Allan Stone

Allan Stone
Full nameAllan James Stone
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceVictoria, Australia
Born (1945-10-14) 14 October 1945 (age 79)
Launceston, Australia
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1963)
Retired1978
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record165–197 (Open era)
Career titles11
Highest rankingNo. 36 (21 October 1975)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1972)
French Open3R (1968, 1969, 1970)
Wimbledon3R (1977, 1978)
US Open4R (1973)
Doubles
Career record396-356
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 12 (23 August 1977)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1968, 1977)
French OpenSF (1970)
WimbledonF (1975)
US OpenSF (1976)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenF (1968)
WimbledonF (1975)

Allan Stone (born 14 October 1945) is a former tennis player from Australia. He played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s.[1] He was ranked as high as world No. 36 in singles and world No. 12 in doubles on the ATP rankings.[2]

After his playing career, Stone became a sports commentator.

Singles

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In singles, he was finalist at the 1969 Cincinnati.,[3] losing the final to Cliff Richey.

In 1970, he won the Western Australian Championships in Perth defeating Tom Gorman, Richard Russell, and Phil Dent in the final.

In 1971, he won the Washington Open defeating Eddie Dibbs in the final.

In 1972, he made the semifinal of the Australian Open singles, where he was defeated by that year's champion, Ken Rosewall.

Stone was selected to play Davis Cup for Australia and participated in five Davis Cup ties. His Davis Cup win-loss record is 6–0.[4]

Doubles

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Stone found the majority of his success on the doubles court. He won 15 doubles titles during his career, including the Australian Open in 1977 and the Australian Championships (the predecessor to the Australian Open) in 1968. He made the doubles final at Wimbledon in 1975 alongside Colin Dowdeswell and won the US National Doubles Championship in 1969 with Dick Crealy.

1969 US Open

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

The era of Open Tennis commenced in 1968, and at that time Boston was the home of the U.S. 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.

In 1971, the USTA and Association of Tennis Professionals decided to combine the winners of both tournaments to make the Grand Slam tournament.[5] 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."

Personal

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Born in Launceston, Tasmania, Stone moved to Victoria at a young age and played amateur tennis for the Warburton Tennis Club where he was coached by Mary Morton.

He attended Caulfield Grammar School and completed a Commerce Degree at the University of Melbourne.[6]

Career finals

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Doubles (15 titles, 19 runner-ups)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1968 Australian Championships, Melbourne Grass Australia Dick Crealy Australia Terry Addison
Australia Ray Keldie
10–8, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 1. 1968 Rome, Italy Clay Greece Nicholas Kalogeropoulos Netherlands Tom Okker
United States Marty Riessen
3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 2. 1969 US Doubles Championships, Boston Grass Australia Dick Crealy Australia Bill Bowrey
United States Charlie Pasarell
9–11, 6–3, 7–5
Win 3. 1969 Victorian Open, Australia Grass Australia Dick Crealy Australia Ray Ruffels
Australia Bill Bowrey
9–7, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 2. 1969 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Australia Dick Crealy Australia Bill Bowrey
United States Clark Graebner
4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 4. 1970 Båstad, Sweden Clay Australia Dick Crealy Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
6–2, 2–6, 12–12, ret.
Loss 3. 1971 Hamburg, Germany Clay Australia Dick Crealy Australia John Alexander
Spain Andrés Gimeno
4–6, 5–7, 9–7, 4–6
Loss 4. 1972 Vancouver WCT, Canada Outdoor South Africa Cliff Drysdale Australia Bill Bowrey
United States Clark Graebner
6–7, 0–6
Win 5. 1973 Auckland, New Zealand Grass Australia Brian Fairlie Australia Dick Crealy

Australia Bob Carmichel

Loss 5. 1973 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Pilić Australia Roy Emerson
Australia Rod Laver
7–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 6. 1973 Munich WCT, Germany Carpet Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Pilić South Africa Cliff Drysdale
United States Cliff Richey
7–5, 5–7, 6–4
Loss 6. 1973 Johannesburg WCT, South Africa Hard South Africa Frew McMillan United States Bob Lutz
United States Stan Smith
1–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 7. 1973 Gothenburg WCT, Sweden Carpet Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Pilić Australia Roy Emerson
Australia Rod Laver
7–6, 4–6, 1–6
Win 7. 1973 Dutch Open, Netherlands Grass Colombia Ivan Molina Spain Antonio Munoz
Spain Andres Gimeno
4-6, 7–6, 6-4
Win 8. 1973 Merion, U.S. Grass Australia Colin Dibley United States John Austin
United States Fred McNair
7–6, 6–3
Loss 8. 1973 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard Australia Colin Dibley Australia Mal Anderson
Australia Ken Rosewall
5–7, 5–7
Loss 9. 1973 Djakarta, Indonesia Hard Australia John Newcombe United States Mike Estep
Australia Ian Fletcher
5–7, 4–6
Win 9. 1974 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Pilić Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
6–3, 3–6, 7–6
Win 10. 1974 Melbourne, Australia Grass United States Raz Reid United States Mike Estep
Australia Paul Kronk
7–6, 6–4
Loss 10. 1975 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Australia Bob Carmichael Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
3–6, 6–7
Win 11. 1975 Dayton Indoor, U.S. Carpet Australia Ray Ruffels United States Paul Gerken
United States Brian Gottfried
7–6, 7–5
Loss 11. 1975 Denver WCT, U.S. Carpet Australia Bob Carmichael Australia Roy Emerson
Australia Rod Laver
2–6, 6–3, 5–7
Loss 12. 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass Rhodesia Colin Dowdeswell United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States Sandy Mayer
5–7, 6–8, 4–6
Loss 13. 1975 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet Australia Kim Warwick United States Fred McNair
United States Sherwood Stewart
2–6, 6–7
Loss 14. 1976 São Paulo WCT, Brazil Carpet United States Charlie Pasarell Australia Ross Case
Australia Geoff Masters
5–7, 1–6
Loss 15. 1976 Houston WCT, U.S. Clay United States Charlie Pasarell Australia Rod Laver
Australia Ken Rosewall
4–6, 2–6
Win 12. 1976 US Pro Championships, U.S. Clay Australia Ray Ruffels United States Mike Cahill
United States John Whitlinger
3–6, 6–3, 7–6
Loss 16. 1976 Woodlands Doubles, U.S. Hard Australia Phil Dent United States Brian Gottfried
Mexico Raúl Ramírez
1–6, 4–6, 7–5, 6–7
Win 13. 1976 Maui, U.S. Hard South Africa Raymond Moore United States Dick Stockton
United States Roscoe Tanner
6–7, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 17. 1977 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Australia Ray Ruffels South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
4–6, 2–6
Win 14. 1977 Perth, Australia Hard Australia Ray Ruffels United States Nick Saviano
United States John Whitlinger
6–2, 6–1
Loss 18. 1977 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass Australia Ray Ruffels Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
6–7, 6–2, 3–6
Win 15. 1977 Australian Open-2, Melbourne Grass Australia Ray Ruffels Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
7–6, 7–6
Loss 19. 1978 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Syd Ball Australia John Alexander
Australia Phil Dent
3–6, 6–7

[3]

Singles (3 titles, 6 runner-ups)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1. 1967 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Loss 1. 1968 Adelaide, Australia Grass Australia Bill Bowrey 4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 4–6
Win 2. 1968 Nairobi, Kenya Clay Spain Juan Manuel Couder 6–3, 7–5
Loss 2. 1969 Cincinnati Open, U.S. Clay United States Cliff Richey 1–6, 2–6
Win 3. 1969 Connaught, London Clay Australia John Cooper 6–4, 6–2
Loss 3. 1969 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Ray Ruffels 6-8, 6–4, 3–6, 3-6
Loss 4. 1971 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Australia Bob Carmichael 6–7, 6–7, 3–6
Loss 5. 1975 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet United States Brian Gottfried 6–3, 2–6, 3–6
Loss 6. 1975 La Costa WCT, U.S. Hard Australia Rod Laver 2–6, 2–6

Post-playing career

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Stone is a sports commentator.[6] He is one of the longest-serving television commentators on the Australian Open, first joining Seven Sport broadcasts in the 1970s and providing analysis alongside fellow legendary commentators Mike Williamson, Garry Wilkinson and Peter Landy.[citation needed]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Profiles: Allan Stone". Archived from the original on 11 October 2009. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  2. ^ "Allan Stone Profile". Archived from the original on 10 February 2010. Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Allan Stone Career Titles". Retrieved 29 January 2010.
  4. ^ "Davis Cup - Players". www.daviscup.com. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  5. ^ "U.S. Open | History, Winners, & Facts | Britannica".
  6. ^ a b "Player profile – Allan Stone". Tennis Australia.
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