Owen Davidson
# Owen Davidson

Owen Keir Davidson (4 October 1943 – 12 May 2023) was an Australian 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, when he won the Australian Championships (with Lesley Turner Bowrey), and the French Championships, Wimbledon and the US Championships (with King).

Davidson became the first player to win a match in the open era of tennis when he defeated John Clifton in the first round of the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth played in April 1968.

His best grand slam singles result was at Wimbledon in 1966, when he reached the semifinals (beating top seed Roy Emerson before losing to Manuel Santana). He was also the 1972 Australian Open and the 1973 US Open men's doubles champion, partnering John Newcombe and Ken Rosewall respectively. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 2010. He was inducted into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne on 26 January 2011 (Australia Day).

Davidson died in Conroe, Texas, on 12 May 2023, at the age of 79.

## Grand Slam finals

### Men's doubles: 6 (2–4)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Loss | 1966 | Wimbledon | Grass | Bill Bowrey | Ken Fletcher John Newcombe | 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1967 | Australian Championships | Grass | Bill Bowrey | John Newcombe Tony Roche | 6–3, 3–6, 5–7, 8–6, 6–8 |
| Loss | 1967 | US Championships | Grass | Bill Bowrey | John Newcombe Tony Roche | 8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 1972 | Australian Open | Grass | Ken Rosewall | Ross Case Geoff Masters | 3–6, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1972 | US Open (2) | Grass | John Newcombe | Cliff Drysdale Roger Taylor | 4–6, 6–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 1973 | US Open | Grass | John Newcombe | Rod Laver Ken Rosewall | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5, 7–5 |

### Mixed doubles: 12 (11–1)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1965 | Australian Championships | Grass | Robyn Ebbern | Margaret Smith John Newcombe | shared, final not played |
| Win | 1966 | US Championships | Grass | Donna Floyd Fales | Carol Hanks Aucamp Ed Rubinoff | 6–1, 6–3 |
| Win | 1967 | Australian Championships (2) | Grass | Lesley Turner Bowrey | Judy Tegart-Dalton Tony Roche | 9–7, 6–4 |
| Win | 1967 | French Championships | Clay | Billie Jean King | Ann Haydon-Jones Ion Țiriac | 6–3, 6–1 |
| Win | 1967 | Wimbledon | Grass | Billie Jean King | Maria Bueno Ken Fletcher | 7–5, 6–2 |
| Win | 1967 | US Championships (2) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Rosemary Casals Stan Smith | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1968 | French Open | Clay | Billie Jean King | Françoise Dürr Jean-Claude Barclay | 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1971 | Wimbledon (2) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Margaret Court Marty Riessen | 3–6, 6–2, 15–13 |
| Win | 1971 | US Open (3) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Bob Maud Betty Stöve | 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 1973 | Wimbledon (3) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Janet Newberry Raúl Ramírez | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Win | 1973 | US Open (4) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Margaret Court Marty Riessen | 6–3, 3–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 1974 | Wimbledon (4) | Grass | Billie Jean King | Lesley Charles Mark Farrell | 6–3, 9–7 |

## Career finals

### Open-era doubles (10 wins, 10 losses)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Win | 1. | 1969 | Monte Carlo, Monaco | Clay | John Newcombe | Pancho Gonzales Dennis Ralston | 7–5, 11–13, 6–2, 6–1 |
| Win | 2. | 1969 | London/Queen's Club, England | Grass | Dennis Ralston | Thomaz Koch Ove Nils Bengtson | 8–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 1. | 1970 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Bill Bowrey | Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac | 6–0, 8–10, 3–6, 8–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 3. | 1970 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Hard | Bill Bowrey | John Alexander Phil Dent | 6–3, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 2. | 1970 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Bob Carmichael | Arthur Ashe Stan Smith | 0–6, 7–5, 5–7 |
| Win | 4. | 1971 | Bournemouth, England | Clay | Bill Bowrey | Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol | 8–6, 6–2, 3–6, 4–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | 1972 | Australian Open, Melbourne | Grass | Ken Rosewall | Ross Case Geoff Masters | 3–6, 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3. | 1972 | US Open, New York | Grass | John Newcombe | Cliff Drysdale Roger Taylor | 4–6, 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4. | 1973 | Montreal, Canada | Hard | John Newcombe | Rod Laver Ken Rosewall | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 6. | 1973 | US Open, New York | Grass | John Newcombe | Roy Emerson Rod Laver | 7–5, 2–6, 7–5, 7–5 |
| Win | 7. | 1973 | Chicago, US | Carpet | John Newcombe | Gerald Battrick Graham Stilwell | 6–7, 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 5. | 1973 | Fort Worth, US | Hard | John Newcombe | Brian Gottfried Dick Stockton | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 8. | 1973 | London | Carpet | Mark Cox | Gerald Battrick Graham Stilwell | 6–4, 8–6 |
| Loss | 6. | 1974 | Baltimore, US | Carpet | Clark Graebner | Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler | 6–7, 5–7 |
| Win | 9. | 1974 | St. Petersburg WCT, US | Hard | John Newcombe | Clark Graebner Charlie Pasarell | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 7. | 1974 | New Orleans WCT, US | | John Newcombe | Robert Lutz Stan Smith | 6–4, 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 10. | 1974 | Orlando WCT, US | Clay | John Newcombe | Brian Gottfried Dick Stockton | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 8. | 1974 | Charlotte, US | Clay | John Newcombe | Buster Mottram Raúl Ramírez | 3–6, 6–1, 3–6 |
| Loss | 9. | 1974 | World Doubles WCT, Montreal | Carpet | John Newcombe | Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan | 2–6, 7–6, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 10. | 1974 | Maui, US | Hard | John Newcombe | Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner | 3–6, 6–7 |
