Manuel Orantes Corral (; born 6 February 1949) is a former

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 from Spain who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. He won the US Open men's singles title in

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, beating defending champion

Jimmy Connors James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former world No. 1 tennis player. He held the top Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking for a then-record 160 consecutive weeks from 1974 to 1977 and a career total of 268 ...

in the final. Orantes reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2.

Career

On 7 September 1975 Orantes defeated top-seeded

in the final of the US Open at Forest Hills, New York to win his only Grand Slam title. A year earlier, he was runner-up to

Björn Borg Björn Rune Borg (; born 6 June 1956) is a Swedish former world No. 1 tennis player. Between 1974 and 1981, he became the first man in the Open Era to win 11 Grand Slam singles titles with six at the French Open and five consecutively at Wimb ...

in the final of the

French Open The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...

, taking a two-set lead before Borg won the last three sets, losing just two games in total. Overall, he won 36 singles titles, including

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(1972),

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(1972 & 1975),

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(1975),

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(1975), the U.S. Claycourt Championships (1973, 1975 & 1977), the U.S. Pro in Boston (1977 & 1978) and the Masters in 1976. He also reached 35 finals, including the

(1974),

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(1973),

(1970),

(1973 & 1974),

(1973 & 1975), and

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

(1976 & 1977). Orantes was a stalwart member of the Spanish

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

team from 1967 to 1980, earning a record of 60–27 in Davis Cup match play. He also was a member of the Spanish team which won the inaugural

World Team Cup The World Team Cup was the international men's team championship of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). The inaugural edition of the tournament was contested in 1975 in Kingston, Jamaica and was called the Nations Cup. No tourname ...

in 1978. He also won 22 doubles titles in his career, including Hamburg in 1975 and Canada in 1974. He reached 20 doubles finals, including the French Open in 1978, Canada in 1976, and Hamburg in 1973. Orantes was inducted into the

International Tennis Hall of Fame The International Tennis Hall of Fame is located in Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It honors both players and other contributors to the sport of tennis. The complex, the former Newport Casino, includes a museum, grass tennis courts, an indo ...

in 2012.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

Other significant finals

Year-end championship

Singles: 1 (1 title)

ATP Career finals

Singles: 72 (36 titles, 36 runner-ups)

Doubles: 42 (22 titles, 20 runner-ups)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Orantes, Manuel 1949 births Living people Sportspeople from Granada Spanish male tennis players US Open (tennis) champions Wimbledon junior champions Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles Tennis players at the 1968 Summer Olympics International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Spain Competitors at the 1967 Mediterranean Games Competitors at the 1971 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in tennis Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles Tennis players from Andalusia