1978 Grand Prix (tennis)
| Details | |
|---|---|
| Duration | 9 January 1978 – 24 December 1978 | 
| Edition | 9th | 
| Tournaments | 84 | 
| Categories | Grand Slam (4) Grand Prix (71) World Championship Tennis (8) Team Events (1) | 
| Achievements (singles) | |
| Most titles |  Jimmy Connors (10) | 
| Most finals |  Jimmy Connors (12) | 
| Prize money leader |  Eddie Dibbs ($575,273) | 
| Points leader |  Jimmy Connors (2,030) | 
| Awards | |
| Player of the year |  Björn Borg | 
| Newcomer of the year |  John McEnroe | 
| ← 1977  1979 →  | |
The 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix was a professional tennis circuit held that year. It consisted of four Grand Slam tournaments, the Grand Prix tournaments and the Nations Cup, a team event. In addition eight World Championship Tennis (WCT) tournaments, a separate professional tennis circuit held from 1971 through 1977, were incorporated into the Grand Prix circuit. The 28 tournaments with prize money of $175,000 or more formed the Super Series category.[1][2][3] Jimmy Connors won 10 of the 84 tournaments which secured him the first place in the Grand Prix points ranking. However he did not play enough tournaments (13) to qualify for largest share ($300,000) of the bonus pool, which instead went to third–ranked Eddie Dibbs.[4]
Schedule
The table below shows the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix schedule (a forerunner to the ATP Tour).
- Key
| Grand Slam tournaments | 
| Tour finals | 
| Super Series | 
| Regular Series | 
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec | WCT Challenge Cup Montego Bay, Jamaica Hard – 8S | .svg.png) Ilie Năstase 2–6, 5–6, 6–2, 6–4, 6–4 |  Peter Fleming |  Raúl Ramírez  Björn Borg | Round robin  John McEnroe  Dick Stockton  Harold Solomon  Roscoe Tanner | 
| 18 Dec | New South Wales Open Sydney, Australia Grass – $100,000 – 64S/32D |  Tim Wilkison 6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 6–2 | .svg.png) Kim Warwick |  Sherwood Stewart .svg.png) John Alexander |  Guillermo Vilas .svg.png) Paul Kronk .svg.png) Allan Stone .svg.png) Bernard Mitton | 
|  Hank Pfister  Sherwood Stewart 6–4, 6–4 | .svg.png) Syd Ball .svg.png) Bob Carmichael | ||||
| 25 Dec | Australian Open Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Grass Singles – Doubles |  Guillermo Vilas 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 | .svg.png) John Marks |  Hank Pfister  Arthur Ashe | .svg.png) Tony Roche .svg.png) Paul Kronk  Peter Feigl .svg.png) John Alexander | 
|  Wojciech Fibak .svg.png) Kim Warwick 7–6, 7–5 | .svg.png) Paul Kronk .svg.png) Cliff Letcher | 
January 1979
| Week | Tournament | Champions | Runners-up | Semifinalists | Quarterfinalists | 
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 Jan | Colgate-Palmolive Masters New York City, US Carpet (i) – $400,000 – 8S/4D Singles – Doubles |  John McEnroe 6–7, 6–3, 7–5 |  Arthur Ashe |  Brian Gottfried  Eddie Dibbs |  Jimmy Connors  Harold Solomon  Raúl Ramírez  Corrado Barazutti | 
|  Peter Fleming  John McEnroe 6–4, 6–2, 6–4 |  Wojciech Fibak  Tom Okker | 
Points system
The tournaments of the 1978 Grand Prix circuit were divided into nine point categories. The highest points were allocated to the Grand Slam tournaments; French Open, the Wimbledon Championships, the US Open and the Australian Open. The eight WCT events were part of the $175,000-plus "Super Series" category.[3] Points were allocated based on these categories and the finishing position of a player in a tournament. The points table is based on a 32 player draw. No points were awarded to first-round losers and advancements by default were equal to winning a round.[5] The points allocation, with doubles points listed in brackets, is as follows:
| Grand Slam | $250,000+ | $225,000+ | $200,000+ | $175,000+ | $125,000+ | $100,000+ | $75,000+ | $50,000+ | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winner | 300 (60) | 250 (50) | 225 (45) | 200 (40) | 175 (35) | 125 (25) | 100 (20) | 75 (15) | 50 (10) | 
| Runner-up | 210 (42) | 175 (35) | 157 (31) | 140 (28) | 122 (24) | 87 (17) | 70 (14) | 52 (10) | 35 (7) | 
| Semifinalist | 120 (24) | 100 (20) | 90 (18) | 80 (16) | 70 (14) | 50 (10) | 40 (8) | 30 (6) | 20 (4) | 
| Quarterfinalist | 60 (12) | 50 (10) | 45 (9) | 40 (8) | 35 (7) | 25 (5) | 20 (4) | 15 (3) | 10 (2) | 
| Fourth round | 30 (6) | 25 (5) | 22 (5) | 20 (4) | 17 (3) | 12 (2) | 10 (2) | 7 (–) | 5 (–) | 
| Third round | 15 (–) | 12 (–) | 11 (–) | 10 (–) | 9 (–) | 6 (–) | 5 (–) | – (–) | – (–) | 
| Second round | 7 (–) | 6 (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | – (–) | 
ATP rankings
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*The official ATP year-end rankings were listed from January 3rd, 1979.
List of tournament winners
The list of winners and number of singles titles won, alphabetically by last name:
 Vijay Amritraj (1) Mexico City Vijay Amritraj (1) Mexico City
 Arthur Ashe (3) San Jose, Columbus, Los Angeles Arthur Ashe (3) San Jose, Columbus, Los Angeles
 Björn Borg (9) Birmingham WCT, Boca Raton, Las Vegas, Milan WCT, Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, Båstad, Tokyo Indoor Björn Borg (9) Birmingham WCT, Boca Raton, Las Vegas, Milan WCT, Rome, French Open, Wimbledon, Båstad, Tokyo Indoor
 José Luis Clerc (3) Florence, Buenos Aires, Santiago José Luis Clerc (3) Florence, Buenos Aires, Santiago
 Jimmy Connors (10) Philadelphia, Denver, Memphis, Rotterdam WCT, Birmingham, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Stowe, US Open, Sydney Indoor Jimmy Connors (10) Philadelphia, Denver, Memphis, Rotterdam WCT, Birmingham, Washington, D.C., Indianapolis, Stowe, US Open, Sydney Indoor
 Eddie Dibbs (4) Tulsa, Cincinnati, North Conway, Toronto Eddie Dibbs (4) Tulsa, Cincinnati, North Conway, Toronto
.svg.png) Cliff Drysdale (1) Baltimore Cliff Drysdale (1) Baltimore
.svg.png) Mark Edmondson (1) Brisbane Mark Edmondson (1) Brisbane
 Peter Feigl (1) Cleveland Peter Feigl (1) Cleveland
 Wojciech Fibak (1) Cologne Wojciech Fibak (1) Cologne
 Peter Fleming (1) Bologna Peter Fleming (1) Bologna
 Vitas Gerulaitis (3) Richmond WCT, Dallas WCT, Forest Hills WCT Vitas Gerulaitis (3) Richmond WCT, Dallas WCT, Forest Hills WCT
 Brian Gottfried (3) Washington Indoor, Dayton, Houston Brian Gottfried (3) Washington Indoor, Dayton, Houston
 Tim Gullikson (1) Johannesburg Tim Gullikson (1) Johannesburg
.svg.png) Heinz Günthardt (1) Springfield Heinz Günthardt (1) Springfield
.svg.png) José Higueras (4) Cairo, Nice, Bournemouth, Madrid José Higueras (4) Cairo, Nice, Bournemouth, Madrid
 Kjell Johansson (1) Nigeria Kjell Johansson (1) Nigeria
 Chris Lewis (1) Kitzbühel Chris Lewis (1) Kitzbühel
 Robert Lutz (1) Bercy Robert Lutz (1) Bercy
 Gene Mayer (1) Guadalajara Gene Mayer (1) Guadalajara
 Sandy Mayer (1) St. Louis WCT Sandy Mayer (1) St. Louis WCT
 John McEnroe (4) Hartford, San Francisco, Stockholm, Wembley John McEnroe (4) Hartford, San Francisco, Stockholm, Wembley
.svg.png) Bernard Mitton (1) Newport Bernard Mitton (1) Newport
.svg.png) Ilie Năstase (2) Miami, WCT Challenge Cup Ilie Năstase (2) Miami, WCT Challenge Cup
 Yannick Noah (2) Manila, Calcutta Yannick Noah (2) Manila, Calcutta
.svg.png) Manuel Orantes (1) Boston Manuel Orantes (1) Boston
 Adriano Panatta (1) Tokyo Outdoor Adriano Panatta (1) Tokyo Outdoor
 Víctor Pecci (1) Bogotá Víctor Pecci (1) Bogotá
 Ulrich Pinner (1) Stuttgart Outdoor Ulrich Pinner (1) Stuttgart Outdoor
 Raúl Ramírez (2) Mexico City WCT, Monte Carlo WCT Raúl Ramírez (2) Mexico City WCT, Monte Carlo WCT
 Cliff Richey (1) Johannesburg Cliff Richey (1) Johannesburg
.svg.png) Tony Roche (1) Queen's Club Tony Roche (1) Queen's Club
 Bill Scanlon (1) Maui Bill Scanlon (1) Maui
 Tomáš Šmíd (1) Sarasota Tomáš Šmíd (1) Sarasota
 Stan Smith (2) Atlanta, Vienna Stan Smith (2) Atlanta, Vienna
 Harold Solomon (2) Las Vegas, Louisville Harold Solomon (2) Las Vegas, Louisville
 Dick Stockton (1) Little Rock Dick Stockton (1) Little Rock
 Roscoe Tanner (2) Palm Springs, New Orleans Roscoe Tanner (2) Palm Springs, New Orleans
 Balázs Taróczy (2) Hilversum, Barcelona Balázs Taróczy (2) Hilversum, Barcelona
 Brian Teacher (1) Taiwan Brian Teacher (1) Taiwan
 Eliot Teltscher (1) Hong Kong Eliot Teltscher (1) Hong Kong
 Guillermo Vilas (7) Hamburg, Munich, Gstaad, South Orange, Aix-en-Provence, Basel, Australian Open Guillermo Vilas (7) Hamburg, Munich, Gstaad, South Orange, Aix-en-Provence, Basel, Australian Open
 Tim Wilkison (1) Sydney Outdoor Tim Wilkison (1) Sydney Outdoor
 Vladimír Zedník (1) Berlin Vladimír Zedník (1) Berlin
 Werner Zirngibl (1) Brussels Werner Zirngibl (1) Brussels
The following players won their first title in 1978:
 José Luis Clerc Florence José Luis Clerc Florence
 Peter Feigl Cleveland Peter Feigl Cleveland
 Peter Fleming Bologna Peter Fleming Bologna
.svg.png) Heinz Günthardt Springfield Heinz Günthardt Springfield
 Kjell Johansson Nigeria Kjell Johansson Nigeria
 Gene Mayer Guadalajara Gene Mayer Guadalajara
 John McEnroe Hartford John McEnroe Hartford
.svg.png) Bernard Mitton Newport Bernard Mitton Newport
 Yannick Noah Manila Yannick Noah Manila
 Ulrich Pinner Stuttgart Outdoor Ulrich Pinner Stuttgart Outdoor
 Tomáš Šmíd Sarasota Tomáš Šmíd Sarasota
 Eliot Teltscher Hong Kong Eliot Teltscher Hong Kong
 Tim Wilkison Sydney Outdoor Tim Wilkison Sydney Outdoor
See also
- 1978 WTA Tour – women's circuit
References
- ^ Neil Amdur (25 March 1977). "Tennis finds unity at last". Star-News. p. 5C – via Google News Archive.
- ^ "Tennis Merger Afoot". The Victoria Advocate. AP. 24 March 1977. p. 3B – via Google News Archive.
- ^ a b Barry Lorge (13 April 1978). "Peace still eludes men's pro tennis". The Washington Post.
- ^ John Barrett, ed. (1979). World of Tennis 1979. London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 23–31. ISBN 978-0354090681.
- ^ John Barrett, ed. (1979). World of Tennis 1979 : a BP yearbook. London: Macdonald and Jane's. p. 26. ISBN 978-0354090681.
- ^ "ATP Year-end top 20". ATP. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
Further reading
- Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book (2nd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. ISBN 978-0-942257-70-0.



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