Eric Clifford Drysdale (born 26 May 1941) is a South African former tennis player. After a career as a highly ranked professional player in the 1960s and early 1970s, he became a tennis announcer.

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Cliff Drysdale

Drysdale in 2009
Full name	Eric Clifford Drysdale
Country (sports)	South Africa
Residence	Austin, Texas, United States[1]
Born	(1941-05-26) 26 May 1941 (age 82) Nelspruit, South Africa
Height	1.89 m (6 ft 2+1⁄2 in)
Turned pro	1968 (amateur from 1962)
Retired	1980
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF	2013 (member page)
Official website	www.cliffdrysdale.com
Singles
Career record	685–345 (66.5%) in pre Open-Era & Open Era[2]
Career titles	23[3]
Highest ranking	No. 4 (1965, Lance Tingay)[4]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1971)
French Open	SF (1965, 1966)
Wimbledon	SF (1965, 1966)
US Open	F (1965)
Other tournaments
WCT Finals	QF (1971, 1972, 1977)
Doubles
Career record	189–160 (54.15%)
Career titles	6
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	1R (1971)
French Open	3R (1973)
Wimbledon	SF (1974, 1977)
US Open	W (1972)

Close

Born Eric Clifford 'Cliff' Drysdale in Nelspruit (today known as Mbombela, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa) on May 26, 1941 and completed his high school at Grey High School, Port Elizabeth.^[5]

Drysdale won the singles title at the Dutch Open in 1963 and 1964. In 1965, he reached the singles final of the 1965 U. S. Championships^[6] and he won the singles title at the German Championships. He defeated Rod Laver in the fourth round of the first US Open in 1968. During his Open-era career, Drysdale captured five singles titles and six doubles titles, including the 1972 US Open doubles crown with Roger Taylor.^[7] He was a pioneer of the two-handed backhand shot, which he used to great effect during his playing career.

Drysdale was included among the Handsome Eight, a group of players signed by Lamar Hunt in 1968 for the newly formed professional World Championship Tennis group.^[8] He became president of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), an association that Drysdale had formed in 1972 with Jack Kramer and Donald Dell.^[4][9]

Following retirement, Drysdale became a naturalized American citizen. He has been a tennis commentator for ESPN since the network's inception in 1979.^[10] In 1998, the USTA awarded Drysdale the William M. Johnston award for his contribution to men's tennis.^[11] In 2013, he was elected into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.^[12]

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