By Randy Walker
How would you feel – and how would the tennis world be better or worse – if the finals of the Australian Open were played today? Well that was the case 39 years ago when the men’s and women’s singles finals at the 1971 Australian Open were played in Sydney. The following is the excerpt from the March 14 chapter of the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com)
1971 – Margaret Court and Ken Rosewall win singles titles at the Australian Open at White City in Sydney, Australia. Court defeats first-time major finalist and fellow Australian Evonne Goolagong 2-6, 7-6 (1), 7-5 to win her country’s national championship for the 10th time in the last 12 years. Goolagong leads 5-2 in the final set, before she is beset with cramping in her leg. Says Court of the final-set deficit, “I thought I’d had it. I don’t think I played particularly well, but when Evonne got the cramp, I took advantage.” Court’s title is her sixth straight major singles title on the heels of her 1970 Grand Slam sweep of all four majors. Rosewall defeats defending champion Arthur Ashe 6-1, 7-5, 6-3, benefiting from 13 Ashe double-faults. Ashe hits four double-faults alone in the sixth game of the match as Rosewall wins the first set in just 19 minutes. Says Rosewall, “I think Arthur lost confidence when his service was not going too well.”
