Manuel Orantes


Manuel Orantes Corral is a former tennis player from Spain who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. He won the US Open men's singles title in 1975, beating defending champion Jimmy Connors in the final. Orantes reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2.

Career

On 7 September 1975 Orantes defeated top-seeded Jimmy Connors in the final of the US Open at Forest Hills, New York to win his only Grand Slam title. A year earlier, he was runner-up to Björn Borg in the final of the French Open, taking a two-set lead before Borg won the last three sets, losing just two games in total.
Overall, he won 36 singles titles, including Rome, Hamburg, Canada, Monte Carlo, the U.S. Claycourt Championships, the U.S. Pro in Boston and the Masters in 1976. He also reached 35 finals, including the French Open, Cincinnati, Monte Carlo, Canada, Rome, and Hamburg.
Orantes was a stalwart member of the Spanish Davis Cup team from 1967 to 1980, earning a record of 60–27 in Davis Cup match play. He also was a member of the Spanish team which won the inaugural World Team Cup in 1978.
He also won 22 doubles titles in his career, including Hamburg in 1975 and Canada in 1974. He reached 20 doubles finals, including the French Open in 1978, Canada in 1976, and Hamburg in 1973.
Orantes was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2012.

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 1 runner-up)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1974French OpenClay Björn Borg6–2, 7–6, 0–6, 1–6, 1–6
Win1975US OpenClay Jimmy Connors6–4, 6–3, 6–3

ATP Career finals

Singles: 72 (36 titles, 36 runner-ups)

Doubles: 42 (22 titles, 20 runner-ups)

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline