1970 Grand Prix (tennis)

1970 Grand Prix circuit

Details
Duration	27 April – 9 December
Edition	1st
Tournaments	20
Categories	Class A (3) Class 1 (6) Class 2 (11)
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titles	Rod Laver (4)
Most tournament finals	Rod Laver (7)
Prize money leader	Cliff Richey ($25,000)
Points leader	Cliff Richey (60)
1971 →

The 1970 Pepsi-Cola ILTF 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.^[1] It was the inaugural edition of the Grand Prix circuit and consisted of men's tournaments recognised by the ILTF.^{[lower-alpha 1]} The creation of the Grand Prix circuit, on an experimental basis during its first year, was announced in April 1970 by the president of the ILTF, Ben Barnett.^[2] It was the brainchild of Jack Kramer, former tennis promoter and winner of the Wimbledon and US championships, and was aimed at countering the influence of commercial promoters, particularly Lamar Hunt and his World Championship Tennis circuit and George MacCall's National Tennis League.^[3][4]

The tournaments were graded in one of three categories which determined the number of ranking points available: Class A, comprising the three Grand Slam tournaments, Class 1 and Class 2. The Pepsi-Cola Masters and Davis Cup Final are included in this calendar but did not count towards the Grand Prix. In addition to the tournament prize money a bonus pool of $150,000 was available for the top 20 ranked players. The bonus pool was jointly funded by Pepsi-Cola as title sponsor and the participating tournaments which reserved 10% of their prize money.^[5][6] Cliff Richey earned $25,000 bonus as the winner of the first Grand Prix circuit. ^[7] At the end of the season the top six ranked players qualified for a Masters round-robin tournament held in Tokyo which was won by Stan Smith.

All open tennis tournaments were eligible to be included in the Grand Prix circuit provided they committed to not paying any management fees to commercial organizations with players under contract. Originally the Italian Championships, played in April in Rome, was part of the Grand Prix calendar but it was withdrawn during the tournament when it became known that they had paid management fees to the competing World Championship Tennis organization.^[8]

Schedule

Key

Class A (Grand Slam) tournaments

Grand Prix Masters

Class 1 tournaments

Class 2 tournaments

Team events

April

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
27 April	Rothmans British Hard Court Championships Bournemouth, Great Britain Clay – 32S/16D/16XD Class 2	Mark Cox 6–1, 6–2, 6–3	Bob Hewitt	Gerald Battrick Nikola Pilić	Georges Goven Ismail El Shafei François Jauffret Tom Okker
		Tom Okker Tony Roche 2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4	William Bowrey Owen Davidson
		Billie Jean King Bob Hewitt 6–2, 3–6, 6–1	Virginia Wade Bob Maud

May

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
25 May	French Open Paris, France Grand Slam Clay – 128S/101Q/72D/53XD Class A Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	Jan Kodeš 6–2, 6–4, 6–0	Željko Franulović	Cliff Richey Georges Goven	Ilie Năstase Arthur Ashe François Jauffret Martin Mulligan
		Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac 6–2, 6–4, 6–3	Arthur Ashe Charlie Pasarell
		Billie Jean King Bob Hewitt 3–6, 6–4, 6–2	Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay

June

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
22 June	Wimbledon Championships London, Great Britain Grand Slam Grass – 128S/80Q/64D/32Q/56XD/12Q Class A Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	John Newcombe 5–7, 6–3, 6–3, 3–6, 6–1	Ken Rosewall	Roger Taylor Andrés Gimeno	Clark Graebner Tony Roche Bob Carmichael Roy Emerson
		John Newcombe Tony Roche 10–8, 6–3, 6–1	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle
		Rosemary Casals Ilie Năstase 6–3, 4–6, 9–7	Olga Morozova Alex Metreveli

July

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
6 July	Swedish Championships Båstad, Sweden Clay – 32S/21D Class 1	Dick Crealy 6–3, 6–1, 6–1	Georges Goven	Željko Franulović Bob Carmichael	Per Jemsby Clark Graebner John Alexander Patricio Rodríguez
		Dick Crealy Allan Stone 6–2, 2–6, 12–12 RET.	Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš
13 July	Washington Star International Washington, United States $35,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Class 2	Cliff Richey 7–5, 6–2, 6–1	Arthur Ashe	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac	Bob Hewitt Georges Goven Dick Crealy Stan Smith
		Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 7–5, 6–0	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac
20 July	Western Championships Cincinnati, United States $25,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Class 2	Ken Rosewall 7–9, 9–7, 8–6	Cliff Richey	Ilie Năstase Jan Kodeš	Clark Graebner Ion Ţiriac Stan Smith Bob Hewitt
		Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac 6–3, 6–4	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan
27 July	U.S. Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, United States $50,000 – Clay – 64S/32D Class 1	Cliff Richey 6–2, 10–8, 3–6, 6–1	Stan Smith	Željko Franulović Arthur Ashe	Frew McMillan Clark Graebner Allan Stone Jaime Fillol
		Arthur Ashe Clark Graebner 2–6, 6–4, 6–4	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac

August

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
3 August	First National Bank Classic Louisville, United States Grass – 16S/8D Class 2	Rod Laver 6–3, 6–3	John Newcombe	Tony Roche Ken Rosewall	Cliff Drysdale Andrés Gimeno Roy Emerson Dennis Ralston
		John Newcombe Tony Roche 8–6, 5–7, 6–4	Roy Emerson Rod Laver
3 August	Bavarian Open Championships Munich, West Germany 24S/8D Class 2	Ion Țiriac 2–6, 9–7, 6–3, 6–4	Niki Pilić	Christian Kunke Ilie Năstase	Bob Hewitt Harald Elschenbroich John Alexander Barry Phillips-Moore
		Owen Davidson Niki Pilić 6–4, 7–5, 6–4	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan
10 August	U.S. Professional Tennis Championships Boston, United States $50,000 – Hard – 32S/16D Class 1	Tony Roche 3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2	Rod Laver	Roy Emerson Cliff Drysdale	Jaime Fillol Arthur Ashe Jan Kodeš Ray Ruffels
		Roy Emerson Rod Laver 6–1, 7–6	Ismail El Shafei Torben Ulrich
24 August	Pennsylvania Championships Merion, United States Grass – 64S/32D Class 2	Ray Ruffels 6–3, 7–6, 6–3	Jaime Fillol	Dick Crealy Brian Fairlie	Bob Carmichael Haroon Rahim William Bowrey Cliff Drysdale
		William Bowrey Ray Ruffels 3–6, 6–2, 7–5	Jim McManus Jim Osborne
	Davis Cup Final Cleveland, United States – Hard (i)	United States 5–0	West Germany
31 August	Marlboro Open South Orange, United States $25,000 – Grass – 42S/19D Class 2	Rod Laver 6–4, 6–2, 6–2	Bob Carmichael	Ken Rosewall Alex Metreveli	Andrés Gimeno Brian Fairlie Dick Stockton Onny Parun
		Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol 3–6, 7–6, 7–6	Andrés Gimeno Rod Laver

September

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 September	US Open New York, United States Grand Slam $176,000 – Grass – 108S/63D/34XD Class A Singles Draw – Doubles Draw – Mixed Doubles Draw	Ken Rosewall 2–6, 6–4, 7–6^(5–2), 6–3	Tony Roche	Cliff Richey John Newcombe	Dennis Ralston Brian Fairlie Stan Smith Arthur Ashe
		Pierre Barthès Nikola Pilić 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6	Roy Emerson Rod Laver
		Margaret Court Marty Riessen 6–4, 6–4	Judy Tegart Frew McMillan
21 September	Pepsi Pacific Southwest Open Los Angeles, United States $65,000 – Hard – 64S/32D Class 1	Rod Laver 4–6, 6–4, 7–6^(7–5)	John Newcombe	Arthur Ashe Tom Gorman	Stan Smith Clark Graebner Marty Riessen Pancho Gonzales
		Tom Okker Marty Riessen 7–6, 6–2	Bob Lutz Stan Smith
28 September	Pacific Coast Championships Berkeley, United States Hard – 64S/32D Class 2	Arthur Ashe 6–4, 6–2, 6–4	Cliff Richey	Stan Smith Dennis Ralston	Bob Carmichael Jan Kodeš Jaime Fillol Thomaz Koch
		Bob Lutz Stan Smith 6–2, 7–5, 4–6, 6–2	Roy Barth Tom Gorman

October

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
18 October	Phoenix Thunderbird Championships Phoenix, United States Hard – 31S/16D Class 2	Stan Smith 6–3, 6–7, 6–1	Jim Osborne	Barry MacKay Bob Carmichael	Charlie Pasarell Jan Kodeš Frank Froehling Tom Edlefsen
		Dick Crealy Ray Ruffels 7–6, 6–3	Jan Kodeš Charlie Pasarell

November

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
1 November	Stockholm Open Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) – 32S/16D Class 2 Singles Draw – Doubles Draw	Stan Smith 5–7, 6–4, 6–4	Arthur Ashe	Ken Rosewall Cliff Richey	Mark Cox Georges Goven Dennis Ralston Roy Emerson
		Arthur Ashe Stan Smith 6–0, 5–7, 7–5	Bob Carmichael Owen Davidson
8 November	South American Championships Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay – 32S/8D Class 1	Željko Franulović 6–4, 6–2, 6–0	Manuel Orantes	Jan Kodeš Bob Carmichael	Ray Ruffels Jan Kukal Dick Crealy Cliff Richey
		Bob Carmichael Ray Ruffels 7–5, 6–2, 5–7, 6–7, 6–3	Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš
	Paris Open Paris, France Carpet – 32S Class 2	Arthur Ashe 7–6, 6–4, 6–3	Marty Riessen	Stan Smith Georges Goven	Pancho Gonzales Dennis Ralston Roger Taylor Ken Rosewall
16 November	Embassy British Indoor Championships London, England Carpet – 32S/16D Class 1	Rod Laver 6–3, 6–4, 6–4	Cliff Richey	Cliff Drysdale Ken Rosewall	Ilie Năstase Dennis Ralston Roger Taylor Pancho Gonzales
		Ken Rosewall Stan Smith 6–4, 6–3, 6–2	Ilie Năstase Ion Ţiriac

December

Week of	Tournament	Champion	Runner-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
9 December	Pepsi-Cola Masters Tokyo, Japan $45,500 – Carpet – 6S/3D (round robin) Singles Draw – Doubles Draw	Stan Smith	Rod Laver	NA	NA
		Arthur Ashe Stan Smith	Jan Kodeš Rod Laver

Grand Prix point system

The tournaments listed above were divided into three categories. Class A consisted of the Grand Slams while the other tournaments were divided into Class 1 and Class 2. Points were allocated based on these groups and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. Ties were settled by the number of tournaments played. The points allocation is listed below:

Class A Champion: 15 Runner-up: 10 Semifinalist: 7 Quarterfinalist: 5 9th – 16th: 3 17th – 32nd: 2

Class 1 Champion: 11 Runner-up: 7 Semifinalist: 5 5th – 8th: 3 9th – 16th: 1

Class 2: Champion: 8 Runner-up: 6 Semifinalist: 4 5th – 8th: 2 9th – 16th: 1

Grand Prix rankings

Position	Name	Nation	Points	Prize Money (US$)
1	Cliff Richey	USA	60	25,000
2	Arthur Ashe	USA	55	17,000
3	Ken Rosewall	AUS	53	15,000
4	Rod Laver	AUS	51	12,000
5	Stan Smith	USA	47	10,500
6	Željko Franulović	YUG	35	9,500
7	John Newcombe	AUS	35	8,500
8	Jan Kodeš	CSK	33	7,500
9	Tony Roche	AUS	32	6,500
10	Bob Carmichael	AUS	31	6,000
11	Georges Goven	FRA	25	5,500
12	Ilie Năstase	ROM	25	5,000
13	Dick Crealy	AUS	24	4,500
14	Ray Ruffels	AUS	22	4,000
15	Clark Graebner	USA	22	3,500
16	Dennis Ralston	USA	22	3,000
17	Jaime Fillol	CHI	20	2,500
18	Ion Ţiriac	ROM	19	2,000
19	Cliff Drysdale	RSA	19	1,500
20	Roy Emerson	AUS	19	1,000

List of tournament winners

The list of winners and number of singles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), alphabetically by last name:

• Arthur Ashe (3) Australian Open, Berkeley, Paris Indoor
• Mark Cox (1) Bournemouth
• Dick Crealy (1) Båstad
• Željko Franulović (1) Buenos Aires
• Jan Kodeš (1) French Open
• Rod Laver (4) Louisville, South Orange, Los Angeles, Wembley
• John Newcombe (1) Wimbledon
• Cliff Richey (2) Washington, Indianapolis
• Tony Roche (2) Gstaad, Boston

• Ray Ruffels (1) Merion
• Ken Rosewall (2) Cincinnati, US Open
• Manuel Santana (1) Barcelona
• Stan Smith (3) Phoenix, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters

The list of winners and number of doubles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), last name alphabetically:

• Arthur Ashe (3) Indianapolis, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters
• Pierre Barthès (2) Munich, US Open
• William Bowrey (1) Merion
• Bob Carmichael (1) Buenos Aires
• Patricio Cornejo (1) South Orange
• Dick Crealy (2) Båstad, Phoenix
• Owen Davidson (1) Munich
• Roy Emerson (1) Boston
• Jaime Fillol (1) South Orange
• Clark Graebner (1) Indianapolis
• Bob Hewitt (1) Washington
• Rod Laver (1) Boston
• Bob Lutz (2) Australian Open, Berkeley
• Frew McMillan (1) Washington
• Ilie Năstase (2) French Open, Cincinnati
• John Newcombe (2) Wimbledon, Louisville
• Tom Okker (2) Bournemouth, Los Angeles
• Nikola Pilić (1) US Open
• Marty Riessen (1) Los Angeles
• Tony Roche (3) Bournemouth, Wimbledon, Louisville
• Ken Rosewall (1) London
• Ray Ruffels (3) Merion, Phoenix, Buenos Aires
• Stan Smith (5) Australian Open, Berkeley, London, Stockholm, Pepsi-Cola Masters
• Allan Stone (1) Båstad
• Ion Ţiriac (2) French Open, Cincinnati

The list of winners and number of mixed doubles titles won (Grand Slams and Masters in bold text), alphabetically by last name:

• Bob Hewitt (2) Bournemouth, French Open
• Ilie Năstase (1) Wimbledon
• Marty Riessen (1) US Open

The following players won their first singles title in 1970:

• Dick Crealy Båstad
• Jan Kodeš French Open

See also

• 1970 World Championship Tennis circuit
• Grand Prix tennis circuit

Notes

1. A Grand Prix circuit for women was introduced in 1971.

References

General

• "1970 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.

Specific

1. "How it All Began". ATPWorldTour.com. Retrieved 2011-03-03.
2. "Tennis Gets A Grand Prix". The Sydney Morning Herald. Apr 9, 1970.
3. "Grand Prix Experiment In Tennis Is Planned". The Morning Record. Apr 9, 1970. p. 12.
4. "Obituaries – Jack Kramer". The Daily Telegraph (London). 14 Sep 2009.
5. "Tennis Assn. Ponders $200,000 Grand Prix" (The Deseret News). UPI. Jun 23, 1970.
6. "Tennis Grand Prix picks up more money". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. Aug 14, 1970.
7. "Richey Clinches Grand Prix Title". The New York Times. Nov 25, 1970.
8. John Barrett, ed. (1971). World of Tennis '71. London: Queen Anne Press. p. 133–136. ISBN 978-0-362-00091-7.

Further reading

• Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0.