Dick Crealy

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Dick Crealy
Full nameRichard D. Crealy
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceSydney, Australia
Born (1944-09-18) 18 September 1944 (age 79)
Sydney, Australia
Turned pro1969 (amateur tour from 1963)
Retired1981
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record274–277 (Open era)
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 21 (7 September 1970)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1970)
French Open4R (1970)
Wimbledon3R (1967, 1969, 1974)
US Open2R (1969, 1973, 1978)
Doubles
Career record262–240 (Open era)
Career titles6
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1968)
French OpenW (1974)
WimbledonSF (1975)
US OpenW (1969)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenW (1968)
French OpenQF (1971, 1974)
US OpenQF (1969)

Richard Crealy (born 18 September 1944) is an Australian former tennis player most notable for reaching the final of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team, and winning four Grand Slam titles in doubles.

Tennis career[edit]

Crealy was born in Sydney in 1944. In 1968 he achieved his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with his fellow countryman and team mate Allan Stone in doubles. He also won the mixed doubles with Billie Jean King.

Crealy won the Men's Doubles at the 1974 French Open with Onny Parun over Stan Smith and Bob Lutz. In 1970, Crealy had his most successful season, reaching No. 5 on the Grand Prix rankings. In this year, he reached the singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost to American player Arthur Ashe, as well as the quarter-finals of the French Open. He also won the Swedish Open in Båstad and represented Australia in the Davis Cup with a 4–2 singles record and 2–0 doubles record. In 1974, he won another Grand Slam Title in doubles, combining with New Zealander Onny Parun in the French Open.

Crealy retired from the ATP Tour in 1978, but continued having success for many years on the Veteran's Tour, playing in many of the "Legends" tournaments at the Australian Open. He also still plays Pro-Ams, often supporting The Starlight Foundation in its annual tournament in Sydney.

Dick Crealy is a Life Member of the Australian Davis Cup Foundation.

1969 US Open[edit]

There is some confusion over the 1969 US Open Championship title, which is held by Crealy and Allan Stone conjointly with Ken Rosewall and Fred Stolle.[citation needed]

The era of Open Tennis commenced in 1968, and at that time Boston was the home of the US National Doubles championship. However, the agents of some contract professionals demanded guaranteed prize money which could not be covered by the tournament. Accordingly, contract professionals boycotted the tournament, with many playing instead at Forest Hills, which was won by Rosewall and Stolle. Crealy and Stone won the Doubles in Boston in 1969 as professionals, defeating Charlie Pasarell and Bill Bowrey.[citation needed]

In 1971, the USTA and Association of Tennis Professionals decided to combine the winners of both tournaments to make the Grand Slam tournament. This was not an issue for the winners of 1968 as both tournaments were won by Smith and Lutz. Crealy and Stone were asked if they would agree to share the 1969 title with Rosewall and Stolle - they readily agreed, especially as the latter were two of the great Australian players and because "tennis was played with much goodwill in those days."[citation needed]

Grand Slam finals[edit]

Singles (1 runner-up)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1970 Australian Open Grass United States Arthur Ashe 4–6, 7–9, 2–6

Doubles (2 titles)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1968 Australian Championships Grass Australia Allan Stone Australia Terry Addison
Australia Ray Keldie
10–8, 6–4, 6–3
Win 1974 French Open Grass New Zealand Onny Parun United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 6–1

Mixed Doubles (1 title)[edit]

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1968 Australian Championships Grass United States Billie Jean King Australia Margaret Court
Australia Allan Stone
walkover

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline[edit]

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[edit]

Tournament 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 SR
Australian Open 2R 2R A 1R 2R QF 2R F 2R QF 1R 3R SF QF 3R 2R 2R A Q3 0 / 16
French Open A A A A 1R 3R 2R 4R 2R 1R 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 13
Wimbledon A A A 1R 3R 2R 3R 2R 1R 2R A 3R 2R 1R 1R 1R A A 0 / 12
US Open A A A A A A 2R 1R A A 2R 1R A 1R A 2R A A 0 / 6
Strike rate 0 / 1 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 47

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

Open era finals[edit]

Singles (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)[edit]

Grand Slam (0–1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
ATP Tour (2–1)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Jan 1970 Australian Open Grass United States Arthur Ashe 4–6, 7–9, 2–6
Win 1–1 Jul 1970 Båstad, Sweden Clay France Georges Goven 6–3, 6–1, 6–1
Loss 1–2 Jul 1972 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Australia Colin Dibley 1–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 2–2 Mar 1975 Nice, France Clay Colombia Iván Molina 7–6, 6–4, 6–3

Doubles (8 titles, 12 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jan 1968 Australian Championships Grass Australia Allan Stone Australia Terry Addison
Australia Ray Keldie
10–8, 6–4, 6–3
Win 2–0 1969 US Amateur Championships Grass Australia Allan Stone Australia Bill Bowrey
United States Charlie Pasarell
9–11, 6–3, 7–5
Win 3–0 Jan 1969 Victorian Open, Australia Grass Australia Allan Stone Australia Ray Ruffels
Australia Bill Bowrey
9–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 3–1 Jul 1969 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Australia Allan Stone Australia Bill Bowrey
United States Clark Graebner
4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 4–1 Jul 1970 Båstad, Sweden Clay Australia Allan Stone Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
6–2, 2–6, 12–12, ret.
Win 5–1 Oct 1970 Phoenix, U.S. Hard Australia Ray Ruffels Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
United States Charlie Pasarell
7–6, 6–3
Loss 5–2 Jul 1973 Washington, D.C., US Clay Rhodesia Andrew Pattison Australia Ross Case
Australia Geoff Masters
6–2, 1–6, 4–6
Win 6–2 Feb 1974 Hempstead WCT, U.S. Hard United States Jeff Borowiak Australia Ross Case
Australia Geoff Masters
6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Win 7–2 Jun 1974 French Open Grass New Zealand Onny Parun United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 6–1
Loss 7–3 Sep 1974 Cedar Grove, U.S. Hard United States Bob Tanis United States Steve Siegel
Australia Kim Warwick
6–4, 2–6, 1–6
Loss 7–4 Nov 1974 Bombay, India Clay New Zealand Onny Parun India Anand Amritraj
India Vijay Amritraj
4–6, 6–7
Win 8–4 Jan 1975 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet (i) Australia Ray Ruffels Egypt Ismail El Shafei
South Africa Frew McMillan
6–4, 6–3
Loss 8–5 May 1975 Bournemouth, UK Clay Australia Syd Ball Spain Juan Gisbert
Spain Manuel Orantes
6–8, 3–6
Loss 8–6 Aug 1975 South Orange, U.S. Clay United Kingdom John Lloyd United States Jimmy Connors
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–7, 5–7
Loss 8–7 Feb 1976 Rome WCT, Italy Carpet (i) South Africa Frew McMillan United States Bob Lutz
United States Stan Smith
7–6, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 8–8 May 1976 Hamburg, West Germany Clay Australia Kim Warwick United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart
6–7, 6–7, 6–7
Loss 8–9 Aug 1977 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Australia Cliff Letcher Chile Patricio Cornejo
Chile Jaime Fillol
7–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 8–10 Sep 1976 Hamilton, Bermuda Clay Australia Ray Ruffels United States Mike Cahill
United States John Whitlinger
4–6, 6–4, 6–7(6–8)
Loss 8–11 Jul 1979 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Italy Tonino Zugarelli Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
2–6, 4–6
Loss 8–12 Jan 1980 Perth, Australia Grass Australia Dale Collings Australia Syd Ball
Australia Cliff Letcher
3–6, 4–6

References[edit]

External links[edit]