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14-594: West Hants was opened in 1926 and two years later the club began hosting the British Hard Court Championships , an event that was held there for 55 years until 1983. The 1968 British Hard Court Championships was the first 'open' tournament of the so-called Open Era , where both professionals and amateurs could compete. Between 1996 and 2000, the Bournemouth International men's singles and doubles events were played at

28-599: A professional when he defeated the American Pancho Gonzales in the first round of the British Hard Court Championships at Bournemouth in May of that year, in a match that went to five sets and lasted two and a quarter hours. Cox also achieved big upset wins over No. 1 seed, Rod Laver , at the 1971 Australian Open , and over No. 2 seed, Ken Rosewall , at the 1972 US Open . Cox also defeated future world No. 1 Jimmy Connors in his debut Grand Slam match at

42-453: A tournament that admitted both amateurs and professionals to compete. The Hardcourt Championships was one of 12 to be granted a privileged status as the host of professional tennis. West Hants hosted the men's tournaments at the Bournemouth International from 1996 to 1999, the only British event held on clay. The tournament was won by Albert Costa in 1996 and Félix Mantilla in 1997 and 1998. Adrian Voinea emerged victorious in 1999 before

56-641: The Washington Indoor WCT and London WCT events in 1975) until Andy Murray repeated the feat in 2008. To date, Cox is also the last English-born male to win a top level UK tournament on grass ( Eastbourne in 1973). After his final title in 1977 it would take another 17 years for a British player to win a top-level tour title ( Jeremy Bates at Seoul in 1994). Cox retired from playing in 1981, losing to Yannick Noah in his last ever competitive match at that year's Paris Indoor Open . During his latter playing years and after his retirement, he worked as

70-464: The 1970 US Open. Some of Cox's finest victories came late in his career; a notable moment was at the 1976 Stockholm Open , when at the age of 33 he won the title after knocking out Connors and Manuel Orantes (respectively the reigning and previous US Open champions) in succession. Although able to win on all surfaces he was especially adept at playing on indoor carpet courts, and was the last British player to win back-to-back professional titles (at

84-883: The ATP rankings, achieving that ranking in October 1977. Cox was educated at Wyggeston Grammar School in Leicester and Millfield School in Somerset. He obtained an economics undergraduate degree from Downing College, Cambridge , where he was a member of the Cambridge University Lawn Tennis Club . Cox played his first tournament on 3 November 1958 at the Torquay Indoor Championship. During his career, he won twenty-four singles titles and three doubles titles spanning both

98-411: The championships, he became the first amateur player to beat a professional, when he beat the American Pancho Gonzales in five sets in two and a quarter hours. Source:The Tennis Base. Mark Cox (tennis) Mark Cox (born 5 July 1943) is a former tennis player from England, who played professional and amateur tennis in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. He was ranked as high as world No. 12 on

112-418: The club. In 1928, two years after the formation of the club, West Hants hosted the British Hard Court Championships . The event attracted a host of notable names over the 55 years it was held, including Virginia Wade , Rod Laver , Fred Perry , Ken Rosewall , Ann Jones , Ilie Năstase , Evonne Goolagong and many more. The club is also notable for having held the first 'open' event of tennis' Open Era ,

126-518: The first tennis tournament to be held in the Open Era , taking place in April 1968. It started on 22 April at 1:43 p.m. when John Clifton served and won the first point of the open era. Ken Rosewall won the men's singles title, taking home $ 2,400, while runner-up Rod Laver received $ 1,200. Virginia Wade won the women's singles title, defeating Winnie Shaw in the final, but did not take home

140-537: The pre-Open Era and Open Era , and reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. National Championships (in 1966) and the Australian Open (in 1971). He also played for Great Britain's Davis Cup team, and was on the team that reached the 1978 final against the United States. Following the establishment of the Open Era in men's tennis in 1968, Cox went down in history as the first amateur player to beat

154-521: The tournament relocated to Brighton and was staged on hard courts. Greg Rusedski was the most successful British player when he reached the semi-finals in 1997 losing to Carlos Moyá . 50°44′14″N 1°53′14″W  /  50.7372°N 1.8871°W  / 50.7372; -1.8871 British Hard Court Championships The British Hard Court Championships was a Grand Prix tennis and WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1968 to 1983 and 1995 to 1999. The inaugural edition of

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168-653: The tournament was held in 1924 in Torquay , moving to the West Hants Tennis Club in Bournemouth , England in 1927 and was held there until 1983. The 1977 and 1979 editions were cancelled due to lack of sponsorship. In 1995 the event was revived at Bournemouth as a women's WTA tournament but was only played there that year. The women's final edition in 1996 was held in Cardiff , Wales . The tournament

182-503: The winner's prize of $ 720 as she was still an amateur at the time of the tournament. She subsequently became the first amateur to win a title in the Open Era. Christine Janes and her sister Nell Truman became the first winners of an open tennis event by winning the women's doubles title. The tournament was considered a success and attracted almost 30,000 visitors. The young British player Mark Cox went down in tennis history, when at

196-472: Was played on outdoor clay courts . Bournemouth was one of the world's major tournaments, second only to Wimbledon in England and on the same level as Monte Carlo, Rome and Hamburg. In the pre-war era, it was regarded as the most important event outside the four Grand Slams. Fred Perry is the record holder with five consecutive titles, from 1932 through 1936. The Championships hold the distinction of being

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