Tony Roche

Tony Roche
AO MBE

Full name	Anthony Dalton Roche
Country (sports)	Australia
Residence	Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Born	(1945-05-17) 17 May 1945 (age 78) Wagga Wagga, Australia
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	1968 (amateur from 1963)
Retired	1979
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$ 529,199
Int. Tennis HoF	1986 (member page)
Singles
Career record	838-338 (71.2%)
Career titles	46
Highest ranking	No. 2 (1969, Lance Tingay)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	SF (1965, 1967, 1969, 1975)
French Open	W (1966)
Wimbledon	F (1968)
US Open	F (1969, 1970)
Doubles
Career record	208–94 (Open era)
Career titles	18 (Open era)
Highest ranking	No. 1 (1965)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	W (1965, 1967, 1971, 1976, 1977)
French Open	W (1967, 1969)
Wimbledon	W (1965, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1974)
US Open	W (1967)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open	W (1966)
Wimbledon	W (1976)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	W (1965, 1966, 1967, 1977)

A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, the 1966 French Open at Roland Garros, and 15 Grand Slam doubles titles.

In 1968, Roche won the WCT/NTL combined professional championship in men's singles in the final event of the season at Madison Square Garden. He was ranked World No. 2 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph in 1969.

He won the U.S. Pro Championships in 1970 at Longwood in Boston. Roche won the New South Wales Open twice, in 1969 and 1976. He won a key Davis Cup singles match in 1977.

He also coached multi-Grand Slam winning world No. 1s Ivan Lendl, Patrick Rafter, Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt as well as former World No. 4 Jelena Dokic.

Amateur

 

Roche started to play tennis at school when he was nine. His father, who worked as a butcher, and his mother were both recreational tennis players and encouraged his interest. Roche grew up playing in Australia under the tutelage of Harry Hopman, who also coached other Australian tennis players such as Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall.

 

Roche had a successful singles and double career. He won one singles Grand Slam tournament, the 1966 French Open at Roland Garros, defeating István Gulyás in the final. He was five times the runner-up at Grand Slam tournaments: the French Championships in 1965 and 1967, losing to Fred Stolle and Roy Emerson respectively, Wimbledon in 1968, losing to Rod Laver, and the US Open in 1969 and 1970, losing to Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall. With compatriot John Newcombe, he won 12 Grand Slam men's doubles tournaments.

Professional

In January 1968, Roche turned professional, signing with World Championship Tennis, joining other pros like John Newcombe, Cliff Drysdale, Nikola Pilić and Roger Taylor to form the "Handsome Eight". Roche was guaranteed $125,000 annually, an amount equivalent to the annual salary of Willie Mays, the top paid baseball player.

Roche was the leading money winner on the WCT tour in 1968. In the 1968 final for the combined WCT/NTL professional tours at Madison Square Garden, Roche defeated Rod Laver in the semifinal and Pancho Gonzales in the final to become the combined professional champion for 1968.

Roche held a personal head-to-head edge over Laver during the latter's Grand Slam season of 1969, 5 to 4. Roche and Laver played a classic match against each other in the 1969 Australian Open at Brisbane. Roche also contested the final match of Laver's Grand Slam run that year, the 1969 U.S. Open final.

Roche won the U.S. Pro Championships at Longwood, Boston in 1970, defeating Laver in a hard fought five set final. Roche won two New South Wales Open titles, in 1969 over Rod Laver in a close four-set final, and in 1976 against Dick Stockton in the final.

Perhaps one of his greatest achievements came in 1977, playing singles in the finals of the Davis Cup tournament versus Italy, nearly 10 years since he had last played for Australia. In the tie, Roche upset top Italian Adriano Panatta, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 to lead Australia to a 3–1 victory, winning the Davis Cup.

Shoulder and elbow injuries cut short his career after having finished in the top 10 for six consecutive years.

After completing his playing career, Roche has developed a highly successful career as a tennis coach. He was the player-coach of the Denver Racquets who won the first World Team Tennis in competition 1974, and he was named WTT Coach of the Year. Ivan Lendl hired Roche in 1985 as a full-time coach for Roche's advice on volleying. Lendl dreamed of winning Wimbledon, and because Roche had been a fine grass court player, he sought his tutelage. Roche also coached former world no. 1 Patrick Rafter from 1997 to the end of his career in 2002. Roche coached world no. 1 Roger Federer from 2005 to 12 May 2007. It is reputed this was on a "handshake agreement" with no contract; Roche was paid by the week. Federer hired Roche for the opposite reason that Lendl hired him: to work on his clay-court game (as Roche had won the 1966 French Championships). He also coached two-time Grand Slam singles titlist Lleyton Hewitt, who was aiming to get his career back on track after a number of unsuccessful years on the ATP Tour.

Roche was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in 1981 and an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2001. He entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame alongside doubles partner and close friend John Newcombe in 1986. In 1990 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame. He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000 and a Centenary Medal in 2001.

Singles: 6 (1 title, 5 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1965	French Championships	Clay	Fred Stolle	6–3, 0–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win	1966	French Championships	Clay	István Gulyás	6–1, 6–4, 7–5
Loss	1967	French Championships	Clay	Roy Emerson	1–6, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Loss	1968	Wimbledon	Grass	Rod Laver	3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss	1969	US Open	Grass	Rod Laver	9–7, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss	1970	US Open	Grass	Ken Rosewall	6–2, 4–6, 6–7, 3–6

Doubles: 15 (13 titles, 2 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1964	French Championships	Clay	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Ken Fletcher	5–7, 3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Win	1965	Australian Championships	Grass	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Fred Stolle	3–6, 4–6, 13–11, 6–3, 6–4
Win	1965	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Fletcher   Bob Hewitt	7–5, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	1966	Australian Championships (2)	Grass	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Fred Stolle	9–7, 3–6, 8–6, 12–14, 10–12
Win	1967	Australian Championships (2)	Grass	John Newcombe	Bill Bowrey   Owen Davidson	3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–8, 8–6
Win	1967	French Championships	Clay	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Ken Fletcher	6–3, 9–7, 12–10
Win	1967	US Championships	Grass	John Newcombe	Bill Bowrey   Owen Davidson	6–8, 9–7, 6–3, 6–3
↓ Open Era ↓
Win	1968	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Fletcher   Ken Rosewall	3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3
Win	1969	French Open (2)	Clay	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Rod Laver	4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	1969	Wimbledon (3)	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	7–5, 11–9, 6–3
Win	1970	Wimbledon (4)	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall   Fred Stolle	10–8, 6–3, 6–1
Win	1971	Australian Open (3)	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–2, 7–6
Win	1974	Wimbledon (5)	Grass	John Newcombe	Bob Lutz   Stan Smith	8–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	1976	Australian Open (4)	Grass	John Newcombe	Ross Case   Geoff Masters	7–6, 6–4
Win	1977	Australian Open (January) (5)	Grass	Arthur Ashe	Charlie Pasarell   Erik van Dillen	6–4, 6–4

Mixed doubles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1965	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Margaret Smith   Ken Fletcher	10–12, 3–6
Win	1966	Australian Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Robyn Ebbern   William Bowrey	6–1, 6–3
Loss	1967	Australian Championships	Grass	Judy Tegart	Lesley Turner   Owen Davidson	7–9, 4–6
↓ Open Era ↓
Loss	1969	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Judy Tegart	Ann Haydon   Fred Stolle	2–6, 3–6
Win	1976	Wimbledon	Grass	Françoise Dürr	Rosemary Casals   Dick Stockton	6–3, 2–6, 7–5

Singles

Result	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1.	1968	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Rod Laver	3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win	2.	1968	WCT/NTL Professional Championships Final Madison Square Garden, New York City	Indoor	Pancho Gonzales	6-3, 6-4
Win	3.	1969	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Fred Stolle	3–6, 6–0, 4–6, 1–6
Win	4.	1969	Sydney, Australia	Grass	Rod Laver	6–4, 4–6, 9–7, 12–10
Win	5.	1969	Auckland, New Zealand	Grass	Rod Laver	6–1, 6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Loss	6.	1969	Philadelphia WCT, U.S. Pro Indoor	Carpet	Rod Laver	5–7, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	7.	1969	Rome, Italy	Clay	John Newcombe	3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 7–5, 3–6
Win	8.	1969	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Tom Okker	6–1, 5–7, 8–6, 7–5
Loss	9.	1969	US Open, New York	Grass	Rod Laver	9–7, 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss	10.	1969	Wembley, UK	Carpet (i)	Rod Laver	4–6, 1–6, 3–6
Loss	11.	1970	Philadelphia WCT, US	Carpet	Rod Laver	3–6, 6–8, 2–6
Win	12.	1970	Dublin, Ireland	Grass	Rod Laver	6–3, 6–1
Win	13.	1970	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Tom Okker	7–5, 7–5, 6–3
Win	14.	1970	Boston, US Pro	Hard	Rod Laver	3–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 6–2
Loss	15.	1970	US Open, New York	Grass	Ken Rosewall	6–2, 4–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win	16.	1972	Washington WCT, US	Clay	Marty Riessen	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Loss	17.	1974	Bombay, India	Clay	Onny Parun	3–6, 3–6, 6–7
Loss	18.	1975	Nottingham, England	Grass	Tom Okker	1–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win	19.	1976	Charlotte WCT, US	Carpet	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Win	20.	1976	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Dick Stockton	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	21.	1977	Brisbane, Australia	Grass	Vitas Gerulaitis	7–6, 1–6, 1–6, 5–7
Win	22.	1978	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	John McEnroe	8–6, 9–7

Doubles

Result	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1.	1968	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall   Fred Stolle	3–6, 8–6, 5–7, 14–12, 6–3
Loss	1.	1968	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	4–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss	2.	1968	Hobart, Australia	Grass	Fred Stolle	Mal Anderson   Roger Taylor	5–7, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1, 4–6
Loss	3.	1969	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–8, 4–6
Win	2.	1969	French Open, Paris	Clay	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Rod Laver	4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win	3.	1969	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	7–5, 11–9, 6–3
Win	4.	1970	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Ken Rosewall   Fred Stolle	10–8, 6–3, 6–1
Win	5.	1970	Louisville, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Rod Laver	8–6, 5–7, 6–4
Win	6.	1971	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–2, 7–6
Win	7.	1971	Miami WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Rod Laver	7–6, 7–6
Loss	4.	1971	Chicago WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–7, 6–4, 6–7
Win	8.	1971	Rome, Italy	Clay	John Newcombe	Andrés Gimeno   Roger Taylor	6–4, 6–4
Win	9.	1971	Tehran WCT, Iran	Clay	John Newcombe	Bob Carmichael   Ray Ruffels	6–4, 6–7, 6–1
Loss	5.	1972	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–7, 6–7
Loss	6.	1972	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Arthur Ashe   Bob Lutz	3–6, 7–6, 3–6
Loss	7.	1972	Charlotte WCT, U.S.	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	4–6, 6–4, 6–7
Loss	8.	1972	Las Vegas WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Roy Emerson   Rod Laver	DEF
Win	10.	1972	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	John Alexander   Phil Dent	7–6, 6–2
Loss	9.	1972	Washington WCT, U.S.	Clay	John Newcombe	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Win	11.	1972	Boston WCT, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	Arthur Ashe   Bob Lutz	6–3, 1–6, 7–6
Win	12.	1974	Toronto WCT, Canada	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Tom Okker   Marty Riessen	6–3, 2–6, 6–4
Loss	10.	1974	Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco	Clay	Manuel Orantes	John Alexander   Phil Dent	6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win	13.	1974	Wimbledon, London	Grass	John Newcombe	Bob Lutz   Stan Smith	8–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	11.	1974	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Ross Case   Geoff Masters	4–6, 4–6
Win	14.	1976	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	John Newcombe	Ross Case   Geoff Masters	7–6, 6–4
Win	15.	1976	Charlotte WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John Newcombe	Vitas Gerulaitis   Gene Mayer	6–3, 7–5
Win	16.	1977	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Arthur Ashe	Charlie Pasarell   Erik van Dillen	6–4, 6–4
Loss	12.	1977	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Ross Case	Wojtek Fibak   Tom Okker	4–6, 4–6
Loss	13.	1977	Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada	Carpet	Ross Case	Wojtek Fibak   Tom Okker	4–6, 1–6
Win	17.	1977	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Ross Case   Geoff Masters	6–7, 6–3, 6–1
Win	18.	1978	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John Newcombe	Mark Edmondson   John Marks	6–4, 6–3