Chris Lewis (born 9 March 1957) is a New Zealand 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. Lewis reached the 1983 Wimbledon singles final as an unseeded player. He won three singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 19 in April 1984. He also won eight doubles titles during his 12 years on the tour. Lewis was coached by Harry Hopman and

Tony Roche Anthony Dalton Roche AO MBE (born 17 May 1945) is an Australian former professional tennis player. A native of Tarcutta, Roche played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title, t ...

. Lewis is the third (and as of 2021 the most recent) man from New Zealand to reach a major singles final, after

Anthony Wilding Anthony Frederick Wilding (31 October 1883 – 9 May 1915), also known as Tony Wilding, was a New Zealand world No. 1 tennis player and soldier who was killed in action during World War I. Considered the world's first tennis superstar, Wildin ...

at the 1913 Wimbledon Championships and Onny Parun at the

1973 Australian Open The 1973 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor grass courts at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne in Australia and was held from 26 December 1972 to 1 January 1973. It was the 61st edition of the Australian Open and the ...

Early life

Lewis was born in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

, New Zealand, and received his secondary education at Marcellin College and Lynfield College. He is the eldest of three sons. His brothers are David Lewis and Mark Lewis who also had competitive tennis careers. Joseph Romanos, ''Chris Lewis: All the Way to Wimbledon'', Rugby Press, Auckland, 1984, p. 43, .

Tennis career

Juniors

Lewis reached the No. 1

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

world ranking in 1975, winning the Wimbledon boys' singles title (def.

Ricardo Ycaza Ricardo Ycaza (born 16 February 1958) is an Ecuadorian tennis player who was a world top 10 junior, a Davis Cup stalwart, and a world top 100 touring professional. Tennis career His most noteworthy achievement was winning the 1976 US Open Ju ...

) and reaching the final of the US Open boys' singles (lost to Howard Schoenfield).

Pro tour

In reaching the 1983 Wimbledon final, after a five-set win over

Kevin Curren Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 19 ...

in the semifinals, Lewis became the seventh unseeded man and only the second New Zealander after

(who won four times between 1910 and 1913) to reach a Wimbledon singles final. He lost the final to

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

in three sets. He also reached the final at the Cincinnati Masters in 1981, again losing to John McEnroe in straight sets.

After tennis

In the

1999 New Zealand general election File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, Lewis unsuccessfully stood for parliament as a list candidate for the Libertarianz party. Now a resident in Irvine, California, Lewis is the co-founder of the Brymer Lewis Tennis Academy, based at the Orange County Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine. His daughter Geneva Lewis, born 1998, is a violinist.

Equipment

Lewis was the first man in history to reach the final of one of the four tennis majors ( Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) while using an oversize racquet, a Prince original graphite (second only to Pam Shriver in the 1978 US Open). He was also one of the early players equipped with custom made shoes designed for the grass surface.

Grand Slam finals

ATP Masters Series finals

Career finals

Singles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Chris 1957 births Living people Libertarianz politicians New Zealand expatriate sportspeople in the United States New Zealand libertarians New Zealand male tennis players New Zealand tennis coaches People educated at Marcellin College, Auckland Sportspeople from Irvine, California Tennis people from California Tennis players from Auckland Unsuccessful candidates in the 1999 New Zealand general election Wimbledon junior champions People educated at Lynfield College Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles