Cliff Drysdale

Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis commentator.

Life and career Born Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale in Nelspruit (today known as Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa) on May 26, 1941 and completed his high school at Grey High School, Port Elizabeth.

Drysdale won the singles title at the Dutch Open in 1963 and 1964. In 1965, he reached the singles final of the 1965 U. S. Championships and he won the singles title at the German Championships. He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. During his Open-era career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles, including the 1972 US Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor. He was a pioneer of the two-handed backhand shot, which he used to great effect during his playing career.

Drysdale was included among the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis group. He became president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), an association that Drysdale had formed in 1972 with Jack Kramer and Donald Dell.

Following retirement, Drysdale became a naturalized American citizen. He was a tennis commentator for ESPN from the network's inception in 1979. Following the retirement of Bob Ley in 2019, Drysdale became the longest serving commentator at ESPN. He commentated on his last match for ESPN at the US Open on September 4, 2025, calling the semi-final match between Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula. ESPN did an extensive tribute to his career that aired during his last match. In 1998, the USTA awarded Drysdale the William M. Johnston award for his contribution to men's tennis. In 2013, he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Grand Slam finals Singles: (1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1965U.S. Championships Grass Manuel Santana 2–6, 9–7, 5–7, 1–6

Doubles: (1 title)

Grand Prix Championship Series finals Singles: 2 (2 runner-ups) ResultYearTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1971 Boston WCT Hard Ken Rosewall 4–6, 3–6, 0–6Loss 1972 Las Vegas Hard John Newcombe 3–6, 4–6

Open Era finals Singles (5 titles) ResultNo. DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1. Jul 1968 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Tom Okker 6–3, 6–3, 6–0Win 2. Apr 1971 Miami WCT, U. S. Hard Rod Laver 6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4Win 3. May 1971 Brussels, Belgium Clay Ilie Năstase 6–0, 6–1, 7–5Win 4. Mar 1974 Miami WCT (2) Hard Tom Gorman 6–4, 7–5Win 5. Jan 1978 Baltimore, U. S. Carpet (i) Tom Gorman 7–5, 6–3

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

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