On This Day: Ken Rosewall lifts his final singles trophy the month he turns 43 

FLASHBACK: #tbt Rosewall-Laver classic at 1972 WCT Finals draws 21 million viewers

On November 7, 1977, competition began at an ATP tournament called the Hong Kong Open. One of the competitors was Ken Rosewall. Five days earlier, Rosewall had turned 43 years old.

When you think of tennis’ all-time greats, consider Rosewall’s amazing career. Only three men in tennis history have won singles majors in their teens, 20s, and 30s—Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras, and Rosewall. And while Sampras and Nadal earned one each as teenagers, Rosewall took two, in 1953 winning the Australian and French championships.

Then take in the matter of sustained excellence. In 1953, at the age of 18, Rosewall was seeded first at Wimbledon. In 1975, at the age of 40, he was seeded second.

The key to Rosewall’s success was his remarkable discipline, a devotion to all aspects of the game based on superb footwork, excellent movement, unsurpassed balance, and the resultant ability to carve opponents into ribbons with one accurate placement after another.

Wrote writer Rex Bellamy, who covered Rosewall frequently throughout the ‘60s and ‘70s, “No matter which shot he was hitting, Rosewall’s opponents could be sure that if the ball came anywhere near them, it would be in the vicinity of the shoelaces. He had so many ways of messing them about.”

Nowhere was this more vividly demonstrated than by the Rosewall backhand. Modeled after the forceful drive of the great Don Budge, Rosewall’s backhand had a scintilla of underspin that opponents found absolutely lethal. That high level of skill left many of Rosewall’s rivals—including his greatest, Rod Laver—to frequently call him, “the doomsday stroking machine.”

So it was that in the fall of ’77, Rosewall arrived in Hong Kong ranked No. 12 in the world. The previous month, Rosewall had reached the semis in Brisbane and the final in Sydney. Over the course of those runs, he’d earned wins over such tough players as big-serving Hank Pfister and fifth-ranked Vitas Gerulaitis.

Twelve months earlier in Hong Kong, Rosewall had won the title. At the age of 42, he’d beaten world No. 3 Ilie Nastase in the final by the remarkable score of 1-6, 6-4, 7-6, 6-0. In ‘77, as defending champion, Rosewall won four matches to reach the final, all versus opponents who were at least ten years younger than him.

In 1953, at the age of 18, Rosewall was seeded first at Wimbledon. In 1975, at the age of 40, he was seeded second.

In the final, played on November 13, Rosewall faced Tom Gorman, a 31-year-old American armed with a first-rate kick serve and sharp volleys. Rosewall had won three of their previous five matches, but Gorman had won their most recent encounter; though that victory had come way back in 1974.

The big question was one of stamina. All four of Rosewall’s matches had gone three sets. In two of them, he rallied from a set down to win the second set in a tiebreaker. Meanwhile, Gorman had been dominant, dropping just one set on his way to the final.

None of that mattered. In the end, Rosewall won the match, 6-3, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4.

It was Rosewall’s 107th career title—and the last of his incredible career.