H2H data updated: 2026-09-01 00:00 UTC

John James vs Cliff Drysdale H2H: 0-1

Cliff Drysdale holds a 1–0 lead over John James in their ATP head-to-head. Across 1 main-draw meeting, Cliff Drysdale leads 1–0 on carpet. Most recently, Cliff Drysdale won the 1978 Baltimore round of 16 6-4 6-2.

Want to explore more matchups? Advanced rivalry search lets you browse current and historical rivalries, unbeaten records, or every matchup for a player.

John James
AUS Age 75 Right-Handed 183 cm / 6'0"
H2H
0 – 1
1 main draw meetings
Cliff Drysdale
RSA Age 85 Right-Handed 188 cm / 6'2"

H2H Match Log

PlayerScorePlayerMatch DataDateRoundTournamentCategorySurface
Cliff Drysdale #22 6-4 6-2 John James #99 Match data Jan 26, 1978* R16 Baltimore ATP 250 Carpet

Estimated match date where the exact historical date is unavailable. Arrows show an edition's recorded category and documented modern equivalent; unresolved editions keep their recorded category. Asterisked totals include editions mapped from documented historical predecessor categories. Mapping details.

Career Comparison

Player Current Peak Pts Elo W L Win % GS 1000 including documented historical predecessor categories Finals 500 including documented historical predecessor categories 250 including documented historical predecessor categories Titles
John James #808 #81 28 1,682 98 144 40.5% 0 0 0 0 0 0
Cliff Drysdale #423 #13 0 2,135 397 251 61.3% 0 0 0 0 6 6

Career Progression by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. GS and Titles are cumulative career totals through that season.

Age John James Cliff Drysdale
YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles
17 1968 3–3 50.0% — 1,516 0 0 — — — — — — —
19 1970 1–1 50.0% — 1,513 0 0 — — — — — — —
21 1972 7–4 63.6% — 1,570 0 0 — — — — — — —
22 1973 0–5 0.0% — 1,514 0 0 — — — — — — —
23 1974 2–3 40.0% #249 1,517 0 0 — — — — — — —
24 1975 5–10 33.3% #135 1,517 0 0 — — — — — — —
25 1976 6–14 30.0% #146 1,512 0 0 — — — — — — —
26 1977 16–23 41.0% #97 1,583 0 0 — — — — — — —
27 1978 20–27 42.6% #102 1,629 0 0 1968 53–37 58.9% — 1,674 0 1
28 1979 19–22 46.3% #91 1,644 0 0 1969 33–20 62.3% — 1,782 0 1
29 1980 12–25 32.4% #209 1,493 0 0 1970 45–25 64.3% — 1,911 0 1
30 1981 3–4 42.9% — 1,490 0 0 1971 76–29 72.4% — 1,992 0 4
31 1982 4–3 57.1% — 1,559 0 0 1972 51–29 63.8% — 1,937 0 4
32 — — — — — — — 1973 31–23 57.4% #23 1,882 0 4
33 — — — — — — — 1974 24–12 66.7% #18 1,900 0 5
34 — — — — — — — 1975 30–19 61.2% #36 1,816 0 5
35 — — — — — — — 1976 17–13 56.7% #25 1,831 0 5
36 — — — — — — — 1977 17–17 50.0% #27 1,880 0 5
37 — — — — — — — 1978 14–13 51.9% #47 1,869 0 6
38 — — — — — — — 1979 5–12 29.4% #217 1,715 0 6
39 — — — — — — — 1980 1–2 33.3% #423 1,712 0 6

Surface Results by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Results cover completed main-draw matches. Bold green marks the higher win percentage when both players have at least 5 matches on that surface at the aligned age.

Age John James Cliff Drysdale
Yr HardClayGrassCarpet Yr HardClayGrassCarpet
W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win % W L M Win %
17 1968 — — — — — — — — 3 3 6 50.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
19 1970 — — — — — — — — 1 1 2 50.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
21 1972 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — 7 3 10 70.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
22 1973 — — — — — — — — 0 5 5 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
23 1974 — — — — — — — — 2 3 5 40.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
24 1975 0 1 1 0.0% 2 4 6 33.3% 2 3 5 40.0% 1 2 3 33.3% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1976 1 4 5 20.0% 1 6 7 14.3% 4 3 7 57.1% 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1977 1 3 4 25.0% 8 8 16 50.0% 4 6 10 40.0% 3 6 9 33.3% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1978 7 8 15 46.7% 2 8 10 20.0% 9 6 15 60.0% 2 5 7 28.6% 1968 6 10 16 37.5% 12 4 16 75.0% 13 6 19 68.4% 22 17 39 56.4%
28 1979 5 6 11 45.5% 4 6 10 40.0% 8 7 15 53.3% 2 3 5 40.0% 1969 8 3 11 72.7% 19 9 28 67.9% 6 4 10 60.0% 0 4 4 0.0%
29 1980 4 7 11 36.4% 5 10 15 33.3% 3 5 8 37.5% 0 3 3 0.0% 1970 16 8 24 66.7% 8 4 12 66.7% 14 7 21 66.7% 7 6 13 53.8%
30 1981 2 2 4 50.0% 1 1 2 50.0% 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — 1971 25 8 33 75.8% 20 7 27 74.1% 11 3 14 78.6% 20 11 31 64.5%
31 1982 — — — — 1 2 3 33.3% 3 1 4 75.0% — — — — 1972 18 8 26 69.2% 9 5 14 64.3% 3 1 4 75.0% 21 15 36 58.3%
32 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1973 9 7 16 56.3% 12 6 18 66.7% 4 3 7 57.1% 6 7 13 46.2%
33 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1974 9 4 13 69.2% 2 1 3 66.7% 2 1 3 66.7% 11 6 17 64.7%
34 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1975 6 4 10 60.0% 11 7 18 61.1% — — — — 13 8 21 61.9%
35 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1976 5 3 8 62.5% 4 3 7 57.1% 1 1 2 50.0% 7 6 13 53.8%
36 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 5 5 10 50.0% 0 1 1 0.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 10 10 20 50.0%
37 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 1 3 4 25.0% — — — — — — — — 13 10 23 56.5%
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1979 3 5 8 37.5% 1 1 2 50.0% 1 2 3 33.3% 0 4 4 0.0%
39 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1980 — — — — — — — — 1 1 2 50.0% 0 1 1 0.0%
Career — 20 32 52 38.5% 24 45 69 34.8% 46 47 93 49.5% 8 20 28 28.6% — 111 68 179 62.0% 98 48 146 67.1% 58 30 88 65.9% 130 105 235 55.3%

Advanced Statistics Comparison by Age

Seasons are aligned by the age each player spent most of that calendar year. Metrics are precomputed from eligible main-draw results; point-stat values use the available detailed sample. Bold green marks the stronger value when both underlying samples are sufficient. Lower is better for Schedule because a negative value means a tougher schedule. Career Schedule is normalized per 100 matches.

Age John James Cliff Drysdale
Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule Yr Elo P+ Serve+ Return+ PD TPW% Hard Elo Clay Elo Grass Elo Set Win % Set Margin Dec. Set Tiebreak Pressure+ Schedule
17 1968 1517 105.8 — — — — — — +24 56.5% +0.69 1–2 (33%) — — +0.22 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
19 1970 1514 99.8 — — — — — — — 50.0% 0.00 — — — +0.23 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
21 1972 1570 111.6 — — — — — — +66 56.7% +0.27 1–1 3–0 (100%) — +0.69 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
22 1973 1514 96.4 — — — — — — -5 23.1% -1.54 0–1 0–1 — -0.23 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
23 1974 1518 116.6 — — — — — — -4 30.0% -2.20 0–1 1–0 — -0.43 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
24 1975 1517 115.0 — — — — +32 +20 -4 35.3% -1.26 0–2 2–0 — +0.66 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1976 1513 125.5 — — — — -18 -10 +71 36.0% -0.80 3–4 (43%) 2–3 (40%) — +1.02 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1977 1583 129.9 — — — — -86 +21 -28 40.0% -0.40 4–4 (50%) 1–3 (25%) — -0.34 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1978 1629 127.4 — — — — -82 -94 +53 43.9% -0.27 6–6 (50%) 4–7 (36%) — +1.51 1968 1675 114.3 — — — — -176 +56 +81 58.1% +0.92 13–19 (41%) — — +0.91
28 1979 1645 125.5 — — — — -50 -102 +53 47.9% -0.21 2–3 (40%) 5–7 (42%) — +2.00 1969 1782 128.9 — — — — -122 +107 -9 59.8% +0.44 8–7 (53%) — — -0.64
29 1980 1494 113.3 — — — — +7 +34 +158 34.9% -0.97 2–7 (22%) 1–4 (20%) — +3.49 1970 1912 140.6 — — — — +41 -52 -103 60.3% +0.51 10–8 (56%) 6–2 (75%) — -4.84
30 1981 1490 106.2 — — — — +36 — — 50.0% -0.45 0–2 — — +1.40 1971 1992 155.5 — — — — +24 +4 -33 65.8% +0.98 23–14 (62%) 20–17 (54%) — -7.28
31 1982 1560 121.8 — — — — — -22 +96 50.0% -0.56 2–0 1–0 — -0.32 1972 1938 158.1 — — — — +12 +53 +26 60.4% +0.73 9–7 (56%) 7–14 (33%) — -6.24
32 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1973 1882 141.7 — — — — +19 +74 +25 58.7% +0.63 6–2 (75%) 6–6 (50%) — -2.42
33 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1974 1900 147.0 — — — — +26 +50 +12 64.3% +1.12 4–3 (57%) 0–1 — -2.22
34 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1975 1817 135.6 — — — — +37 +49 — 57.9% +0.41 11–8 (58%) 8–4 (67%) — +0.26
35 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1976 1832 148.0 — — — — +51 +32 — 52.2% +0.36 5–2 (71%) 4–6 (40%) — -1.10
36 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 1880 157.3 — — — — +19 — +12 48.2% -0.18 7–3 (70%) 7–3 (70%) — -4.71
37 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1978 1869 151.0 — — — — -9 — — 50.0% +0.36 5–3 (63%) 1–7 (13%) — -2.21
38 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1979 1715 125.5 — — — — +36 — +122 32.4% -0.73 0–2 2–4 (33%) — -1.22
39 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1980 1712 110.1 — — — — — — — 36.4% -1.45 1–1 2–0 — -0.40
Career — 1683 127.2 — — — — -44 -17 +47 42.3% -0.49 21–33 (39%) 20–25 (44%) 94.5 +4.13 — 2135 149.3 — — — — -8 +47 -5 58.6% +0.60 102–79 (56%) 63–64 (50%) 100.2 -5.02

Career Rivalries

Each player's five most-played main-draw opponents. The current matchup is highlighted when it appears in a player's top five.