Roger Taylor
MBE
Roger Taylor at the 1969 Dutch Open
Country (sports) United Kingdom
ResidenceWimbledon, London, England
Born (1941-10-14) 14 October 1941
Sheffield, Yorkshire, England
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro1967 (amateur from 1958)
Retired1982
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record776–489 (61.3%)[1]
Career titles31[1]
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1970, Lance Tingay)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1970)
French OpenQF (1973)
WimbledonSF (1967, 1970, 1973)
US OpenQF (1964)
Other tournaments
WCT FinalsQF (1973)
Doubles
Career record189–140
Career titles10
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1962)
French Open3R (1963)
WimbledonQF (1968, 1969, 1973)
US OpenW (1971, 1972)

Roger Taylor MBE (born 14 October 1941) is a British former tennis player. Born in Sheffield, West Riding of Yorkshire, he won 6 ATP-listed singles titles and 10 doubles titles.[3] He achieved success at several Grand Slam tournaments, reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open in 1973, the semi-finals of Wimbledon during the same year and winning back to back US Open men's doubles titles in 1971 and 1972. He also enjoyed particular success in 1970, again reaching the semi-finals of Wimbledon, where he achieved a big upset win over defending champion Rod Laver en route, and the semi-finals of the Australian Open. Taylor also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1967. His career-high ranking was world No. 7 in 1967,[4] though Taylor was also ranked world No. 8 in 1970 before the ATP rankings began.[2] He was active from 1958 to 1982 and won 31 career singles titles.[1]

Also, he was ranked number one in the UK in both 1973 and 1974. Additionally, Taylor scored 29 wins and 11 losses at the Great Britain Davis Cup team. He is a member of the AELTC.

Tennis career

He played his first singles tournament at the South of France Championships in 1958.[1] He won his first singles title in 1959 at the Lee-on-Solent Open.[1] Taylor was the sole British member of the so-called Handsome Eight signed by Lamar Hunt to compete in his newly created World Championship Tennis tour in 1968. He was shown how to play tennis by his mother, Lilian, and he used to play in the various parks across Sheffield, such as Weston Park. He often practised by hitting a tennis ball against a wall.

Taylor endeared himself to millions of viewers during his 1973 Wimbledon quarterfinal match against the 17-year-old Wimbledon debutant Björn Borg. Having already been declared the match winner by the umpire following his match-point serve which was disputed by Borg, Taylor voluntarily offered to replay the point. The linesman then questioned by the umpire as to whether he wished to reconsider his decision, changed his "in" call to "out" and the umpire requested that the point be replayed as a "let". Taylor subsequently went on to win the match, but lost to eventual champion Jan Kodeš in the semifinals. He won his final singles title at the Fairfield Open Indoors in March 1975.[1]

He played his final singles tournament at the Caribbean Championships in 1982.[1] He retired from professional tennis in 1983 and following his retirement he operated tennis holidays. He was Great Britain's Davis Cup captain from February 2000 until January 2004. Taylor also captained the British ladies Wightman Cup team; steering them to their last victory in the competition in 1978. He was awarded an MBE in the 1977 Silver Jubilee and Birthday Honours.

He is currently active on the ITF Seniors Tour and has a singles ranking of 54 as at 2020 in the over 75's category. He won the 70+ title at Woking's Veterans Open Tournament in 2012. In 2019, he teamed up with Australia's Gordon Waygood to win the Men's 75 Doubles title at the British Open Seniors Clay Court Championships.

Grand Slam finals

Doubles (2 titles)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1971 US Open Grass Australia John Newcombe United States Stan Smith
United States Erik van Dillen
6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6
Win 1972 US Open Grass South Africa Cliff Drysdale Australia Owen Davidson
Australia John Newcombe
6–4, 7–6, 6–3

Career titles

Singles (6)

(incomplete roll)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
1. 1963 Surrey Grass Court Championships Grass India Jaidip Mukerjea 10–8, 9–11, 10–8
2. 1967 Surrey Grass Court Championships Grass United Kingdom Bobby Wilson 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
3. Apr 1971 Palermo Clay France Pierre Barthès 6–3, 4–6, 7–6, 6–2
4. Feb 1973 Copenhagen Open Hard United States Marty Riessen 6–2, 6–3, 7–6
5. Feb 1975 Roanoke International Tennis Tournament Indoor United States Vitas Gerulaitis 7–6, 7–6
6. Mar 1975 Fairfield Carpet (i) United States Sandy Mayer 7–5, 5–7, 7–6

Doubles (8)

No. Date Tournament Surface Partnering Opponent Score
1. Jan 1969 Hobart Grass Australia Mal Anderson Australia Tony Roche
Australia Fred Stolle
7–5, 6–3, 4–6, 1–6, 6–4
2. Feb 1969 Auckland Grass South Africa Ray Moore Australia Mal Anderson
Soviet Union Toomas Leius
13–15, 6–3, 8–6, 8–6
3. Aug 1969 Hilversum Unknown Netherlands Tom Okker Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
Czechoslovakia Jan Kukal
6–3, 6–2, 6–4
4. Jul 1971 Newport Grass Australia Ken Rosewall United Kingdom John Clifton
United Kingdom John Paish
7–5, 3–6, 6–2
5. Sep 1971 US Open Grass Australia John Newcombe United States Stan Smith
United States Erik van Dillen
6–7, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6
6. Sep 1972 US Open Grass South Africa Cliff Drysdale Australia Owen Davidson
Australia John Newcombe
6–4, 7–6, 6–3
7. Apr 1973 Vancouver Unknown France Pierre Barthès United States Tom Gorman
United States Erik van Dillen
5–7, 6–3, 7–6
8. Jul 1977 Kitzbühel Clay United Kingdom Buster Mottram Switzerland Colin Dowdeswell
Australia Chris Kachel
7–6, 6–4

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Players:Taylor, Roger". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
  3. "Roger Taylor". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 30 June 2009.
  4. "The Baltimore Sun, 12 September 1967". newspapers.com.
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