It is often reported that the Bournemouth tournament in England was the first Open event. That was held in late April, 1968. The question is when exactly?
I have seen that Rosewall beat Laver in the final on 27 April 1968. But what is odd is that Laver beat Rosewall in the final of the National Tennis League Professional Championships in Wembley on the 29 April 1968. It seems a very short time between finals. Was the latter event simply a 4 man event that played semi-finals on the 28 April?
Regardless of this, I wonder why are the following events in Rosewall and Lavers open era totals when they were played before Bournemouth ?
-Paris NTL Pro (France) - won by Rosewall 19 April 1968
-NTL 4 man event Sao Paulo, Brazil - won by Laver - March 1968
-South American Professional Championships, Buenos Aires, Argentina - won by Laver - March 1968
-BBC–2 World Invitational Tournament (4-man), London - won by Laver in April 1968
Rather than saying 1968 is the beginning of the Open era - we need to get into the habit of saying the 27th of April (or actually what was the opening date of the Bournemouth tournament - should that actually be used as the Open era commencement date?).
Its clear that many tournaments into 1968 and some in 1969 - still carried the name 'Professional Championships'. So really was Bournemouth the true beginning of the open era?
I have seen that Rosewall beat Laver in the final on 27 April 1968. But what is odd is that Laver beat Rosewall in the final of the National Tennis League Professional Championships in Wembley on the 29 April 1968. It seems a very short time between finals. Was the latter event simply a 4 man event that played semi-finals on the 28 April?
Regardless of this, I wonder why are the following events in Rosewall and Lavers open era totals when they were played before Bournemouth ?
-Paris NTL Pro (France) - won by Rosewall 19 April 1968
-NTL 4 man event Sao Paulo, Brazil - won by Laver - March 1968
-South American Professional Championships, Buenos Aires, Argentina - won by Laver - March 1968
-BBC–2 World Invitational Tournament (4-man), London - won by Laver in April 1968
Rather than saying 1968 is the beginning of the Open era - we need to get into the habit of saying the 27th of April (or actually what was the opening date of the Bournemouth tournament - should that actually be used as the Open era commencement date?).
Its clear that many tournaments into 1968 and some in 1969 - still carried the name 'Professional Championships'. So really was Bournemouth the true beginning of the open era?
