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John Newcombe

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John Newcombe is a legendary Australian tennis player. He achieved the highest possible rankings in both men's singles and men's doubles. Throughout his professional career, he won a massive 26 major titles. These include seven singles titles and 17 men's doubles titles. He also captured two mixed doubles titles. His success helped Australia win five Davis Cup titles. The Davis Cup is a major international competition. During his era, it was considered as important as the Grand Slam tournaments.

Newcombe's success relied on a specific tactical approach called serve and volley. In this style, a player hits a powerful serve and immediately rushes toward the net. This aggressive movement puts pressure on the opponent. He was famous for his ability to hit an ace on his second serve. An ace is a serve that the opponent cannot even touch. While he won many titles on grass courts, he was also versatile. He proved his skill on clay courts by winning the 1968 German Open and the 1969 Italian Open.

His journey began with impressive results as a junior. Newcombe was the Australian junior champion from 1961 to 1963. He entered the Australian Championships in 1960 at just 15 years and 8 months old. This made him one of the youngest entrants in the tournament's history. He was even younger than players like Vivian McGrath and Lleyton Hewitt. By 1964, he was already a member of a Davis Cup winning team. In 1967, he was recognized as the top-ranked amateur in the world.

In 1968, Newcombe transitioned to the professional era. He signed a three-year contract with World Championship Tennis, also known as the WCT. He was one of the original "Handsome Eight" players in this group. His guaranteed annual salary was $135,000. This amount was higher than what the best-paid baseball player earned that same year. This period marked a major shift in how tennis players were paid and organized.

Newcombe's career was filled with intense battles against the greatest players. In 1970, he won Wimbledon after a three-hour serve-and-volley battle against Roy Emerson. He also defeated Ken Rosewall in a five-set Wimbledon final that same year. In 1973, he won the US Open. During the quarterfinals, he beat Jimmy Connors without losing a single service game. In the final, he defeated Jan Kodeš. Newcombe hit 15 aces in that final, while Kodeš only hit six.

Newcombe was a dominant force in doubles alongside partner Tony Roche. Together, they won 12 Grand Slam doubles titles. This included four Wimbledon titles and three Australian Championships titles. Their 12 titles remained the all-time record for a men's doubles team for many years. This record stood until 2013, when it was finally surpassed by Bob and Mike Bryan. Their partnership is one of the most successful in the history of the sport.

After retiring from play, Newcombe continued to lead the sport. He served as the captain of the Australian Davis Cup team from 1995 to 2000. Under his leadership, Australia defeated France in the 1999 final to win the cup. His greatness has been recognized by many experts and institutions. In 1979, promoter Jack Kramer listed him among the 21 greatest players of all time. He has been inducted into both the Sport Australia Hall of Fame and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

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