# Dick Crealy

Richard Crealy (born 18 September 1944) is an Australian former tennis player most notable for reaching the final of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team, and winning four Grand Slam titles in doubles.

## Tennis career

Crealy was born in Sydney in 1944. In 1968 he achieved his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open with his fellow countryman and team mate Allan Stone in doubles. He also won the mixed doubles with Billie Jean King.
Crealy won the Men's Doubles at the 1974 French Open with Onny Parun over Stan Smith and Bob Lutz. In 1970, Crealy had his most successful season, reaching No. 5 on the Grand Prix rankings. In this year, he reached the singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost to American player Arthur Ashe, as well as the quarter-finals of the French Open. He also won the Swedish Open in Båstad and represented Australia in the Davis Cup with a 4–2 singles record and 2–0 doubles record. In 1974, he won another Grand Slam Title in doubles, combining with New Zealander Onny Parun in the French Open.
Crealy retired from the ATP Tour in 1978, but continued having success for many years on the Veteran's Tour, playing in many of the "Legends" tournaments at the Australian Open. He also still plays Pro-Ams, often supporting The Starlight Foundation in its annual tournament in Sydney.
Dick Crealy is a Life Member of the Australian Davis Cup Foundation.

### 1969 US Open

There is some confusion over the 1969 US Open Championship title, which is held by Crealy and Allan Stone conjointly with Ken Rosewall and Fred Stolle.
The era of Open Tennis commenced in 1968, and at that time Boston was the home of the US National Doubles championship. However, the agents of some contract professionals demanded guaranteed prize money which could not be covered by the tournament. Accordingly, contract professionals boycotted the tournament, with many playing instead at Forest Hills, which was won by Rosewall and Stolle. Crealy and Stone won the Doubles in Boston in 1969 as professionals, defeating Charlie Pasarell and Bill Bowrey.
In 1971, the USTA and Association of Tennis Professionals decided to combine the winners of both tournaments to make the Grand Slam tournament. This was not an issue for the winners of 1968 as both tournaments were won by Smith and Lutz. Crealy and Stone were asked if they would agree to share the 1969 title with Rosewall and Stolle - they readily agreed, especially as the latter were two of the great Australian players and because "tennis was played with much goodwill in those days."

## Grand Slam finals
### Singles (1 runner-up)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 1970 | Australian Open | Grass | Arthur Ashe | 4–6, 7–9, 2–6 |

### Doubles (2 titles)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1968 | Australian Championships | Grass | Allan Stone | Terry Addison Ray Keldie | 10–8, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 1974 | French Open | Grass | Onny Parun | Robert Lutz Stan Smith | 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 6–1 |

### Mixed Doubles (1 title)

| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1968 | Australian Championships | Grass | Billie Jean King | Margaret Court Allan Stone | walkover |

## Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key :
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |

### Singles

| Tournament | 1963 | 1964 | 1965 | 1966 | 1967 | 1968 | 1969 | 1970 | 1971 | 1972 | 1973 | 1974 | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | SR |
| Australian Open | 2R | 2R | A | 1R | 2R | QF | 2R | F | 2R | QF | 1R | 3R | SF | QF | 3R | 2R | 2R | A | Q3 | 0 / 16 |
| French Open | A | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | 0 / 13 |
| Wimbledon | A | A | A | 1R | 3R | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | 2R | A | 3R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 1R | A | A | 0 / 12 |
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 6 |
| Strike rate | 0 / 1 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 1 | 0 / 0 | 0 / 47 |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.

## Open era finals
### Singles (2 titles, 2 runner-ups)

* Grand Slam (0–1)
* Tennis Masters Cup (0–0)
* ATP Tour (2–1)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | Jan 1970 | Australian Open | Grass | Arthur Ashe | 4–6, 7–9, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jul 1970 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Georges Goven | 6–3, 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Jul 1972 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Colin Dibley | 1–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | Mar 1975 | Nice, France | Clay | Iván Molina | 7–6, 6–4, 6–3 |

### Doubles (8 titles, 12 runner-ups)

| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | Jan 1968 | Australian Championships | Grass | Allan Stone | Terry Addison Ray Keldie | 10–8, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | 1969 | US Amateur Championships | Grass | Allan Stone | Bill Bowrey Charlie Pasarell | 9–11, 6–3, 7–5 |
| Win | 3–0 | Jan 1969 | Victorian Open, Australia | Grass | Allan Stone | Ray Ruffels Bill Bowrey | 9–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3–1 | Jul 1969 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Allan Stone | Bill Bowrey Clark Graebner | 4–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 4–1 | Jul 1970 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Allan Stone | Željko Franulović Jan Kodeš | 6–2, 2–6, 12–12, ret. |
| Win | 5–1 | Oct 1970 | Phoenix, U.S. | Hard | Ray Ruffels | Jan Kodeš Charlie Pasarell | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 5–2 | Jul 1973 | Washington, D.C., US | Clay | Andrew Pattison | Ross Case Geoff Masters | 6–2, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 6–2 | Feb 1974 | Hempstead WCT, U.S. | Hard | Jeff Borowiak | Ross Case Geoff Masters | 6–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 7–2 | Jun 1974 | French Open | Grass | Onny Parun | Robert Lutz Stan Smith | 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 6–1 |
| Loss | 7–3 | Sep 1974 | Cedar Grove, U.S. | Hard | Bob Tanis | Steve Siegel Kim Warwick | 6–4, 2–6, 1–6 |
| Loss | 7–4 | Nov 1974 | Bombay, India | Clay | Onny Parun | Anand Amritraj Vijay Amritraj | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 8–4 | Jan 1975 | Baltimore, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Ray Ruffels | Ismail El Shafei Frew McMillan | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 8–5 | May 1975 | Bournemouth, UK | Clay | Syd Ball | Juan Gisbert Manuel Orantes | 6–8, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8–6 | Aug 1975 | South Orange, U.S. | Clay | John Lloyd | Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase | 6–7, 5–7 |
| Loss | 8–7 | Feb 1976 | Rome WCT, Italy | Carpet (i) | Frew McMillan | Bob Lutz Stan Smith | 7–6, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8–8 | May 1976 | Hamburg, West Germany | Clay | Kim Warwick | Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart | 6–7, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 8–9 | Aug 1977 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Cliff Letcher | Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol | 7–6, 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 8–10 | Sep 1976 | Hamilton, Bermuda | Clay | Ray Ruffels | Mike Cahill John Whitlinger | 4–6, 6–4, 6–7$^{(6–8)}$ |
| Loss | 8–11 | Jul 1979 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Tonino Zugarelli | Željko Franulović Heinz Günthardt | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 8–12 | Jan 1980 | Perth, Australia | Grass | Dale Collings | Syd Ball Cliff Letcher | 3–6, 4–6 |