Roger Taylor is a British former tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

 player. Born in Sheffield

Sheffield

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough of South Yorkshire, England. Its name derives from the River Sheaf, which runs through the city. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, and with some of its southern suburbs annexed from Derbyshire, the city has grown from its largely...

, South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire

South Yorkshire is a metropolitan county in the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England. It has a population of 1.29 million. It consists of four metropolitan boroughs: Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham, and City of Sheffield...

, he won six singles titles and 10 doubles titles during his career. He was relatively successful at several Grand Slam

Grand Slam (tennis)

The four Major tennis tournaments, also called the Slams, are the most important tennis events of the year in terms of world tour ranking points, tradition, prize-money awarded, strength and size of player field, and public attention. They are the Australian Open, the French Open, Wimbledon, and...

 tournaments, reaching the quarter final of the French Open in 1973 and the semi final of Wimbledon during the same year and winning back to back US Open men's doubles titles in 1971 and 1972. He also enjoyed particular success in 1970, again reaching the semi final of Wimbledon, defeating defending champion Rod Laver

Rod Laver

Rodney George "Rod" Laver MBE is an Australian former tennis player who holds the record for titles won in career, and was the World No. 1 player for seven consecutive years, from 1964 to 1970...

 en route, and the semi final of the Australian Open

Australian Open

The Australian Open is the only Grand Slam tennis tournament held in the southern hemisphere. The tournament was held for the first time in 1905 and was last contested on grass in 1987. Since 1972 the Australian Open has been held in Melbourne, Victoria. In 1988, the tournament became a hard court...

. Taylor also reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1967.

However, apart from those three years, he never progressed beyond the 4th round of the grand slam, and even then only ever reaching the 4th round at the US Open in 1969 and 1971. Other than his three semi final appearances at Wimbledon, he never progressed beyond the 2nd round.

Taylor was the sole British member of the so-called Handsome Eight

Handsome Eight

The Handsome Eight were eight professional tennis players that Lamar Hunt signed in 1968 for his newly formed tour, World Championship Tennis...

 (he was noted particularly for his massive eyebrows) signed by Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt

Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...

 to compete in his newly-created World Championship Tennis

World Championship Tennis

World Championship Tennis was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990...

 tour in 1968.

Notably, in a scene reminiscent of a bygone age of sportsmanship now all but absent in professional sport, Taylor endeared himself to millions of viewers during his 1973 Wimbledon quarter final match against the 17-year old Wimbledon debutant Björn Borg

Björn Borg

Björn Rune Borg is a former world no. 1 tennis player from Sweden. Between 1974 and 1981 he won 11 Grand Slam singles titles. He won five consecutive Wimbledon singles titles and six French Open singles titles...

. Having already been declared the match winner by the umpire following his match-point serve which was disputed by Borg, Taylor voluntarily offered to replay the point. The linesman then, questioned by the umpire as to whether he wished to reconsider his decision, changed his "in" call to "out" and the umpire requested that the point be replayed as a "let". Taylor subsequently went on to win the match.

He retired from professional tennis in 1980, later becoming captain of the British Davis Cup

Davis Cup

The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By...

 team, having captained the British ladies Wightman Cup

Wightman Cup

The Wightman Cup was a team tennis competition for women contested from 1923 through 1989 between teams from the United States and Great Britain. U.S. player Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman wanted to generate international interest in women's tennis the way Davis Cup did for men's...

 team; steering them to their last victory in the competition in 1978.

Grand Slam Mens Doubles Titles (2)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	12 September 1971	U.S. Open U.S. Open The term U.S. Open or US Open is applied to "open" United States-hosted championships in a particular sport , in which anyone, amateur or professional, American or non-American, may compete....	Grass	John Newcombe John Newcombe John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...	Stan Smith Stan Smith Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...     Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen was an American male professional tennis player.Van Dillen won a single career title, the 1973 Nottingham Open Singles title, defeating Frew McMillan .-External links:*...	6-7 6-3 7-6 4-6 7-6
2.	10 September 1972	U.S. Open U.S. Open The term U.S. Open or US Open is applied to "open" United States-hosted championships in a particular sport , in which anyone, amateur or professional, American or non-American, may compete....	Grass	Cliff Drysdale Cliff Drysdale Cliff Drysdale is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed World Championship Tennis group...	Owen Davidson Owen Davidson ' was a professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s.Partnering Billie Jean King, Davidson managed to win eight grand slam mixed doubles titles. Davidson was one of very few to win a calendar year slam for mixed doubles, when he won the Australian Championships, French Championships,...     John Newcombe John Newcombe John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...	6-4 7-6 6-3

Singles (5)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	1963	Surrey Grass Court Championships Surrey Grass Court Championships The Surrey Grass Court Championships is a defunct men's tennis tournament played in Surbiton, England. The event was played as part of the Grand Prix Tour in 1974 and from 1979 to 1980. It was played on outdoor grass courts. It was first played in 1904 under the name of the Surrey Championships...	Grass	Jaidip Mukerjea Jaidip Mukerjea Jaidip Mukerjea is a retired professional tennis player from India. Mukerjea is the grandson of Indian independence leader Chittaranjan Das.Mukerjea won the Indian National Junior Championship in 1959...	10-8, 9-11, 10-8
2.	1967	Surrey Grass Court Championships	Grass	Bobby Wilson Bobby Wilson (tennis) Robert Keith Wilson is a former top-ranking English tennis player. Wilson reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon four times, Forest Hills twice, and Roland Garros once during the late 1950s and early 1960s...	2-6, 6-4, 6-2
3.	18 April 1971	Palermo Palermo Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...	Clay	Pierre Barthes Pierre Barthes Pierre Barthès is a French retired professional tour tennis player.-Career:Born in Béziers, Barthès was one of the Handsome Eight and reached a career high singles ATP ranking in 1974 of World No. 54. Before the creation of the ATP ranking, he was one of the best twenty players in 1971. He was...	6-3 4-6 7-6 6-2
4.	17 February 1973	Copenhagen Copenhagen Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...	Unknown	Marty Riessen Marty Riessen Marty Riessen played amateur and professional tennis in the 1960s and 1970s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings...	6-2 6-3 7-6
5.	2 March 1975	Fairfield Fairfield -Australia:*Fairfield, New South Wales, the most populous place in Australia with that place name**Electoral district of Fairfield, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly*Fairfield, Queensland*Fairfield, Victoria...	Unknown	Sandy Mayer Sandy Mayer Alexander "Sandy" Mayer is a former tennis player from the United States, who won ten titles in singles and twenty-four titles in doubles during his professional career. He was part of the winning tennis squad at Stanford University in 1973....	7-5 5-7 7-6

Doubles (8)

No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partnering	Opponent in the final	Score
1.	5 January 1969	Hobart Hobart Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...	Grass	Mal Anderson	Tony Roche Tony Roche Anthony "Tony" Dalton Roche is a former professional Australian tennis player, native of Tarcutta. He played junior tennis in the New South Wales regional city of Wagga Wagga. He won one Grand Slam singles title and twelve Grand Slam doubles titles. He is also very well known for coaching...     Fred Stolle Fred Stolle Frederick "Fred" Sydney Stolle is an Australian tennis player. He was born in Hornsby, New South Wales, Australia. He is the father of former Australian Davis Cup player Sandon Stolle....	7-5 6-3 4-6 1-6 6-4
2.	3 February 1969	Auckland Auckland The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...	Grass	Ray Moore Raymond Moore (tennis) Raymond Moore , is a former professional tennis player from South Africa. During his career he won 8 doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 12 times...	Mal Anderson    Tomas Lejus	13-15 6-3 8-6 8-6
3.	1 August 1969	Hilversum Hilversum is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Located in the region called "'t Gooi", it is the largest town in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller villages...	Unknown	Tom Okker Tom Okker Thomas S. Okker is a former Dutch tennis player. He was ranked among the world's top 10 singles players for seven consecutive years, 1968–74, reaching a career high of world # 3 in 1969. He also was ranked World # 1 in doubles in 1969.-Tennis career:Okker was the Dutch champion from 1964 through...	Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš Jan Kodeš is a right-handed Czech former tennis player who won three Grand Slam events in the early-1970s.Kodeš's greatest success was on the clay courts of the French Open. He won the title there in 1970, beating Željko Franulović in the final, and in 1971, defeating Ilie Năstase in the final...     Jan Kukal	6-3 6-2 6-4
4.	10 July 1971	Newport Newport Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...	Grass	Ken Rosewall Ken Rosewall Kenneth Robert Rosewall AM MBE is a former world top-ranking amateur and professional tennis player from Australia. He won 23 Majors including eight Grand Slam singles titles and before the Open Era a record fifteen Pro Slam titles . Rosewall won 9 slams in doubles with a career double grand slam...	John Clifton    John Paish	7-5 3-6 6-2
5.	12 September 1971	U.S. Open U.S. Open The term U.S. Open or US Open is applied to "open" United States-hosted championships in a particular sport , in which anyone, amateur or professional, American or non-American, may compete....	Grass	John Newcombe John Newcombe John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...	Stan Smith Stan Smith Stanley Roger "Stan" Smith is a former American tennis player and two time Grand Slam singles champion who also, with his partner Bob Lutz, formed one of the most successful doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world...     Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen was an American male professional tennis player.Van Dillen won a single career title, the 1973 Nottingham Open Singles title, defeating Frew McMillan .-External links:*...	6-7 6-3 7-6 4-6 7-6
6.	10 September 1972	U.S. Open U.S. Open The term U.S. Open or US Open is applied to "open" United States-hosted championships in a particular sport , in which anyone, amateur or professional, American or non-American, may compete....	Grass	Cliff Drysdale Cliff Drysdale Cliff Drysdale is a former top-ranked professional tennis player of the 1960s and early 1970s who became a well-known tennis announcer. He was one of the Handsome Eight, signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed World Championship Tennis group...	Owen Davidson Owen Davidson ' was a professional tennis player of the 1960s and 1970s.Partnering Billie Jean King, Davidson managed to win eight grand slam mixed doubles titles. Davidson was one of very few to win a calendar year slam for mixed doubles, when he won the Australian Championships, French Championships,...     John Newcombe John Newcombe John David Newcombe, AO, OBE is a former World No. 1 tennis player.-Biography:He won seven Grand Slam singles titles, A natural athlete, Newcombe played several sports as a boy until devoting himself to tennis. He was the Australian junior champion in 1961, 1962, and 1963 and was a member of...	6-4 7-6 6-3
7.	1 April 1973	Vancouver Vancouver Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...	Unknown	Pierre Barthes Pierre Barthes Pierre Barthès is a French retired professional tour tennis player.-Career:Born in Béziers, Barthès was one of the Handsome Eight and reached a career high singles ATP ranking in 1974 of World No. 54. Before the creation of the ATP ranking, he was one of the best twenty players in 1971. He was...	Tom Gorman Tom Gorman (tennis) Tom Gorman is an American tennis player. He attended Seattle Preparatory School and was the Washington State high school tennis champion three years in a row. Gorman attended and graduated from Seattle University and was a two time All-American. He played in professional tour events in the 1960s,...     Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen Erik Van Dillen was an American male professional tennis player.Van Dillen won a single career title, the 1973 Nottingham Open Singles title, defeating Frew McMillan .-External links:*...	5-7 6-3 7-6
8.	17 July 1977	Kitzbühel Kitzbühel -Demographic evolution:-Personalities:*Karl Wilhelm von Dalla Torre , entomologist and botanist*Alfons Walde , expressionist painter and architect*Peter Aufschnaiter , mountaineer and geographer...	Clay	Christopher Mottram	Colin Dowdeswell Colin Dowdeswell Colin Dowdeswell , is a former professional tennis player who represented, at different times, Rhodesia, Zimbabwe, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. During his time on the world tour, he won 1 singles titles and 11 doubles titles...     Chris Kachel Chris Kachel Chris Kachel , is a former professional tennis player from Australia.Kachel enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career he won 3 doubles titles.-Doubles titles :...	7-6 6-4