H2H data updated: 2026-10-17 00:00 UTC

John Newcombe vs Cliff Drysdale H2H: 14-5

John Newcombe holds a 14–5 lead over Cliff Drysdale in their ATP head-to-head. Across 19 main-draw meetings, John Newcombe leads 6–3 on carpet and 5–1 on hard courts. Most recently, John Newcombe won the 1976 Indian Wells Open round of 16 6-2 7-6.

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

John Newcombe
AUS Age 82 Right-Handed 183 cm / 6'0"
H2H
14 – 5
19 main-draw meetings
Cliff Drysdale
RSA Age 85 Right-Handed 188 cm / 6'2"

H2H Match Log

PlayerScorePlayerMatch DataDateRoundTournamentCategorySurface
John Newcombe 6-2 7-6 Cliff Drysdale Match data Mar 26, 1976* R16 Indian Wells Open ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 6-1 6-1 7-5 Cliff Drysdale Match data Oct 7, 1972* F Alamo Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-3 6-4 Cliff Drysdale Match data May 7, 1972* F Las Vegas Wct ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 6-3 6-7 7-5 Cliff Drysdale Match data May 4, 1972* R16 Denver Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-4 6-2 Cliff Drysdale Match data Mar 26, 1972* SF Hilton Head ATP 250 Clay
Cliff Drysdale 4-6 6-4 6-3 John Newcombe Match data Feb 11, 1972* SF Richmond Wct ATP 250 Carpet
Cliff Drysdale 6-3 1-6 5-7 6-4 6-4 John Newcombe Match data Aug 13, 1971* SF U.S. Pro Tennis Championships ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 3-6 2-6 6-1 6-4 7-6(4) Cliff Drysdale Match data Feb 14, 1971* SF Philadelphia Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 6-3 6-4 Cliff Drysdale Match data Aug 7, 1970* QF Louisville ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 10-6 Cliff Drysdale Match data Oct 15, 1968* F East London Wct ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 6-3 3-6 6-1 Cliff Drysdale Match data Oct 8, 1968* BR Johannesburg Wct ATP 250 Hard
John Newcombe 6-3 6-2 6-4 Cliff Drysdale Match data Aug 19, 1968* F Hamburg Open ATP 250 Clay
John Newcombe 16-21 21-19 21-17 Cliff Drysdale Match data Aug 12, 1968 RR Newport Wct ATP 250 Grass
Cliff Drysdale 6-3 0-6 6-3 4-6 6-3 John Newcombe Match data Jul 26, 1968* SF Swiss Open Gstaad ATP 250 Clay
Cliff Drysdale 31-29 27-31 5-2 John Newcombe Match data May 15, 1968* QF Buffalo Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-12 31-22 Cliff Drysdale Match data Apr 7, 1968* F Bakersfield Wct ATP 250 Carpet
Cliff Drysdale 31-28 John Newcombe Match data Feb 22, 1968* F New Orleans Wct ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 31-30 25-31 5-2 Cliff Drysdale Match data Feb 1, 1968 RR Wct World Cup ATP 250 Carpet
John Newcombe 74-72 Cliff Drysdale Match data Jan 20, 1968 RR Sydney Wct 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 Newcombe #826 #1 0 2,203 544 220 71.2% 5 0 0 0 33 38
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 Newcombe Cliff Drysdale
YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles YrW-LWin %RankEloGSTitles
24 1968 70–37 65.4% — 1,819 0 6 — — — — — — —
25 1969 64–26 71.1% — 1,916 0 8 — — — — — — —
26 1970 65–23 73.9% — 2,034 1 12 — — — — — — —
27 1971 61–18 77.2% — 2,085 2 18 1968 53–37 58.9% — 1,674 0 1
28 1972 69–22 75.8% — 2,130 2 25 1969 33–20 62.3% — 1,782 0 1
29 1973 59–19 75.6% #2 2,056 4 29 1970 45–25 64.3% — 1,911 0 1
30 1974 81–16 83.5% #2 2,119 4 37 1971 76–29 72.4% — 1,992 0 4
31 1975 17–8 68.0% #20 2,016 5 38 1972 51–29 63.8% — 1,937 0 4
32 1976 21–17 55.3% #21 1,832 5 38 1973 31–23 57.4% #23 1,882 0 4
33 1977 5–6 45.5% #185 1,838 5 38 1974 24–12 66.7% #18 1,900 0 5
34 1978 28–22 56.0% #24 1,824 5 38 1975 30–19 61.2% #36 1,816 0 5
35 1979 4–3 57.1% #226 1,839 5 38 1976 17–13 56.7% #25 1,831 0 5
36 1980 0–2 0.0% — 1,807 5 38 1977 17–17 50.0% #27 1,880 0 5
37 1981 0–1 0.0% — 1,799 5 38 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 Newcombe 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 %
24 1968 18 7 25 72.0% 18 4 22 81.8% 15 7 22 68.2% 19 19 38 50.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 5 4 9 55.6% 27 7 34 79.4% 25 7 32 78.1% 7 8 15 46.7% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 17 8 25 68.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 37 7 44 84.1% 9 7 16 56.3% — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 10 5 15 66.7% 22 6 28 78.6% 12 4 16 75.0% 17 3 20 85.0% 1968 6 10 16 37.5% 12 4 16 75.0% 13 6 19 68.4% 22 17 39 56.4%
28 1972 16 3 19 84.2% 13 5 18 72.2% 4 2 6 66.7% 36 12 48 75.0% 1969 8 3 11 72.7% 19 9 28 67.9% 6 4 10 60.0% 0 4 4 0.0%
29 1973 14 4 18 77.8% 17 7 24 70.8% 18 2 20 90.0% 10 6 16 62.5% 1970 16 8 24 66.7% 8 4 12 66.7% 14 7 21 66.7% 7 6 13 53.8%
30 1974 43 3 46 93.5% 10 4 14 71.4% 18 8 26 69.2% 10 1 11 90.9% 1971 25 8 33 75.8% 20 7 27 74.1% 11 3 14 78.6% 20 11 31 64.5%
31 1975 5 5 10 50.0% 3 1 4 75.0% 6 0 6 100.0% 3 2 5 60.0% 1972 18 8 26 69.2% 9 5 14 64.3% 3 1 4 75.0% 21 15 36 58.3%
32 1976 7 7 14 50.0% 4 3 7 57.1% 7 2 9 77.8% 3 5 8 37.5% 1973 9 7 16 56.3% 12 6 18 66.7% 4 3 7 57.1% 6 7 13 46.2%
33 1977 1 2 3 33.3% 0 1 1 0.0% 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — 1974 9 4 13 69.2% 2 1 3 66.7% 2 1 3 66.7% 11 6 17 64.7%
34 1978 5 4 9 55.6% 7 8 15 46.7% 8 3 11 72.7% 8 7 15 53.3% 1975 6 4 10 60.0% 11 7 18 61.1% — — — — 13 8 21 61.9%
35 1979 4 3 7 57.1% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1976 5 3 8 62.5% 4 3 7 57.1% 1 1 2 50.0% 7 6 13 53.8%
36 1980 0 2 2 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 1977 5 5 10 50.0% 0 1 1 0.0% 2 1 3 66.7% 10 10 20 50.0%
37 1981 0 1 1 0.0% — — — — — — — — — — — — 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 — 145 58 203 71.4% 123 47 170 72.4% 154 45 199 77.4% 122 70 192 63.5% — 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 use eligible main-draw results; point statistics use matches with detailed data. 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 Newcombe 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
24 1968 1819 120.5 — — — — -93 +43 -87 60.5% +1.05 16–14 (53%) — — +1.04 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
25 1969 1916 144.5 — — — — -167 +98 +137 66.0% +1.08 16–9 (64%) — — -3.03 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
26 1970 2035 152.0 — — — — -68 -52 +203 66.8% +1.17 17–9 (65%) 4–4 (50%) 104.8 -2.10 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
27 1971 2086 160.2 — — — — +48 -10 +108 70.1% +1.06 15–5 (75%) 18–9 (67%) 111.2 -5.69 1968 1675 114.3 — — — — -176 +56 +81 58.1% +0.92 13–19 (41%) — — +0.91
28 1972 2131 156.8 — — — — +83 -60 -25 72.1% +1.41 13–9 (59%) 20–12 (63%) 101.6 -3.97 1969 1782 128.9 — — — — -122 +107 -9 59.8% +0.44 8–7 (53%) — — -0.64
29 1973 2056 152.8 — — — — +49 -63 +160 70.8% +1.34 14–8 (64%) 22–13 (63%) 101.6 +0.30 1970 1912 140.6 — — — — +41 -52 -103 60.3% +0.51 10–8 (56%) 6–2 (75%) 102.0 -4.85
30 1974 2120 157.1 — — — — +217 -157 +7 77.7% +1.78 13–3 (81%) 21–10 (68%) 107.9 +0.43 1971 1992 155.5 — — — — +24 +4 -33 65.8% +0.98 23–14 (62%) 20–17 (54%) 104.3 -7.28
31 1975 2017 140.1 — — — — +110 -67 +182 61.1% +0.76 8–4 (67%) 3–5 (38%) 96.7 -0.06 1972 1938 158.1 — — — — +12 +53 +26 60.4% +0.73 9–7 (56%) 7–14 (33%) 95.7 -6.24
32 1976 1833 148.7 — — — — +121 +45 +317 53.9% +0.25 5–3 (63%) 12–7 (63%) 100.4 -0.96 1973 1882 141.7 — — — — +19 +74 +26 58.7% +0.63 6–2 (75%) 6–6 (50%) 99.4 -2.42
33 1977 1839 137.4 — — — — +69 — +255 54.8% +0.19 1–3 (25%) 3–2 (60%) 97.3 -1.06 1974 1901 147.0 — — — — +25 +50 +11 64.3% +1.12 4–3 (57%) 0–1 — -2.23
34 1978 1825 147.7 — — — — +89 -83 +249 51.7% +0.12 10–4 (71%) 8–6 (57%) 103.6 -2.37 1975 1817 135.6 — — — — +38 +49 — 57.9% +0.41 11–8 (58%) 8–4 (67%) 103.8 +0.25
35 1979 1840 126.6 — — — — +75 — — 53.3% -0.07 1–0 — — -1.21 1976 1832 148.0 — — — — +51 +32 — 52.2% +0.36 5–2 (71%) 4–6 (40%) 102.8 -1.10
36 1980 1807 107.0 — — — — — — — 0.0% -2.75 — 0–1 — -0.42 1977 1880 157.2 — — — — +19 — +12 48.2% -0.18 7–3 (70%) 7–3 (70%) 107.9 -4.71
37 1981 1799 108.5 — — — — — — — 0.0% -3.50 — — — -0.45 1978 1869 151.0 — — — — -9 — — 50.0% +0.36 5–3 (63%) 1–7 (13%) 97.4 -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 — 2204 153.9 — — — — +40 -13 +125 66.3% +1.08 129–71 (65%) 111–69 (62%) 108.3 -2.58 — 2135 149.2 — — — — -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.