Bill Bowrey

Bill Bowrey

Bill Bowrey at the 1970 Dutch Open
Full name	William Walter Bowrey
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Victoria, Australia
Born	25 December 1943 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Turned pro	1968 (amateur tour from 1962)
Retired	1975
Plays	Right-handed (1-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	88–99
Career titles	6
Highest ranking	No. 8 (1967, NY Times)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	W (1968)
French Open	3R (1965, 1971)
Wimbledon	4R (1966)
US Open	QF (1966)
Doubles
Career record	89–60 (Open era at Grand Slam, Grand Prix and WCT level, and in Davis Cup)
Career titles	5
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1967)
French Open	QF (1969, 1971)
Wimbledon	F (1966)
US Open	F (1967)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1966)

William "Bill" Bowrey (born 25 December 1943) is a former Australian male tennis player.

Bowrey was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and is best remembered as the last amateur to win the Australian Championships in 1968^[2] before the tournament opened itself for professional tennis players in 1969.

At the age of 16 Bill was a member of the schoolboys' NSW state PSAAA tennis team. In the process of qualifying he overcame promising Newcastle junior Ross Flanagan who had match point against Bowrey. Bowrey held on to win and Ross Flanagan decided to pursue a less spectacular career as a Physics and Sports Biomechanics Lecturer at The University of Newcastle.

Biography

Bowrey reached the quarters of the Australian (international amateur) Championships in 1965 (losing to John Newcombe), 1966 (losing to Roy Emerson) and 1967 (losing to Emerson) and the US Open quarters in 1966 (losing to Manuel Santana). At the 1967 US Open – Doubles Bowrey and partner Owen Davidson lost the final to Newcombe and Roche in four sets.^[3] At the end of 1967, John Newcombe, Roy Emerson and Tony Roche had all signed professional contracts, which left the amateur game devoid of talent. A poor quality field lined up for the 1968 Australian championships, which were held at Melbourne's historic Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club. Bowrey was the top seed.^[4] In the final Bowrey met the Spaniard Juan Gisbert, which he won in four sets. A month after his Australian triumph Bowrey married the women's player Lesley Turner. The game went open in April that year and at the first Open Wimbledon Bowrey lost in the second round to Andrés Gimeno. Defending his Australian title the following year Bowrey blew a two sets to love lead in the quarters against Ray Ruffels. Bowrey represented Australia in two Davis Cup rounds, the first against the U.S in the World Group Final in December 1968, where he lost to Clark Graebner in five sets and beat Arthur Ashe in four sets. The second in the North & Central America draw in May 1969 versus Mexico, where he won against Joaquin Loyo-Mayo and lost to Rafael Osuna.^[5]

Bowrey was also involved in one of the longest matches in tennis history at Wimbledon in 1970 against Patricio Cornejo that consumed nearly four hours^[2] and took 84 games.^[6] In January 1970 Bowrey turned professional which meant he was no longer eligible to play in the Davis Cup.^[7] Later that year Bowrey with partner Marty Riessen won the Rogers Cup (formerly Canadian Open)^[8] in two sets against Fred Stolle and Cliff Drysdale 6–3, 6–2. He also won the Rome ATP World Tour Masters – Doubles that year with Owen Davidson.

Bowrey married fellow tennis professional Lesley Turner in 1968 and went into semi-retirement in 1972 at the age of just 28, becoming a coach. After their playing careers were over, Bowrey and his wife Lesley became the lead match-play commentators at Wimbledon on the All-England Club's radio station and Internet Web site "Radio Wimbledon."

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in final	Score in final
Winner	1968	Australian Championships	Grass	Juan Gisbert, Sr.	7–5, 2–6, 9–7, 6–4

Doubles (3 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents in final	Score in final
Runner-up	1966	Wimbledon	Owen Davidson	Ken Fletcher John Newcombe	3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up	1967	Australian Championships	Owen Davidson	John Newcombe Tony Roche	6–3, 3–6, 5–7, 8–6, 6–8
Runner-up	1967	U.S. Championships	Owen Davidson	John Newcombe Tony Roche	8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 3–6

References

1. "Mulligan, Emerson Lead World Tennis Standing ", New York Times, 21 May 1967.
2. "William Bowrey (1943)". Big Sports Fanatic.com. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
3. "US Open Tennis Mens Doubles Champions". Altius Directory. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
4. Drucker, Joel (10 January 2008). "The Last Amateur Grand slam". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
5. "Bill Bowrey". Davis Cup. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
6. "Longest matches (games)". Tennis28.com. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
7. "Bowrey Turns Professional". Beaver County Times. 26 January 1970. p. B-4.
8. "Rogers Cup – Men – Doubles Champion". Retrieved 7 April 2010.

External links

• Bill Bowrey at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Bill Bowrey at the International Tennis Federation
• Bill Bowrey at the Davis Cup