3, 6–7, 7–5, 6–1 | Onny Parun | Karl Meiler Patrick Proisy | Wanaro N'Godrella Alex Metreveli John Cooper Bob Carmichael |
| Mal Anderson John Newcombe 6–3, 6–4, 7–6 | John Alexander Phil Dent |
May
June
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 Jun | Italian Open Rome, Italy Group A Clay – $101,600 – 96S/48D | Ilie Năstase 6–1, 6–1, 6–1 | Manuel Orantes | Tom Okker Paolo Bertolucci | Stan Smith Péter Szőke Jiří Hřebec Jan Kodeš |
| John Newcombe Tom Okker 6–3, 6–2, 6–4 | Ross Case Geoff Masters | ||||
| Berlin Open Berlin, West Germany Group C Clay – 32S/16D | Hans-Jürgen Pohmann 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 | Karl Meiler | Jürgen Fassbender Eddie Dibbs | Attila Korpás Ulrich Pinner Harald Elschenbroich Bernard Mignot | |
| Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann 4–6, 6–4, 6–4 | Raúl Ramírez Joaquín Loyo-Mayo | ||||
| 11 Jun | German Open Hamburg, West Germany Group B Clay – 62S/28D | Eddie Dibbs 6–1, 3–6, 7–6, 6–3 | Karl Meiler | Jaime Fillol Jürgen Fassbender | Paul Gerken Harald Elschenbroich Jiří Hřebec Martin Mulligan |
| Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann 7–6, 7–6, 7–6 | Manuel Orantes Ion Țiriac | ||||
| John Player Open Nottingham, Great Britain Group B Grass – 40S/21D | Erik van Dillen 3–6, 6–1, 6–1 | Frew McMillan | Tom Gorman Jimmy Connors | Jaidip Mukerjea Mark Cox Dick Stockton Stephen Warboys | |
| Tom Gorman Erik van Dillen 6–4, 6–4 | Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan | ||||
| 18 Jun | Rothmans Championships London, Great Britain Group C Grass – 48S/32D Singles – Doubles | Ilie Năstase 9–8, 6–3 | Roger Taylor | Alex Metreveli Owen Davidson | Ismail El Shafei Jürgen Fassbender John Newcombe Cliff Drysdale |
| Tom Okker Marty Riessen 6–4, 7–5 | Ray Keldie Raymond Moore | ||||
| Rothmans South of England Championships Eastbourne, Great Britain Group B Grass – 32S/16D | Mark Cox 6–2, 2–6, 6–3 | Patrice Dominguez | Onny Parun Allan Stone | Paul Gerken Andrés Gimeno Ian Fletcher Graham Stilwell | |
| Ove Bengtson Jim McManus 6–4, 4–6, 7–5 | Manuel Orantes Ion Țiriac | ||||
| 25 Jun | Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam – Group AA Grass – 128S/64D/56XD Singles – Doubles – Mixed doubles | Jan Kodeš 6–1, 9–8(7–5), 6–3 | Alex Metreveli | Sandy Mayer Roger Taylor | Jürgen Fassbender Jimmy Connors Björn Borg Vijay Amritraj |
| Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 8–9(3–7), 6–1 | John Cooper Neale Fraser | ||||
| Billie Jean King Owen Davidson 6–3, 6–2 | Janet Newberry Raúl Ramírez |
July
August
September
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 Sep | U.S. Hard Court Championships Aptos, United States Group C Hard – 32S/16D | Jeff Austin 7–6, 6–4 | Onny Parun | Haroon Rahim Dick Bohrnstedt | Tom Edlefsen Erik van Dillen John Lloyd Mike Machette |
| Jeff Austin Fred McNair 6–2, 6–1 | Raymond Moore Onny Parun | ||||
| Rainier International Tennis Classic Seattle, United States Group C Carpet (i) – $37,500 – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | Tom Okker 7–5, 6–4 | John Alexander | Tom Gorman Cliff Richey | Torben Ulrich Mark Cox Brian Gottfried Arthur Ashe | |
| Tom Gorman Tom Okker 2–6, 6–4, 7–6 | Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan | ||||
| 17 Sep | Pacific Southwest Open Los Angeles, United States Group A Hard – $75,000 – 64S/32D Singles – Doubles | Jimmy Connors 7–5, 7–6(11–9) | Tom Okker | Raúl Ramírez Ilie Năstase | Stan Smith Charlie Pasarell Ken Rosewall Raymond Moore |
| Jan Kodeš Vladimír Zedník 6–2, 6–4 | Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase | ||||
| 24 Sep | Pacific Coast Championships San Francisco, United States Group B Hard – $50,000 – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | Roy Emerson 5–7, 6–1, 6–4 | Björn Borg | Raymond Moore Arthur Ashe | Stan Smith Tom Gorman Roscoe Tanner John Alexander |
| Roy Emerson Stan Smith 6–2, 6–1 | Ove Bengtson Jim McManus | ||||
| Tam International Chicago, United States Group B Carpet (i) – 32S/16D | Tom Okker 3–6, 7–6, 6–3 | John Newcombe | Ilie Năstase Marty Riessen | Graham Stilwell Gerald Battrick Eddie Dibbs Brian Gottfried | |
| Owen Davidson John Newcombe 6–7, 7–6, 7–6 | Gerald Battrick Graham Stilwell |
October
November
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 Nov | Stockholm Open Stockholm, Sweden Group A Hard (i) – 48S/24D Singles – Doubles | Tom Gorman 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(7–5) | Björn Borg | Tom Okker Jimmy Connors | Stan Smith Arthur Ashe Manuel Orantes Nikola Pilić |
| Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase 6–3, 6–7, 6–2 | Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan | ||||
| Australian Indoor Championships Sydney, Australia Group B Hard (i) – 32S/16D Singles – Doubles | Rod Laver 3–6, 7–5, 6–3, 3–6, 6–4 | John Newcombe | Phil Dent Ken Rosewall | Geoff Masters Ross Case Sherwood Stewart Raúl Ramírez | |
| Rod Laver John Newcombe 7–6, 6–2 | Mal Anderson Ken Rosewall | ||||
| 12 Nov | Dewar Cup London, Great Britain Group B Carpet (i) – 32S/16D | Tom Okker 6–3, 6–4 | Ilie Năstase | Jimmy Connors Mark Cox | Raymond Moore Patrick Proisy Tom Gorman Ion Țiriac |
| Mark Cox Owen Davidson 6–4, 8–6 | Gerald Battrick Graham Stilwell | ||||
| Benson & Hedges Classic Christchurch, New Zealand Group C 29S/12D | Fred Stolle 7–6, 6–4, 6–1 | Brian Gottfried | Sherwood Stewart Fred McNair | Allan Stone Dick Dell Mike Estep Jim McManus | |
| Anand Amritraj Fred McNair Walkover | Jürgen Fassbender Jeff Simpson | ||||
| 19 Nov | South African Championships Johannesburg, South Africa Group A Hard – 32S/16D/16XD | Jimmy Connors 6–4, 7–6, 6–3 | Arthur Ashe | Cliff Drysdale Tom Okker | Byron Bertram Bob Hewitt Jaime Fillol Mark Cox |
| Arthur Ashe Tom Okker 6–2, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4 | Lew Hoad Bob Maud | ||||
| Evonne Goolagong Jürgen Fassbender 6–3, 6–2 | Ilana Kloss Bernard Mitton | ||||
| South American Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina Group B Clay – 32S/4D Singles | Guillermo Vilas 3–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–6(5–5) ret. | Björn Borg | Iván Molina Eddie Dibbs | Ion Țiriac Željko Franulović Toma Ovici Jaime Pinto Bravo | |
| Ricardo Cano Guillermo Vilas 7–6, 6–2 | Patricio Cornejo Iván Molina | ||||
| 26 Nov | Davis Cup Final Cleveland, United States – carpet | Australia 5–0 | United States | Romania Czechoslovakia |
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Dec | Commercial Union Assurance Masters Boston, United States Hard (i) – $50,000 – 8S Singles | Ilie Năstase 6–3, 7–5, 4–6, 6–3 | Tom Okker | Jimmy Connors John Newcombe | Round robin Jan Kodeš Tom Gorman Stan Smith Manuel Orantes |
Grand Prix points system
The tournaments listed above were divided into four groups. Group AA consisted of the Triple Crown – the French Open, the Wimbledon Championships and the US Open – while the other tournaments were divided into Groups A, B and C by prize money and draw size. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. No points were awarded to first round losers and ties were settled by the number of tournaments played. The points allocation is listed below:
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Grand Prix rankings
1) Ilie Năstase 610 points, 2) John Newcombe 512.5 points, 3) Tom Okker 498 points, 4) Jimmy Connors 383 points, 5) Manuel Orantes 358.5 points, 6) Jan Kodeš 315 points, 7) Stan Smith 274 points, 8) Tom Gorman 270 points, 9) Björn Borg 240 points, 10) Arthur Ashe 236 points, 11) Rod Laver 230 points, 12) Nikki Pilic 210 points, 13) Jaime Fillol 203 points, 14) Raúl Ramírez 186.5 points, 15) Onny Parun 177 points, 16) Vijay Amritraj 169.5 points, 17) Ken Rosewall 169 points, 18) Eddie Dibbs 155 points, 19) Karl Meiler 155 points, 20) Marty Riessen 141 points, 21) Alex Metreveli 141 points, 22) Jiří Hřebec 131 points, 23) Ross Case 126 points, 24) Roger Taylor 126 points, 25) Guillermo Vilas 121 points, 26) Adriano Panatta 119 points, 27) Brian Gottfried 118 points, 28) Mark Cox 118 points, 29) Jürgen Fassbender 115 points, 30) Charles Pasarell 112 points, 31) Cliff Drysdale 112 points, 32) Paolo Bertolucci 104 points, 33) Geoff Masters 100 points, 34) Ray Moore 98 points, 35) John Alexander 98 points
ATP rankings
On 23 August 1973 the Association of Tennis Professionals published its first list of computer rankings, using points averages rather than points totals in their calculations. These are the ATP rankings of the top twenty singles players in the first list and at the end of the 1973 season, with numbers of ranking points, points averages, numbers of tournaments played, year-end rankings in 1973, highest and lowest positions during the season and number of spots gained or lost from the first rankings to the year-end rankings.
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See also
- 1973 World Championship Tennis circuit
- 1973 WTA Tour
- 1973 USLTA Indoor Circuit
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