John Clifton (born 19 February 1946) is a Scottish former professional

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 ...

player.ATP World Tour profile
/ref> He was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, but grew up in Scotland. Clifton became the first player to start a match and win a point in the

open era The racket sport traditionally named lawn tennis, invented in Birmingham, England now commonly known simply as tennis, is the direct descendant of what is now denoted real tennis or royal tennis, which continues to be played today as a separate sp ...

of tennis when he played

Owen Davidson Owen Keir Davidson (born 4 October 1943) is a former professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s. Alongside Billie Jean King, Davidson won eight grand slam mixed doubles titles. In 1967 he won a calendar year slam for mixed doubles, wh ...

in the first round of the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth played on 22 April 1968. Clifton lost the match in four sets. With partner John Paish, Clifton was a doubles runner-up at Newport in 1971. He made the second round of the singles at the 1971 Wimbledon Championships and the third round of the men's doubles at the

1973 Wimbledon Championships The 1973 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 25 June ...

(with

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews, CBE (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English footballer who played as an outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the British game, he is the only player to have been knighted while stil ...

). Clifton played a tie for the

Great Britain Davis Cup team The Great Britain Davis Cup team has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900 in the Davis Cup. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European associatio ...

in 1970, against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. He took part in singles rubbers against Peter Pokorny and

Hans Kary Hans Kary (born 23 February 1949) is a former professional 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 te ...

, but was unable to win either.Davis Cup: John Clifton
/ref>

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clifton, John 1946 births Living people Scottish male tennis players Sportspeople from Leeds British male tennis players