“So the ’72 tournament all of a sudden was very exciting for the tennis fanatics in Melbourne and the crowds were record crowds, so it was quite good when Mal and I played off in the final.”
Decades have passed since Rosewall, an eight-time major singles champion, last played a professional match and walked away from the court after competing for 25 years.
Yet he admits it’s not the longevity of his career about which he still thinks.
“The only thing I think about is some of the tournaments that I should’ve won or could’ve won, had a chance to win, like my four Wimbledon finals,” said Rosewall, who appeared the last of those four Wimbledon finals in 1974, aged 39.
But his untouched record remains one of his many great successes.
“Playing and winning in ’72,” he said, “is something I remember anyway.”