Chris Lewis
Country (sports)New Zealand
ResidenceIrvine, California, US
Born (1957-03-09) 9 March 1957
Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Turned pro1975
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money$647,550
Singles
Career record237–196
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 19 (16 April 1984)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1977Dec, 1981)
French Open3R (1977)
WimbledonF (1983)
US Open3R (1982)
Doubles
Career record183–161
Career titles8[1]
Highest rankingNo. 46 (14 January 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1980)
French OpenQF (1982)
WimbledonQF (1981)
US Open2R (1981)
Personal details
Relatives

Chris Lewis (born 9 March 1957) is a New Zealand former professional tennis 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.

Lewis is the third (and as of 2021 the most recent) man from New Zealand to reach a major singles final, after Anthony Wilding at the 1913 Wimbledon Championships and Onny Parun at the 1973 Australian Open.

Early life

Lewis was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and received his secondary education at Marcellin College and Lynfield College.[2] He is the eldest of three sons. His brothers are David Lewis and Mark Lewis who also had competitive tennis careers.[3]

Tennis career

Juniors

Lewis reached the No. 1 junior world ranking in 1975, winning the Wimbledon boys' singles title (def. Ricardo Ycaza) 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 in the semifinals, Lewis became the seventh unseeded man and only the second New Zealander after Anthony Wilding (who won four times between 1910 and 1913) to reach a Wimbledon singles final. He lost the final to John McEnroe 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, 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.[4]

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

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1983WimbledonGrassUnited States John McEnroe2–6, 2–6, 2–6

ATP Masters Series finals

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1981Cincinnati MastersHardUnited States John McEnroe3–6, 4–6

Career finals

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

Winner – Legend (pre/post 2009)
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
ATP Masters Series /
ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1)
ATP International Series Gold /
ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1)
ATP International Series /
ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–4)
Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Clay (2–1)
Grass (0–4)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Dec 1977 Adelaide, Australia Grass United States Tim Gullikson 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 2–6, 4–6
Win 1–1 Jul 1978 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník 6–1, 6–4, 6–0
Loss 1–2 Mar 1981 Stuttgart, West Germany Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 3–6, 0–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win 2–2 May 1981 Munich, West Germany Clay France Christophe Roger-Vasselin 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1, 6–1
Loss 2–3 Aug 1981 Cincinnati, United States Hard United States John McEnroe 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–4 Oct 1981 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Mark Edmondson 6–7, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 2–5 Dec 1981 Sydney, Australia Grass United States Tim Wilkison 4–6, 6–7, 3–6
Loss 2–6 Apr 1982 Hilton Head, United States Clay United States Van Winitsky 4–6, 4–6
Loss 2–7 Jun 1983 Wimbledon, London Grass United States John McEnroe 2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win 3–7 Jan 1985 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Australia Wally Masur 7–5, 6–0, 2–6, 6–4

Doubles: 16 (8 titles, 8 runner-ups)

Result W–L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Jan 1977 Auckland, New Zealand Grass New Zealand Russell Simpson Australia Peter Langsford
United Kingdom Jonathan Smith		 7–6, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Apr 1977 Nice, France Clay New Zealand Chris Kachel Romania Ion Țiriac
Argentina Guillermo Vilas		 4–6, 1–6
Win 2–1 Apr 1977 Florence, Italy Clay New Zealand Russell Simpson Colombia Iván Molina
Colombia Jairo Velasco		 2–6, 7–6, 6–2
Win 3–1 Jul 1978 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay United States Mike Fishbach Czechoslovakia Pavel Huťka
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil		 6–7, 6–4, 6–3
Loss 3–2 Aug 1978 Indianapolis, US Clay United States Jeff Borowiak United States Gene Mayer
United States Hank Pfister		 3–6, 1–6
Win 4–2 Nov 1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay United States Van Winitsky Argentina José Luis Clerc
Chile Belus Prajoux		 6–4, 3–6, 6–0
Loss 4–3 May 1980 São Paulo, Brazil Carpet New Zealand David Carter India Anand Amritraj
United States Fritz Buehning		 6–7, 2–6
Loss 4–4 May 1980 Munich, West Germany Clay New Zealand David Carter Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
South Africa Bob Hewitt		 6–7, 1–6
Loss 4–5 Jul 1980 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay South Africa John Yuill Switzerland Colin Dowdeswell
South Africa Frew McMillan		 3–6, 4–6
Loss 4–6 Jul 1980 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Brazil Carlos Kirmayr West Germany Klaus Eberhard
West Germany Ulrich Marten		 4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 4–7 Apr 1981 Nice, France Clay Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil France Yannick Noah
France Pascal Portes		 6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Win 5–7 Oct 1981 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Rod Frawley Australia Mark Edmondson
United States Mike Estep		 7–5, 4–6, 7–6(7–4)
Win 6–7 Jan 1983 Auckland, New Zealand Hard New Zealand Russell Simpson Australia David Graham
Australia Laurie Warder		 7–6, 6–3
Win 7–7 May 1983 Munich, West Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil Sweden Anders Järryd
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd		 6–4, 6–2
Loss 7–8 Apr 1984 Aix-en-Provence, France Clay Australia Wally Masur Australia Pat Cash
Australia Paul McNamee		 4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win 8–8 Jan 1985 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Australia John Fitzgerald Australia Broderick Dyke
Australia Wally Masur		 7–6, 6–2

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 19751976197719781979198019811982198319841985 SR
Australian Open A 2R 1R 3R A 1R 1R 3R 3R 3R 2R 2R 0 / 10
French Open Q2 A 3R 2R 2R 2R 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 0 / 9
Wimbledon Q3 2R 1R 1R A 2R 2R 3R F 2R 2R 0 / 9
US Open A A A 1R 1R A 2R 3R 2R 1R A 0 / 6
Strike rate 0 / 0 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 34

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

References

  1. 1 2 Player Profile
  2. ↑ Reidy, Jade (2013). Not Just Passing Through: the Making of Mt Roskill (2nd ed.). Auckland: Puketāpapa Local Board. p. 98. ISBN 978-1-927216-97-2. OCLC 889931177. Wikidata Q116775081.
  3. ↑ Joseph Romanos, Chris Lewis: All the Way to Wimbledon, Rugby Press, Auckland, 1984, p. 43, ISBN 090863014X.
  4. ↑ Thomas, Robert D. (16 March 2015). "16-year-old violinist to perform with Pasadena Symphony". The Pasadena Star-News. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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