1977 World Championship Tennis circuit

1977 World Championship Tennis circuit
	Connors reached most finals
Details
Duration	12 January – 10 May
Edition	10th
Tournaments	13
Achievements (singles)
Most tournament titles	Dick Stockton ; Jimmy Connors (3)
Most tournament finals	Jimmy Connors (5)
Points leader	Dick Stockton (520)
	← 1976 1982 →

The 1977 season of the World Championship Tennis (WCT) circuit was one of the two rival professional male tennis circuits of 1977. It was organized by World Championship Tennis (WCT) and consisted of a preliminary series of twelve tournaments leading up to a singles play-off in Dallas and doubles play-off in Kansas City in May. 23 players participated and the season final was played by the eight best performers. It was won by American Jimmy Connors who defeated compatriot Dick Stockton in four sets. The total prize money for the 1977 WCT circuit was $2,400,000.^[1]

Additionally there were three special events that did not count towards the standings; the Aetna World Cup held in Hartford between America and Australia (10–13 March), the $320,000 Challenge Cup in Las Vegas (14–20 November) and the Tournament of Champions held in Lakeway, Texas (10–13 March, 10–13 July) and Madison Square Garden, New York (17 September).^[1]

Borg lawsuit

In February the WCT sued Björn Borg, as well as his management company IMG claiming that Borg had committed a breach of contract by electing to participate in the competing 1977 Grand Prix circuit instead of the WCT circuit. Borg eventually played a single WCT event, the Monte Carlo WCT, and won the tournament.^[2]^[3] As part of the settlement Borg committed to playing six or eight WCT events in 1978 which were then part of the Grand Prix circuit.^[4]

Overview

Date	Tournament	Location	Draw	Prize Money	Surface	Winner	Finalist	Score
12 January	Alabama WCT	Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.	16S / 8D	$175,000	Carpet (i)	Jimmy Connors	Bill Scanlon	6–3, 6–3
24 January	U.S. Pro Indoor	Philadelphia, U.S.	64S / 32D	$200,000	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Jimmy Connors	3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2
31 January	Richmond Tennis Classic	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Tom Okker	Vitas Gerulaitis	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
7 February	Mexico City WCT	Mexico City, Mexico	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Ilie Năstase	Wojciech Fibak	4–6, 6–2, 7–6
15 February	Toronto Indoor WCT	Toronto, Canada	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Jimmy Connors	5–6, ret.
1 March	Monterrey WCT	Monterrey, Mexico	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Wojciech Fibak	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–4, 6–3
16 March	St. Louis WCT	St. Louis, U.S.	16S / 8D	$100,000	Hard (i)	Jimmy Connors	John Alexander	7–6, 6–2
22 March	Rotterdam WCT	Rotterdam, Netherlands	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Dick Stockton	Ilie Năstase	2–6, 6–3, 6–3
28 March	London WCT	London, UK	16S / 8D	$100,000	Carpet (i)	Eddie Dibbs	Vitas Gerulaitis	7–6, 6–7, 6–4
5 April	Monte Carlo WCT	Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, France	16S / 8D	$100,000	Clay	Björn Borg	Corrado Barazzutti	6–3, 7–5, 6–0
11 April	Houston WCT	Houston, U.S.	16S / 8D	$100,000	Har-Tru	Adriano Panatta	Vitas Gerulaitis	7–6, 6–7, 6–1
18 April	Charlotte WCT	Charlotte, North Carolina, U.S.	16S / 8D	$100,000	Har-Tru	Corrado Barazzutti	Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 6–0
4 May	Kansas WCT Doubles Finals	Kansas City, U.S.	8D	$200,000	Carpet (i)	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	Vitas Gerulaitis Adriano Panatta	7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–3
10 May	Dallas WCT Singles Finals	Dallas, Texas, U.S.	8S	$200,000	Carpet (i)	Jimmy Connors	Dick Stockton	6–7, 6–1, 6–4, 6–3

Schedule

The schedule of events on the 1977 WCT circuit, with player progression documented until the quarterfinals stage.^[5]

January

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
12 Jan	Alabama WCT Birmingham, United States	Jimmy Connors 6–3, 6–3	Bill Scanlon	Eddie Dibbs Ray Moore	Cliff Drysdale Sandy Mayer Vitas Gerulaitis Ilie Năstase
12 Jan	Alabama WCT Birmingham, United States	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker 6–3, 6–4	Billy Martin Bill Scanlon	Eddie Dibbs Ray Moore	Cliff Drysdale Sandy Mayer Vitas Gerulaitis Ilie Năstase
24 Jan	U.S. Pro Indoor Philadelphia, United States	Dick Stockton 3–6, 6–4, 3–6, 6–1, 6–2	Jimmy Connors	Jeff Borowiak Cliff Drysdale	Ken Rosewall Vijay Amritraj Bernard Mitton Tony Roche
24 Jan	U.S. Pro Indoor Philadelphia, United States	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan 7–5, 6–3	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker	Jeff Borowiak Cliff Drysdale	Ken Rosewall Vijay Amritraj Bernard Mitton Tony Roche
31 Jan	Richmond WCT Richmond, United States	Tom Okker 3–6, 6–3, 6–4	Vitas Gerulaitis	Corrado Barazzutti Tony Roche	Ross Case Adriano Panatta Manuel Orantes Ilie Năstase
31 Jan	Richmond WCT Richmond, United States	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker 6–4, 6–4	Ross Case Tony Roche	Corrado Barazzutti Tony Roche	Ross Case Adriano Panatta Manuel Orantes Ilie Năstase

February

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
7 Feb	Mexico City WCT Mexico City, Mexico	Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–2, 7–6	Wojciech Fibak	Adriano Panatta Ken Rosewall	Cliff Drysdale Jan Kodeš Vitas Gerulaitis Manuel Orantes
7 Feb	Mexico City WCT Mexico City, Mexico	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker 6–2, 6–3	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta	Adriano Panatta Ken Rosewall	Cliff Drysdale Jan Kodeš Vitas Gerulaitis Manuel Orantes
16 Feb	Toronto Indoor Toronto, Canada	Dick Stockton 5–6 ret.	Jimmy Connors	Eddie Dibbs Tom Okker	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Tony Roche Ross Case
16 Feb	Toronto Indoor Toronto, Canada	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker 6–4, 6–1	Ross Case Tony Roche	Eddie Dibbs Tom Okker	Rod Laver Ken Rosewall Tony Roche Ross Case
28 Feb	Monterrey WCT Monterrey, Mexico	Wojciech Fibak 6–4, 6–3	Vitas Gerulaitis	Cliff Drysdale Bill Scanlon	Manuel Orantes Raúl Ramírez Harold Solomon Eddie Dibbs
28 Feb	Monterrey WCT Monterrey, Mexico	Ross Case Wojciech Fibak 3–6, 6–3, 6–4	Billy Martin Bill Scanlon	Cliff Drysdale Bill Scanlon	Manuel Orantes Raúl Ramírez Harold Solomon Eddie Dibbs

March

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
16 Mar	St. Louis Tennis Classic St. Louis, United States	Jimmy Connors 7–6, 6–2	John Alexander	Harold Solomon Ilie Năstase	Cliff Drysdale Raz Reid Ken Rosewall Bernard Mitton
16 Mar	St. Louis Tennis Classic St. Louis, United States	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta 6–4, 3–6, 7–6	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	Harold Solomon Ilie Năstase	Cliff Drysdale Raz Reid Ken Rosewall Bernard Mitton
22 Mar	Rotterdam WCT Rotterdam, Netherlands	Dick Stockton 2–6, 6–3, 6–3	Ilie Năstase	Wojciech Fibak Mark Cox	Vijay Amritraj John Alexander Corrado Barazzutti Cliff Drysdale
22 Mar	Rotterdam WCT Rotterdam, Netherlands	Tom Okker Wojciech Fibak 6–4, 6–4	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	Wojciech Fibak Mark Cox
28 Mar	Rothmans International London London, England	Eddie Dibbs 7–6, 6–7, 6–4	Vitas Gerulaitis	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	Ilie Năstase Ross Case Wojciech Fibak Harold Solomon
28 Mar	Rothmans International London London, England	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta 7–6^(7–5), 6–7^(3–7), 6–3	Mark Cox Eddie Dibbs	Vijay Amritraj Dick Stockton	Ilie Năstase Ross Case Wojciech Fibak Harold Solomon

April

Week	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
5 Apr	Monte Carlo WCT Monte Carlo, Monaco	Björn Borg 6–3, 7–5, 6–0	Corrado Barazzutti	Jan Kodeš Guillermo Vilas	Balázs Taróczy Wojciech Fibak Eddie Dibbs Adriano Panatta
5 Apr	Monte Carlo WCT Monte Carlo, Monaco	François Jauffret Jan Kodeš 2–6, 6–3, 6–2	Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker	Jan Kodeš Guillermo Vilas	Balázs Taróczy Wojciech Fibak Eddie Dibbs Adriano Panatta
11 Apr	Houston Open Houston, United States	Adriano Panatta 7–6, 6–7, 6–1	Vitas Gerulaitis	Eddie Dibbs Ilie Năstase	Ken Rosewall Harold Solomon Tony Roche Ross Case
11 Apr	Houston Open Houston, United States	Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta 6–3, 6–4	John Alexander Phil Dent	Eddie Dibbs Ilie Năstase	Ken Rosewall Harold Solomon Tony Roche Ross Case
18 Apr	Charlotte Tennis Classic Charlotte, United States	Corrado Barazzutti 7–6, 6–0	Eddie Dibbs	Adriano Panatta John Alexander	Tom Okker Cliff Drysdale Harold Solomon Tony Roche
18 Apr	Charlotte Tennis Classic Charlotte, United States	Tom Okker Ken Rosewall 6–1, 3–6, 7–6	Corrado Barazzutti Adriano Panatta	Adriano Panatta John Alexander	Tom Okker Cliff Drysdale Harold Solomon Tony Roche

Special events

These WCT events did not count towards the standings.^[1]

Week of	Tournament	Champions	Runners-up	Semifinalists	Quarterfinalists
10 Mar	World Cup Hartford, USA	USA 7–0	Australia	N.A.	N.A.
25 Apr	Caesar's Palace Challenge^[6] Las Vegas, U.S. $100,000	Ilie Năstase 3–6, 7–6, 6–4, 7–5	Jimmy Connors	N.A.	N.A.
10 Mar – 10 Jul – 17 Sep	Shakeys Tournament of Champions Lakeway, USA New York City, U.S. (final)	Harold Solomon 7–6, 6–2, 2–6, 0–6, 6–3	Ken Rosewall	Dick Stockton Eddie Dibbs	Phil Dent Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase Vijay Amritraj

Standings

Player	Tournaments Played	Tournaments Won	Matches Won	Matches Lost	Points
Dick Stockton ^*	7	3	15	4	520
Eddie Dibbs ^*	9	1	17	8	500
Jimmy Connors ^*	5	2	12	3	460
Ilie Năstase ^*	8	1	15	7	440
Cliff Drysdale ^*	9	0	10	8	420
Wojtek Fibak ^*	9	1	11	8	420
Vitas Gerulaitis ^*	7	0	15	7	420
Adriano Panatta ^*	9	1	11	8	400
Corrado Barazzutti	7	1	10	6	330
Ken Rosewall	8	0	7	8	320
Harold Solomon	9	0	7	8	320

^* Qualified for the WCT Finals.

References

1 2 3 John Barrett, ed. (1978). World of Tennis. London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 171–177. ISBN 978-0354090391.
↑ "W.C.T. Sues Borg and Colgate, Alleging a Breach of Contract". The New York Times. February 4, 1977.
↑ "Borg Being Sued". Ludington Daily News. February 2, 1977.
↑ Barry Lorge (April 13, 1978). "Peace Still Eludes Men's Pro Tennis". The Washington Post.
↑ atpworldtour.com. "1977 Grand Prix and WCT circuits calendar". Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2012-09-21.
↑ "Nastase whips Connors for Challenge Cup title". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. April 11, 1977. p. 9.

External links

ATP 1977 results archive

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[wot77-1] 1 2 3 John Barrett, ed. (1978). World of Tennis. London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 171–177. ISBN 978-0354090391.

[2] "W.C.T. Sues Borg and Colgate, Alleging a Breach of Contract". The New York Times. February 4, 1977.

[3] "Borg Being Sued". Ludington Daily News. February 2, 1977.

[wapo-4] Barry Lorge (April 13, 1978). "Peace Still Eludes Men's Pro Tennis". The Washington Post.

[atpcalendar-5] tpworldtour.com. "1977 Grand Prix and WCT circuits calendar". Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2012-09-21.

[6] "Nastase whips Connors for Challenge Cup title". Ellensburg Daily Record. UPI. April 11, 1977. p. 9.

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Men's tennis seasons
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