Pancho Gonzales - Wikipedia - Recent changes [en]

In April 1968, he was the first professional to lose to an amateur, the British player [[Mark Cox (tennis)|Mark Cox]]. The then-24-year-old Cox beat Gonzales at the [[British Hard Court Championships]] at [[Bournemouth]], in five sets, in two and a quarter hours.<ref name="worldtour">{{cite web| url=https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mark-cox/c090/overview | title=Mark Cox| publisher=Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)}}</ref>

In April 1968, he was the first professional to lose to an amateur, the British player [[Mark Cox (tennis)|Mark Cox]]. The then-24-year-old Cox beat Gonzales at the [[British Hard Court Championships]] at [[Bournemouth]], in five sets, in two and a quarter hours.<ref name="worldtour">{{cite web| url=https://www.atptour.com/en/players/mark-cox/c090/overview | title=Mark Cox| publisher=Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP)}}</ref>

The first major open tournament was the [[1968 French Open – Men's singles|1968 French Open]], when Gonzales had just turned 40. In spite of the fact that he had been semi-retired for a number of years and that the tournament was held on slow clay courts that penalize serve-and-volley players, Gonzales beat the 1967 defending champion [[Roy Emerson]] in the quarterfinals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Register |url-access=limited |work=The Journal News|location=White Plains|date=6 June 1968|url=https://newspapers.com/newspage/162728877|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He then lost in the semifinals to Rod Laver. He lost in the third round of [[1968 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|1968 Wimbledon]] but later beat the second-seeded [[Tony Roche]] in the fourth round of the [[1968 US Open – Men's singles|1968 US Open]], before losing an epic match to the Dutch [[Tom Okker]].

The first major open tournament was the [[1968 French Open – Men's singles|1968 French Open]], when Gonzales had just turned 40. In spite of the fact that he had been semi-retired for a number of years and that the tournament was held on slow clay courts that penalize serve-and-volley players, Gonzales beat the 1967 defending champion [[Roy Emerson]] in the quarterfinals.<ref>{{cite news |title=Pancho reaches French semifinal |url-access=limited |work=The Journal News|location=White Plains|date=June 6, 1968|page=37|agency=AP|url=https://newspapers.com/newspage/162728877|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> He then lost in the semifinals to Rod Laver. He lost in the third round of [[1968 Wimbledon Championships – Men's singles|1968 Wimbledon]] but later beat the second-seeded [[Tony Roche]] in the fourth round of the [[1968 US Open – Men's singles|1968 US Open]], before losing an epic match to the Dutch [[Tom Okker]].

Gonzales finished third in the NTL rankings for 1968, and was selected to enter the season combined professional final at Madison Square Garden together with the top four WCT players in an eight-man field. Gonzales won a close dramatic win over Rosewall, then defeated Gimeno in the semifinal, before losing the final to Roche.<ref>McCauley (2000) P. 156</ref>

Gonzales finished third in the NTL rankings for 1968, and was selected to enter the season combined professional final at Madison Square Garden together with the top four WCT players in an eight-man field. Gonzales won a close dramatic win over Rosewall, then defeated Gimeno in the semifinal, before losing the final to Roche.<ref>McCauley (2000) P. 156</ref>