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 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 titles22[1]
Highest rankingNo. 12 (3 October 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 two singles titles[2] and three doubles titles spanning both the pre-Open Era and Open Era, reached the quarterfinals at the U.S. National Championships (in 1966), and the final at the event in Cincinnati (in 1977).[3] He also played for 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 No. 1 Jimmy Connors in his debut Grand Slam match at the 1970 US Open. He retired from playing in 1981. After his final title in 1977 it would take another 17 years for a British player to win a top-level tour title (Jeremy Bates at Seoul in 1994). To date he is the last English born male to win a top level UK tournament on grass (Eastbourne in 1973). 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: 36 (22 titles, 14 runner-ups)

Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1963 Manly, Australia Grass Australia Martin Mulligan 2–6, 2–6[9]
Win 1. 1966 Baltimore, U.S. Grass United States Jim McManus 6–3, 6–2, 6–3[9]
Loss 2. 1967 East London, South Africa Clay Netherlands Tom Okker 7–9, 5–7[9]
Win 2. 1968 San Juan, Puerto Rico Hard United States Allen Fox 6–2, 6–1, 4–6, 2–6, 6–2[9]
Open era
Loss 3. 1968 London, England Carpet (i) United States Stan Smith 4–6, 4–6[9]
Win 3. 1968 Eastbourne, England Grass Australia Owen Davidson 6–4, 6–4[9]
Win 4. 1968 Istanbul, Turkey Clay Chile Patricio Rodríguez 6–3, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4[9]
Win 5. 1968 Perth, Scotland Carpet (i) South Africa Bob Hewitt 6–3, 6–4[9]
Win 6. 1969 Bloemfontein, South Africa Hard South Africa Bob Maud 6–2, 7–5[9]
Loss 4. 1968 Buffalo, New York, U.S. Hard (i) United States Clark Graebner 8–6, 9–7, 6–2[9]
Loss 5. 1969 Macon, U.S. Carpet (i) Spain Manuel Orantes 8–10, 5–7, 6–4, 7–9[9]
Loss 6. 1969 Caracas, Venezuela Clay Brazil Thomaz Koch 6–8, 3–6, 6–2, 4–6[9]
Loss 7. 1969 Willemstad, Curaçao Clay United States Cliff Richey 4–6, 3–6, 3–6[9]
Win 7. 1969 Charlotte, U.S. Clay Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš 13–11, 6–2[9]
Win 8. 1969 Stalybridge, England Carpet (i) South Africa Bob Hewitt 6–4, 6–3[9]
Win 9. 1969 Torquay, England Hard (i) United Kingdom John Clifton 8–6, 6–3[9]
Win 10. 1969 London, England Carpet (i) South Africa Bob Hewitt 4–6, 9–7, 6–2[9]
Win 11. 1969 Perth, Scotland Carpet (i) Egypt Ismail El Shafei 3–6, 14–12, 6–1[9]
Win 12. 1970 Hutt Valley, Australia Hard New Zealand Brian Fairlie 6–2, 6-4
Win 13. 1970 Bournemouth, England Clay South Africa Bob Hewitt 6–1, 6–2, 6–3
Win 14. 1972 Macon, U.S. Carpet (i) Australia Roy Emerson 6–3, 6–7, 6–3
Loss 8. 1972 Louisville WCT, U.S. Clay United States Arthur Ashe 4–6, 4–6
Win 15. 1972 Cleveland WCT, U.S. Hard Australia Ray Ruffels 6–3, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 9. 1973 London WCT, England Hard (i) New Zealand Brian Fairlie 6–2, 2–6, 2–6, 6–7
Win 16. 1973 Denver WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Arthur Ashe 6–1, 6–1
Win 17. 1973 Eastbourne, England Grass France Patrice Dominguez 6–2, 2–6, 6–3
Loss 10. 1974 Bologna WCT, Italy Carpet United States Arthur Ashe 4–6, 5–7
Loss 11. 1974 London WCT, England Hard (i) Sweden Björn Borg 7–6, 6–7, 4–6
Win 18. 1975 Washington Indoor WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Dick Stockton 6–2, 7–6
Win 19. 1975 London WCT, England Carpet (i) New Zealand Brian Fairlie 6–1, 7–5
Win 20. 1975 Atlanta WCT, U.S. Carpet (i) Australia John Alexander 6–3, 7–6
Win 21. 1976 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) Spain Manuel Orantes 4–6, 7–5, 7–6
Win 22. 1977 Helsinki, Finland Carpet (i) Sweden Kjell Johansson 6–3, 6–3
Loss 12. 1977 London/Queen's Club, England Grass Mexico Raúl Ramírez 7–9, 5–7
Loss 13. 1977 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay United States Harold Solomon 2–6, 3–6
Loss 14. 1980 Stuttgart, West Germany Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd 1–6, 3–6, 7–5, 6–1, 4–6

Doubles: 11 (3 titles, 8 runner-ups)

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

References

  1. "Mark Cox: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
  2. "Mark Cox: Tournament activity/results". thetennisbase.com. 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, South Carolina). "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. "Mark Cox: Tournament results titles/finals". thetennisbase.com. Tennismem SL. Retrieved 9 November 2017.
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