The Open Era
Australia · born Southampton, England, 1963 · right-handed · Newport champion in 1988 and a two-time grass finalist in 1993
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6-2, 6-1
The 1988 Newport final against Brad Drewett
7-5, 7-6, 6-3
His win over the eighth seed John McEnroe at Wimbledon in 1988
3
Wimbledon fourth rounds, 1988, 1992 and 1993
15
Career-high singles ranking, October 1993
8
Career-high doubles ranking, April 1993
Wally Masur was born in Southampton, England, in 1963 and moved with his family to Canberra in 1965. He began playing at eight, coached by Charlie Hollis, held an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship and turned professional in 1982.
He won three singles titles, at Hong Kong in 1983, Adelaide in 1987 and Newport in 1988, and 16 in doubles. He reached the Australian Open semi-finals in 1987 and the US Open semi-finals in 1993, the year he reached his career highs of No. 15 in singles and No. 8 in doubles. In 1990 he won all six of his singles rubbers on the way to the Davis Cup final. He retired in 1995, coached Australia's Davis Cup team from 2001 to 2005, captained it in 2015 and became a television commentator.
| Adelaide 1987 | Won the South Australian Open, played on grass over the new year, beating Bill Scanlon 6-4, 7-6 in the final |
|---|---|
| Newport 1988 | Beat Brad Drewett 6-2, 6-1 in the final |
| Wimbledon 1988 | Second round: beat the eighth seed John McEnroe 7-5, 7-6, 6-3. Third round: beat Robert Seguso 6-4, 6-4, 6-7, 6-1. Fourth round: lost to Miloslav Mečíř 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Grass finals of 1993 | Rosmalen: lost to Arnaud Boetsch 6-3, 3-6, 3-6. Manchester: lost to Jason Stoltenberg 1-6, 3-6 |
| Doubles | Adelaide 1984 with Broderick Dyke, beating Peter Doohan and Brian Levine 4-6, 7-5, 6-1. Wimbledon 35-and-over invitation champion in 2001 with John Fitzgerald, beating Sergio Casal and Emilio Sánchez 7-6, 6-0 |
| South Australian Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Men's doubles | with Broderick Dyke |
| 1987 | Men's singles | |
| Melbourne Outdoor (Kooyong) | ||
| 1984 | Men's doubles | with Broderick Dyke |
| Newport, Rhode Island | ||
| 1988 | Men's singles Hall of Fame Open | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
The person behind the player.
Canberra, 1971 onwards
He won his first tournament at eight and was coached by Charlie Hollis, who had also coached Rod Laver; the two stayed close until Hollis died in 1987. From 14 he travelled to Sydney at weekends to play, and his school let him leave on school days for tournaments.
Source: Tennis AustraliaWimbledon, June 1988
McEnroe was back at Wimbledon after two years away. After losing to Masur in straight sets he said: "He played a good, solid match. but if that's the best I've got to give, I'd quit tomorrow."
Source: Sportskeeda, citing The New York TimesMelbourne, January 1987
Later that month he upset Boris Becker at the Australian Open and went on to the semi-finals, where Stefan Edberg beat him.
Source: Canberra Sport Awards Hall of FameDavis Cup, 1990
In the first round against France he won two five-set matches, against Yannick Noah and Henri Leconte, and Australia went on to reach the final.
Source: Tennis AustraliaDavis Cup, 2015
He succeeded Pat Rafter as Australia's Davis Cup captain in January 2015 and took the team to the semi-finals before Lleyton Hewitt took over.
Source: Tennis AustraliaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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