Mark Cox (tennis)

Mark Cox (born 5 July 1943) is a former tennis player from England, who played professional and amateur tennis in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was ranked as high as World No. 13 on the ATP rankings (achieving that ranking in August 1977). Cox was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School in Leicester and Millfield School in Somerset.

Mark Cox
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born (1943-07-05) 5 July 1943
Leicester, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Turned pro1970 (amateur from 1958)
Retired1981
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record593-370 (61.5%) in pre Open-Era & Open Era[1]
Career titles21 [1]
Highest rankingNo. 13 (23 August 1977)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1967, 1971)
French Open3R (1968)
Wimbledon4R (1968, 1977, 1979)
US OpenQF (1966)
Other tournaments
WCT FinalsQF (1975)
Doubles
Career record142–157 (Open era)
Career titles3 (Open era)
Team competitions
Davis CupF (1978)

Cox obtained an economics undergraduate degree from the University of Cambridge (Downing College), where he was a member of the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club.

Career

He played his first tournament on 3 November 1958 at the Torquay Indoor.[2] During his career, he won twenty singles titles [2] and three doubles titles spanning both the pre-open era and open era, reached the quarterfinals at the US Nationals (in 1966), and the final at the event in Cincinnati (in 1977).[3] He also played on Great Britain's Davis Cup team, and was on the team that reached the 1978 final against the United States.[4] He has also gone down in tennis history as the first amateur player to beat a professional.[5]

In May 1968, at the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth, he beat the American Pancho Gonzales in five sets in two and a quarter hours.[6] Cox also achieved big upset wins over No. 1 seed, Rod Laver, at the 1971 Australian Open,[7] and over No. 2 seed, Ken Rosewall, at the 1972 US Open.[8] Cox defeated future World #1 Jimmy Connors in his debut grand slam match at the 1970 US Open. Cox retired from playing in 1981. During his latter playing years and after his retirement, Cox has worked as a coach, and also as a television commentator for the BBC.

Personal life

Cox is a Patron of a charity "CRY" (Cardiac Risk in the Young) and an ambassador for the Win Tennis Academy at Bisham. He lives with his wife Susie in London.

Career finals

Singles (21 titles, 14 runner-ups)
Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1962 Manly, Australia Grass Martin Mulligan 2–6, 2–6 [9]
Win 1. 1966 Baltimore, USA Grass Jim McManus 6–3, 6–2, 6–3 [9]
Loss 2. 1967 East London, South Africa Clay Tom Okker 7–9, 5–7 [9]
Win 2. 1968 San Juan Puerto Rico Hard Allen Fox 6–2, 6–1, 4–6, 2–6, 6–2 [9]
Open era
Loss 3. 1968 London, England Carpet (i) Stan Smith 4–6, 4–6 [9]
Win 3. 1968 Eastbourne, England Grass Owen Davidson 6–4, 6–4 [9]
Win 4. 1968 Istanbul, Turkey Clay Patricio Rodríguez 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 [9]
Win 5. 1968 Perth, Scotland Carpet (i) Bob Hewitt 6–3, 6–4 [9]
Win 6. 1969 Bloemfontein, South Africa Hard Bob Maud 6–2, 7–5 [9]
Loss 4. 1968 Buffalo, New York, USA Hard (i) Clark Graebner 8–6, 9–7, 6–2 [9]
Loss 5. 1969 Macon, USA Carpet (i) Manuel Orantes 8–10, 5–7, 6–4, 7–9 [9]
Loss 6. 1969 Caracas, Venezuela Clay Thomaz Koch 6–8, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6 [9]
Loss 7. 1969 Willemstad, Curacao Clay Cliff Richey 4–6, 3–6, 3–6 [9]
Win 7. 1969 Charlotte, USA Clay Jan Kodes 13–11, 6–2 [9]
Win 8. 1969 Stalybridge, England Carpet (i) Bob Hewitt 6–4, 6–3 [9]
Win 9. 1969 Torquay, England Hard (i) John Clifton 8–6, 6–3 [9]
Win 10. 1969 London, England Carpet (i) Bob Hewitt 4–6, 9–7, 6–2 [9]
Win 11. 1969 Perth, Scotland Carpet (i) Ismail El Shafei 3–6, 14–12, 6–1 [9]
Win 12. 1970 Bournemouth, England Clay Bob Hewitt 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
Win 13. 1972 Macon , USA Carpet (i) Roy Emerson 6–3, 6–7, 6–3
Loss 8. 1972 Louisville WCT, US Clay Arthur Ashe 4–6, 4–6
Win 14. 1972 Cleveland WCT, US Hard Ray Ruffels 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 9. 1973 London WCT, England Hard (i) Brian Fairlie 6–2, 2–6, 2–6, 6–7
Win 15. 1973 Denver WCT, US Carpet Arthur Ashe 6–1, 6–1
Win 16. 1973 Eastbourne, England Grass Patrice Dominguez 6–2, 2–6, 6–3
Loss 10. 1974 Bologna WCT, Italy Carpet Arthur Ashe 4–6, 5–7
Loss 11. 1974 London WCT, England Hard (i) Björn Borg 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Win 17. 1975 Washington Indoor WCT, US Carpet Dick Stockton 6–2, 7–6
Win 18. 1975 London WCT, England Carpet Brian Fairlie 6–1, 7–5
Win 19. 1975 Atlanta WCT, US Carpet John Alexander 6–3, 7–6
Win 20. 1976 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Manuel Orantes 4–6, 7–5, 7–6
Win 21. 1977 Helsinki, Finland Carpet Kjell Johansson 6–3, 6–3
Loss 12. 1977 London/Queen's Club, England Grass Raúl Ramírez 7–9, 5–7
Loss 13. 1977 Cincinnati, US Clay Harold Solomon 2–6, 3–6
Loss 14. 1980 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) Tomáš Šmíd 1–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–1, 4–6

Doubles (3 titles, 8 runner-ups)
Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 1973 Copenhagen WCT, Denmark Carpet Graham Stilwell Erik van Dillen
Tom Gorman		 4–6, 4–6
Win 1. 1973 Cologne WCT, Germany Carpet Graham Stilwell Tom Okker
Marty Riessen		 7–6, 6–3
Win 2. 1973 London, England Carpet Owen Davidson Gerald Battrick
Graham Stilwell		 6–4, 8–6
Loss 2. 1974 Denver WCT, US Carpet Jun Kamiwazumi Arthur Ashe
Roscoe Tanner		 3–6, 6–7
Loss 3. 1975 San Antonio WCT, US Hard Cliff Drysdale John Alexander
Phil Dent		 6–7, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 4. 1975 Memphis, US Carpet Cliff Drysdale Erik van Dillen
Dick Stockton		 6–1, 5–7, 4–6
Loss 5. 1975 Atlanta WCT, US Carpet Cliff Drysdale Anand Amritraj
Vijay Amritraj		 3–6, 2–6
Loss 6. 1975 World Doubles WCT, Mexico Carpet Cliff Drysdale Brian Gottfried
Raúl Ramírez		 6–7, 7–6, 2–6, 6–7
Loss 7. 1976 Washington WCT, US Carpet Cliff Drysdale Eddie Dibbs
Harold Solomon		 4–6, 5–7
Loss 8. 1977 London WCT Hard (i) Eddie Dibbs Ilie Năstase
Adriano Panatta		 6–7, 7–6, 3–6
Win 3. 1977 Basel, Switzerland Carpet Buster Mottram John Feaver
John James		 7–5, 6–4, 6–3

References
  1. Garcia, Gabriel. "Mark Cox: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. Garcia, Gabriel. "Mark Cox: Tournament activity/results". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  3. Lawrence Journal-World. "Sports Briefs". 19 July 1977, p. 11. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  4. Wilmington Morning Star. "Davis Cup players named". 17 November 1978, p. 3-C. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  5. Spartanburg Herald-Journal. "Mark Cox Is Tennis Champ". 3 May 1970, p. B4. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  6. Montreal Gazette. He followed this up for good measure by beating two times Wimbledon Champion Roy Emerson in the next round. "British Tennis Amateur Mark Cox Upsets U.S. Pro Pancho Gonzales". Associated Press, 25 April 1968, p. 14. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  7. Stone, Peter. "Laver leaves tired, beaten". The Age, 12 March 1971, p. 24. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  8. Times Daily (Florence, S.C.). "The 'Giant Killer': Mark Cox Upsets Rosewall In U.S. Open Tennis Play". Associated Press, 3 September 1972, p. 16. Retrieved on 15 July 2013.
  9. Garcia, Gabriel. "Mark Cox: Tournament results titles/finals". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.