Wimbledon + US Open, summaries 1968-79

Summaries 1968-79: Wimbledon + US Open

Wimbledon and US Open in the 70s… tournaments dominated by two players: Jimmy Connors and Bjorn Borg, the tennis superstars who lifted in that decade the discipline onto a new level of popularity. They played four finals against each other out there: Borg won twice in London, Connors twice in New York. The Swede compiled a 38-3 record at Wimbledon in the 70s (four titles overall), Connors in turn, a 46-7 record in New York. These tournaments didn’t witness so consistent players in its venues for four decades! The Swede as the first man since Jean Borotra (finalist in years 1924-27) managed to reach four consecutive Wimbledon finals within a decade capturing three of them in a row as the first man since Fred Perry (1934-36)  whilst Connors became the first man since Bill Tilden to play five consecutive finals in New York (Tilden played altogether eight in a row after the World War I)… In the meantime Rod Laver notched also four consecutive finals at Wimbledon (1959-62) and very likely he would have played a few more if he hadn’t abandoned his status of an amateur in 1963 that prevented him from participating in Grand Slam tournaments.