Dick Crealy

Dick Crealy
Full nameRichard D. Crealy
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceSydney, Australia
Born (1944-09-18) 18 September 1944
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

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

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.

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.

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."

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)

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

Doubles (2 titles)

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

Mixed Doubles (1 title)

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

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

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

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

Singles (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

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 Arthur Ashe 4–6, 7–9, 2–6
Win 1–1 Jul 1970 Båstad, Sweden Clay Georges Goven 6–3, 6–1, 6–1
Loss 1–2 Jul 1972 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Colin Dibley 1–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 2–2 Mar 1975 Nice, France Clay Iván Molina 7–6, 6–4, 6–3

Doubles (8 titles, 12 runner-ups)

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

References

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