John Newcombe

John David Newcombe is an Australian former professional tennis player, born on 23 May 1944, who held the world number one ranking in both men's singles and men's doubles. He won 26 major titles in all: seven in singles, a then-record 17 in men's doubles and two in mixed doubles. He was Australian junior champion from 1961 to 1963 and joined Australia's Davis Cup winning team in 1964, and he contributed to five Davis Cup titles at a time when that event was considered as significant as the majors. His first Grand Slam singles title came at Wimbledon in 1967, followed by the US Championships the same year, and he lost the 1969 Wimbledon final to Rod Laver before beating Ken Rosewall in the 1970 final. In 1968 he signed with Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis as one of the Handsome Eight.