Top 21 Men's Tennis Players of the 1970s

Wooden rackets, long hair and a tour that was still inventing itself. A few champions here owned the decade; others owned a single glorious summer.

1. 1
   Jimmy Connors

   American who won three majors in 1974 and held the No. 1 ranking for 160 straight weeks.
   1000pts
2. 2
   Arthur Ashe

   American who beat Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final with a tactical masterclass.
   1000pts
3. 3
   Ilie Năstase

   Romanian showman, the first official ATP world No. 1 and 1972 US Open champion.
   862pts
4. 4
   Björn Borg

   Swede who won four French Opens and four Wimbledons during the decade.
   862pts
5. 5
   John Newcombe

   Australian with the famous moustache who won Wimbledon in 1970 and 1971 and two more majors later in the decade.
   764pts
6. 6
   Vitas Gerulaitis

   Flamboyant New Yorker who won the 1977 Australian Open and lived the Studio 54 life.
   647pts
7. 7
   Jan Kodeš

   Czech who won two French Opens and the boycotted 1973 Wimbledon.
   647pts
8. 8
   Roscoe Tanner

   American with one of the fastest serves of his era, 1977 Australian Open champion.
   647pts
9. 9
   Stan Smith

   American who won the 1971 US Open and 1972 Wimbledon, better known today for his shoe.
   503pts
10. 10
    Rod Laver

    Australian great who opened the decade as world No. 1 fresh from his 1969 Grand Slam.
    503pts
11. 11
    Manuel Orantes

    Spanish left-hander who beat Connors in the 1975 US Open final on clay.
    503pts
12. 12
    John McEnroe

    New Yorker who reached the Wimbledon semifinals as an 18-year-old qualifier and won the 1979 US Open.
    0pts
13. 13
    Guillermo Vilas

    Argentine left-hander who won the French and US Opens in 1977 and a 46-match winning streak.
    0pts
14. 14
    Ken Rosewall

    Ageless Australian who won majors in 1970, 1971 and 1972 and reached Wimbledon and US finals at 39.
    0pts
15. 15
    Adriano Panatta

    Italian who won the 1976 French Open and led Italy to the Davis Cup that year.
    0pts
16. 16
    Tom Okker

    Dutch 'Flying Dutchman' whose speed and topspin kept him in the world top five through the early 1970s, with dozens of singles titles.
17. 17
    Eddie Dibbs

    Tenacious American baseliner who ranked in the world top ten from 1976 to 1978, reaching No. 5, and won 22 career singles titles.
18. 18
    Andrés Gimeno

    Spanish stylist who won the 1972 French Open at 34, still the oldest first-time men's Grand Slam champion of the Open Era.
19. 19
    Wojtek Fibak

    Polish all-rounder who reached the 1976 Masters final and the world top ten in 1977 while also winning the Australian Open doubles.
20. 20
    Corrado Barazzutti

    Italian clay-courter who reached the 1978 French Open semi-finals, climbed to No. 7 and helped Italy win the 1976 Davis Cup.
21. 21
    Cliff Richey

    Texan battler who finished 1970 as the American No. 1 after winning the inaugural Grand Prix points race and reaching the US Open semi-finals.

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