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Clark Graebner

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Clark Graebner
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceNew York City
Born (1943-11-04) November 4, 1943 (age 80)
Cleveland, Ohio, US
Height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1960)
Retired1976
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record572-254 (69% win rate)
Career titles29
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1967)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1966)
French Open4R (1966)
WimbledonSF (1968)
US OpenF (1967)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsRR (1971)
Doubles
Career record141-68 (Open era)
Career titles11

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

He was four times a world top ten ranked player each year from 1966 to 1969, reaching world No. 3 in 1967 and world No. 7 the following year. He was ranked eight times in the top ten U.S. players by the USTA, reaching U.S. No. 2 in 1968 behind Arthur Ashe, and U.S. No. 3 in 1966 and 1971.

Graebner won three U.S. national titles, the U.S. Clay Court in 1968, the U.S. Hard Court in 1969, and the U.S. Indoor in 1971. He was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team which won the Davis Cup in five straight years from 1968 to 1972.

He won a Grand Slam doubles title at the 1966 French Championships at Roland Garros with doubles partner Dennis Ralston.

Early life

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Graebner was born in Cleveland, Ohio, the only child of Paul Graebner, a dentist,[2] and his wife, the former Janice Clark. Paul had been a moderately successful youth player.[3] 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.[4] 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.[5]

Tennis career

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1965

Graebner won his first important international tournament in December 1965 at the Victorian Championships at Melbourne's Kooyong Stadium. He defeated Ray Ruffels, Tony Roche in a close five set match, Herb Fitzgibbon, Fred Stolle, and Roy Emerson in a five set final.

1966

Graebner lost to John Newcombe in the quarterfinal of the Australian Open. He returned the favour by defeating Newcombe in the third round at the French Championships at Roland Garros that season. He won the men's doubles title at the French Championships, with his doubles partner Dennis Ralston, defeating the Rumanian doubles team of Tiriac/Năstase in the final. Graebner won the Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championships at the Merion Cricket Club defeating Charlie Pasarell in the semifinal and Stan Smith in the final. At the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills, New York he reached the quarterfinals where he was defeated by Stolle, who would win the title that year.

Graebner was ranked world No. 9 for 1966 by McCauley.[6] He was ranked the No. 3 U.S. player for that year by the USTA.[7]

1967

Graebner won the Buffalo Indoor Tennis Championships[8] in February defeating Marty Riessen in a marathon final. Graebner would also win this same event in 1968 (over Riessen again in the final), in 1969 (over Mark Cox in the final) and in 1970 (over Bob Lutz in the final).

He lost to Newcombe, the champion that year, in the 4th round of the 1967 Wimbledon championships. In the 1967 United States Championship, the last time the event, today's U.S. Open, was open only to amateur players, Graebner was the top-seeded U.S. player at No. 7. He defeated the No. 2 seed Roy Emerson in a marathon quarterfinal, but lost in the final to Newcombe.[9]

Graebner was ranked world No. 3 for 1967, which would be his highest world ranking, by the Martini and Rossi panel of tennis experts using a point system for tournament play.[10] He was ranked the U.S. No. 4 by the USTA for that year.[7]

1968

In 1968 he reached the final of the Queen's Club Championships in London, defeating Stolle, Emerson and Alex Metreveli, but the final was not played. Graebner then reached the semifinals in singles at the 1968 Wimbledon, defeating both Manuel Santana and Stolle, before losing a close match to Roche. He won the 1968 U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships in Milwaukee defeating Charlie Pasarell in the semifinal and Stan Smith in the final. At the inaugural US Open, he defeated Newcombe in the quarter-final, but lost the semifinal to Arthur Ashe, the eventual champion. Graebner was ranked U.S. No. 2 by the USTA for 1968[7] and world No. 7 by Lance Tingay[11] as well as by most other ranking authorities.

Graebner and Ashe led the U.S. Davis Cup team to victory in the 1968 Davis Cup, its first in five years. Graebner won both of his singles matches in the Challenge Round against Australia, defeating Bill Bowrey and Ruffels in five set matches. The Americans won four more titles in as many years. John McPhee's book, Levels of the Game, is about a semifinal match played between Graebner and Ashe at the 1968 US Open at Forest Hills. Ashe won the match.

1969

Graebner won seven tournaments in the 1969 season, beginning with the Richmond WCT Indoor in February, defeating Thomaz Koch (winner over both Ashe and Richey in the event) in the final. He won the New York Indoor in March, defeating Pasarell in the final. At Wimbledon in 1969, Graebner defeated Ilie Năstase and Andrés Gimeno before losing to Roche again in the quarterfinal, this time in a marathon five sets. He won the U.S. Hard Court Championships in Sacramento in June, defeating Erik van Dillen in a close five-set final. That same season, Graebner won the Southampton Invitational at Long Island on grass, defeating Bill Bowrey in the semifinal and Lutz in the final, both matches in three straight sets. At the U.S. Open that year, he retired in the third set against Roger Taylor in the second round.

Graebner was ranked world No. 10 for 1969 by the Daily Express.[12] He was ranked the U.S. No. 4 player by the USTA ranking.[7]

1970

He won the 1970 River Oaks International Tennis Tournament on clay in Houston, Texas, in April defeating Santana in the semifinal and Cliff Richey in a close five-set final. At Wimbledon, Graebner eliminated Năstase again in the fourth round, but lost in the quarterfinal to Taylor. At the U.S. Open, Graebner lost to Newcombe in the fourth round, although he had beaten Newcombe earlier in the season at the 1970 U.S. Pro Tennis Championships at Longwood. Graebner also reached the singles quarterfinals in Cincinnati in 1970, falling to eventual champion Ken Rosewall. Graebner was ranked the U.S. No. 4 player by the USTA for 1970.[13]

1971

He won the U.S. National Indoor Championships in February 1971, his third U.S. national title, defeating Năstase in the semifinal and Richey in the final in tight five-set matches. Graebner survived two match points against him in the final with Richey serving, on one of those points returning an overhead finishing shot from Richey.[14] At Wimbledon that year, Graebner lost in the third round to Rod Laver. During that same season Graebner won two ITF tournaments. In the Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship at the Merion Cricket Club, he defeated Frank Froehling in a close semifinal and Dick Stockton in the final. At the South Orange Open on grass in South Orange, New Jersey, he narrowly won the semifinal over Onny Parun and won the final against Pierre Barthès. This was a rewarding victory for Graebner who had finished as runner-up at South Orange in 1964 (to Ashe), in 1966 (to Roche), in 1967 (to Riessen), in 1968 (to Pasarell), and in 1969 (to Smith). At the U.S. Open, he advanced to the quarterfinals where he lost to Tom Okker. Graebner was ranked the U.S. No. 3 player by the USTA for 1971.[13]

1972

In the 1972 Rothmans International Tennis Tournament at the Royal Albert Hall in London, England, Graebner defeated Năstase in the semifinal, but lost the final to Richey.[15] Graebner and Năstase had a confrontation about court manners during the first set of the semifinal.[16] Graebner won the Long Island Indoor title in April defeating Roscoe Tanner in the final. At Wimbledon that year, Graebner lost his second round match to Nastase in four sets, Nastase proceeding to a classic Wimbledon final against Smith. In the U.S. Championships, Graebner defeated Adriano Panatta in the first round in four sets, but lost to Smith in the second round in four sets.

1973

Graebner won his final ITF tournament at the Des Moines Open International Indoor defeating Nicholas Kalogeropoulos in the final. He defeated the world No. 1 Năstase in the semifinal of the Charleston International ITF tournament in a close match after losing the first set. He then lost the final to Jürgen Fassbender. Graebner also defeated Năstase at Paramus, N.J.in the semifinal, but lost the final to Jimmy Connors. At the U.S. Championships Graebner lost in the first round to Geoff Masters.

1974

At the U.S. Championships at Forest Hills N.Y., Graebner won his first round match against Torben Ulrich and rallied from two sets to one down to defeat Antonio Muñoz in the second round in five sets. He lost in the third round to Ray Moore.

Doubles

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Graebner's most significant doubles title was undoubtedly his Grand Slam victory of the men's doubles title at the 1966 French Championships, where he and Ralston beat Țiriac and Năstase in the final. Graebner won 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.

Assessment

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Graebner was considered to be one of the fastest servers of his time, and was a powerful hitter with relatively flat groundstrokes.

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.[17]

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

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Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 SR
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 3R 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

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Singles: 20 (12 wins, 8 losses)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 1965 Victorian Championships
Kooyong Stadium, Australia
grass Australia Roy Emerson 8–6, 7–5, 2–6, 1–6, 6–1
Win 2. 1966 Merion, U.S. grass United States Stan Smith 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1. 1967 U.S. National Championships, Forest Hills, N.Y. grass Australia John Newcombe 4–6, 4–6, 6–8
Win 5. 1968 U.S. Clay Court Championships, Milwaukee, U.S. Clay United States Stan Smith 6–3, 7–5, 6–0
Win 6. 1969 Richmond WCT, Richmond, U.S. Indoor Brazil Thomaz Koch 6–3, 10–12, 9-7
Win 7. 1969 New York City Indoor
New York City, U.S.
Indoor United States Charlie Pasarell 6–2, 6–2
Win 8. 1969 U.S. Hard Court Championships, Sacramento, U.S. Hard United States Erik Van Dillen 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 6–0, 7-5
Win 9. 1969 Southampton Invitation, Southampton, U.S. Grass United States Bob Lutz 6–2, 6–2, 6–4
Win 10. 1970 Houston, U.S. Clay United States Cliff Richey 2–6, 6–3, 5–7, 6–3, 6-2
Loss 2. 1971 New York City Indoor
New York City, U.S.
Indoor Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović 2–6, 7–5, 4–6
Win 11. 1971 U.S. Indoor Championships, Salisbury, U.S. Indoor (i) United States Cliff Richey 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 7–6, 6–0
Loss 3. 1971 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase 5–7, 4–6, 6–7
Loss 4. 1971 Houston, U.S. Clay United States Cliff Richey 1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win 12. 1971 Merion, U.S. Hard United States Dick Stockton 6–2, 6–4, 6–7, 7–5
Win 13. 1971 South Orange, U.S. Grass France Pierre Barthès 6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 5. 1972 Royal Albert Hall Indoor, England Hard (i) United States Cliff Richey 5–7, 7–6, 5–7, 0–6
Loss 6. 1972 Jacksonville, U.S. Hard (i) United States Jimmy Connors 5–7, 4–6
Win 14. 1973 Des Moines, U.S. Hard (i) Greece Nicholas Kalogeropoulos 7–5, 4–6, 6–4
Loss 7. 1973 Paramus, New Jersey, U.S. Hard (i) United States Jimmy Connors 1–6, 2–6
Loss 8. 1974 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet United States Sandy Mayer 2–6, 1–6

Doubles finals: 22 (11 wins, 11 losses)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 2. 1966 French Championships, Roland Garros clay United States Dennis Ralston Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Win 1. 1969 U.S. National Clay Court Championships
Indianapolis, U.S.
Clay Australia Bill Bowrey Australia Dick Crealy
Australia Allan Stone
6–4, 4–6, 6–4
Win 2. 1970 U.S. National Clay Court Championships Indianapolis, U.S. Clay United States Arthur Ashe Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 1. 1971 U.S. National Indoor Championships
Salisbury, U.S.
Hard (i) Brazil Thomaz Koch Spain Juan Gisbert Sr.
Spain Manuel Orantes
3–6, 6–4, 6–7
Win 3. 1971 Macon, U.S. Hard Brazil Thomaz Koch Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
6–3, 7–6
Loss 2. 1971 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Brazil Thomaz Koch Romania Ilie Năstase
Romania Ion Țiriac
4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 3. 1971 U.S. National Clay Court Championships
Indianapolis, U.S.
Clay United States Erik van Dillen Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
6–7, 7–5, 3–6
Win 4. 1971 Merion, U.S. Hard United States Jim Osborne United States Robert McKinley
United States Dick Stockton
7–6, 6–3
Loss 4. 1971 South Orange, U.S. Hard United States Erik van Dillen Australia Bob Carmichael
United States Tom Leonard
4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 5. 1971 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Frank Froehling Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
6–7, 4–6
Loss 6. 1972 Washington, U.S. Carpet Brazil Thomaz Koch United States Tom Edlefsen
United States Cliff Richey
4–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 1972 Bristol, England Grass Australia Lew Hoad South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
3–6, 2–6
Win 5. 1973 Baltimore, U.S. Hard (i) United States Jimmy Connors United States Paul Gerken
United States Sandy Mayer
3–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 8. 1973 Birmingham, U.S. Hard Romania Ion Țiriac South Africa Pat Cramer
West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
4–6, 5–7
Win 6. 1973 U.S. National Indoor Championships
Salisbury, U.S.
Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
Spain Juan Gisbert Sr.
2–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win 7. 1973 Hampton, U.S. Hard (i) Romania Ilie Năstase United States Jimmy Connors
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–2, 6–1
Loss 9. 1973 Louisville, U.S. Clay Australia John Newcombe Spain Manuel Orantes
Romania Ion Țiriac
6–0, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 10. 1974 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet Australia Owen Davidson West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Karl Meiler
6–7, 5–7
Loss 11. 1974 St. Petersburg WCT, U.S. Hard United States Charlie Pasarell Australia Owen Davidson
Australia John Newcombe
6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 8. 1974 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard United States Charlie Pasarell Australia Roy Emerson
United States Dennis Ralston
6–4, 6–7, 7–5
Win 9. 1975 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard Spain Juan Gisbert Sr. West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
Spain Juan Gisbert Sr.
6–2, 6–1
Win 10. 1976 Boca Raton, U.S. Hard United States Vitas Gerulaitis United States Bruce Manson
United States Butch Walts
6–2, 6–4

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Martini and Rossi"The Baltimore Sun, 12 September 1967". newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Levels of the Game—I". New Yorker. New York. May 31, 1969. Retrieved August 26, 2024.
  3. ^ John McPhee (June 5, 2014). Levels of the Game. Aurum Press. p. 14. ISBN 978-1-78131-313-8.
  4. ^ "ENGAGEMENTS; Kendall L. Losee, Clark Graebner Jr". The New York Times. April 11, 1993. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  5. ^ Finn, Robin (November 21, 2008). "Carole Caldwell Graebner, Tennis Star, Dies at 65". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  6. ^ McCauley, World Tennis. McCauley, Joseph (December 1966). "World Rankings". World Tennis. Vol. 14, no. 7. New York. pp. 15, 20.
  7. ^ a b c d "Men's and Women's Year-End Top-10". www.usta.com. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  8. ^ "The Buffalo Tennis & Squash Club – Tennis Professional". ITA #WeAreCollegeTennis. February 20, 2023. Retrieved March 6, 2024.
  9. ^ "U. S. Open 1967". www.tennis.co.nf. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved October 7, 2017.
  10. ^ Martini and Rossi"The Baltimore Sun, 12 September 1967". newspapers.com.
  11. ^ World of tennis, 1990. London: Collins Willow. 1990. ISBN 978-0-00-218355-0.
  12. ^ "Around The World". World Tennis. Vol. 17, no. 6. New York. November 1969. p. 57.
  13. ^ a b "Top 10 US Men's and Women's Rankings". Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  14. ^ Anderson, Dave (February 22, 1971). "Graebner Beats Richey in 6‐Set U.S.Indoor Tennis Final". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  15. ^ "Draws | ATP Tour | Tennis". ATP Tour. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  16. ^ "NASTASE DEFAULTS AGAINST GRAEBNER IN SHOUTING MATCH". The New York Times. January 22, 1972. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 16, 2024.
  17. ^ Set W/L% - Slams - Career

Further reading

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  • 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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