Clark Graebner

Clark Graebner (born November 4, 1943) is a retired American professional tennis player.

Clark Graebner
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceNew York City
Born (1943-11-04) November 4, 1943
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1960)
Retired1976
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record181-104 (Open era)
Career titles7
Highest rankingNo. 7 (1968, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1966)
French Open4R (1966, 1972)
WimbledonSF (1968)
US OpenF (1967)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1971)
Doubles
Career record141-68 (Open era)
Career titles10 (Open era)

Early life

Graebner was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of Paul Graebner, a doctor, and his wife, the former Janice Clark. Paul had been a moderately successful youth player.[2] Clark won the state high-school tennis championship three times. He graduated from Northwestern University, where he joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity.

In 1964 he married rising American tennis player Carole Caldwell. They had two children, a daughter, Cameron, and a son, Clark. The couple separated in 1974 and eventually divorced. In 1975, Graebner married Patti Morgan. Caldwell died of cancer in New York City on November 19, 2008.[3]

Tennis career

Graebner was considered to be one of the fastest servers in his time. In the 1967 United States Championship, the last time the event, today's U.S. Open, was open only to amateur players, Graebner lost in the final to John Newcombe.[4] The following year he reached the semifinals in singles at both Wimbledon and the inaugural U.S. Open.

Graebner and Arthur Ashe led the U.S. Davis Cup team to victory in the 1968 Davis Cup, its first in five years. The Americans won four more titles in as many years. John McPhee's book Levels of the Game, which is about a semifinal match played between Graebner and Ashe at the 1968 U.S. Open at Forest Hills. Ashe won the match.

Graebner's most significant title was probably the men's doubles title at the 1966 French Championships, where he and Dennis Ralston beat Ion Ţiriac and Ilie Năstase in the final. He also won the 1968 U.S. Men's Clay Court singles Championship in Milwaukee, the 1969 and 1970 U.S. Men's Clay Court doubles Championship (with William Bowrey and Ashe, respectively), and the 1963 doubles title at Cincinnati.

Graebner also reached the singles quarterfinals in Cincinnati in 1970, falling to eventual champion Ken Rosewall.

Graebner ranks No. 32 on the list of best career set win/loss records in Grand Slam events, at 108-58, for a 65% record.[5]

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline
Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# A NH
(W) Won; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent; (NH) not held. SR=strike rate (events won/competed)

Singles
Tournament1960196119621963196419651966196719681969197019711972197319741975 SR
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A A A A QF A A A A A A A A A 0 / 1
French Open A A A A A A 4R A A A A A 4R A A A 0 / 2
Wimbledon A A A A 1R 2R 2R 4R SF QF QF 3R 2R A 1R A 0 / 10
US Open 2R 2R 1R 2R 3R 3R QF F SF 2R 4R QF 3R 1R 3R 1R 0 / 16
Strike Rate 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 / 1 0 / 29

Career finals

Singles: 11 (4 wins, 7 losses)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1971 New York, U.S. Indoor Željko Franulović 2–6, 7–5, 4–6, 5–7
Win 1. 1971 Salisbury, U.S. Hard (i) Cliff Richey 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 7–6, 6–0
Loss 2. 1971 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Ilie Năstase 5–7, 4–6, 6–7
Loss 3. 1971 Houston, U.S. Hard Cliff Richey 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win 2. 1971 Merion, U.S. Hard Dick Stockton 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 7–5
Win 3. 1971 South Orange, U.S. Hard Pierre Barthès 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 4. 1972 London Indoor, England Hard (i) Cliff Richey 5–7, 7–6, 5–7, 0–6
Loss 5. 1972 Jacksonville, U.S. Hard (i) Jimmy Connors 5–7, 4–6
Win 4. 1973 Des Moines, U.S. Hard (i) Nicholas Kalogeropoulos 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 6. 1973 Paramus, U.S. Hard (i) Jimmy Connors 1–6, 2–6
Loss 7. 1974 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet Sandy Mayer 2–6, 1–6

Doubles finals: 21 (10 wins, 11 losses)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1969 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Bill Bowrey Dick Crealy
Allan Stone		 6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win 2. 1970 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Arthur Ashe Ilie Năstase
Ion Ţiriac		 2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1. 1971 Salisbury, U.S. Hard (i) Thomaz Koch Juan Gisbert Sr.
Manuel Orantes		 3–6, 6–4, 6–7
Win 3. 1971 Macon, U.S. Hard Thomaz Koch Željko Franulović
Jan Kodeš		 6–3, 7–6
Loss 2. 1971 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Thomaz Koch Ilie Năstase
Ion Ţiriac		 4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 3. 1971 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Erik van Dillen Željko Franulović
Jan Kodeš		 6–7, 7–5, 3–6
Win 4. 1971 Merion, U.S. Hard Jim Osborne Robert McKinley
Dick Stockton		 7–6, 6–3
Loss 4. 1971 South Orange, U.S. Hard Erik van Dillen Bob Carmichael
Tom Leonard		 4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 5. 1971 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Frank Froehling John Alexander
Phil Dent		 6–7, 4–6
Loss 6. 1972 Washington, U.S. Carpet Thomaz Koch Tom Edlefsen
Cliff Richey		 4–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 1972 Bristol, England Grass Lew Hoad Bob Hewitt
Frew McMillan		 3–6, 2–6
Win 5. 1973 Baltimore, U.S. Hard (i) Jimmy Connors Paul Gerken
Sandy Mayer		 3–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 8. 1973 Birmingham, U.S. Hard Ion Ţiriac Pat Cramer
Jürgen Fassbender		 4–6, 5–7
Win 6. 1973 Salisbury, U.S. Hard (i) Ilie Năstase Jürgen Fassbender
Juan Gisbert Sr.		 2–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win 7. 1973 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Ilie Năstase Jimmy Connors
Ion Ţiriac		 6–2, 6–1
Loss 9. 1973 Louisville, U.S. Clay John Newcombe Manuel Orantes
Ion Ţiriac		 6–0, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 10. 1974 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet Owen Davidson Jürgen Fassbender
Karl Meiler		 6–7, 5–7
Loss 11. 1974 St. Petersburg WCT, U.S. Hard Charlie Pasarell Owen Davidson
John Newcombe		 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 8. 1974 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Charlie Pasarell Roy Emerson
Dennis Ralston		 6–4, 6–7, 7–5
Win 9. 1975 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard Juan Gisbert Sr. Jürgen Fassbender
Juan Gisbert Sr.		 6–2, 6–1
Win 10. 1976 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard Vitas Gerulaitis Bruce Manson
Butch Walts		 6–2, 6–4

See also

References
  1. United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 428.
  2. John McPhee (June 5, 2014). Levels of the Game. Aurum Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-78131-313-8.
  3. http://www.tennisweek.com
  4. "U. S. Open 1967". www.tennis.co.nf.
  5. Set W/L% - Slams - Career

Further reading
  • Clark Graebner, Carole Graebner, Mixed Doubles Tennis (McGraw-Hill, New York, 1973)
  • McPhee, John A. (1969). Levels of the Game. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux. ISBN 0-374-51526-3.
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