The 1970 Pepsi-Cola Masters was a
tennis
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...
tournament played on
indoor carpet courts at the
Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium
is a sporting complex in Sendagaya, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1954 for the World Wrestling Championship, it was also used as the venue for gymnastics at the 1964 Summer Olympics, and hosted the table tennis competition at the 2020 Summe ...
in
Tokyo
Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...
, Japan. It was the first edition of the year-end
Masters Grand Prix and was held from December 9 through December 15, 1970. The event included a singles and doubles draw, both of which were held in a round robin format.
Stan Smith
Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...
won the first singles title and then partnered
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...
to the doubles title as well.
The best six players from the
1970 Grand Prix circuit ranking qualified for the singles event.
Cliff Richey
George Clifford Richey Jr. (born December 31, 1946) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Richey achieved a highest singles ranking of World No. 6 and reached at least the quarter ...
, the winner of the Grand Prix ranking, could not participate due to illness.
John Newcombe
John David Newcombe AO OBE (born 23 May 1944) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He is one of the few men to have attained a world No. 1 ranking in both singles and doubles. At the majors, he won seven singles titles, a fo ...
was the first replacement as the number seven ranked but was unable to play which meant that
Jan Kodeš
Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s.
Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...
, ranked eight, completed the field.
Stan Smith won the singles title in the round robin format and earned $15,000 first-prize money.
Finals
Singles
Stan Smith
Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...
won a round robin competition also featuring
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...
,
Željko Franulović
Željko Franulović (; born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005.
Whilst his c ...
,
Jan Kodeš
Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s.
Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...
,
Rod Laver
Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...
and
Ken Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...
.
* It was Smith's 6th title of the year and the 9th of his career.
Doubles
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Unite ...
/
Stan Smith
Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...
won a round robin competition against the teams of
Jan Kodeš
Jan Kodeš (born 1 March 1946) is a Czech former professional tennis player. A three-time major singles champion, Kodeš was one of the premier players in the early 1970s.
Kodeš's greatest success was achieved on the clay courts of the French ...
/
Rod Laver
Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former tennis player. Laver was the world number 1 ranked professional in some sources in 1964, in all sources from 1965 to 1969 and in some sources in 1970, spanning four years befor ...
and
Željko Franulović
Željko Franulović (; born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005.
Whilst his c ...
/
Ken Rosewall
Kenneth Robert Rosewall (born 2 November 1934) is an Australian former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player. He won a record 23 Majors in singles, including eight Grand Slam singles titles and, before the Open Era, a record ...
.
* It was Ashe's 6th title of the year and the 7th of his professional career. It was Smith's 7th title of the year and the 10th of his career.
References
External links
ATP Singles results
{{1970 Pepsi-Cola Grand Prix
*
Grand Prix tennis circuit year-end championships
1970 in Japanese tennis
Tennis tournaments in Japan
1970 in Tokyo