Introduction
Christopher John Lewis ONZM (born 9 March 1957) is a New Zealand former professional tennis player. Lewis reached the 1983 Wimbledon singles final as an unseeded player. He won three singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 19 in April 1984. He also won eight doubles titles during his 12 years on the tour. Lewis was coached by Harry Hopman and Tony Roche.
Lewis is the third (and as of 2021 the most recent) man from New Zealand to reach a major singles final, after Anthony Wilding (several times) and Onny Parun at the 1973 Australian Open.
Early life
Lewis was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and received his secondary education at Marcellin College and Lynfield College. He is the eldest of three sons. His brothers are David Lewis and Mark Lewis who also had competitive tennis careers.
Tennis career
Juniors
Lewis reached the No. 1 junior world ranking in 1975, winning the Wimbledon boys' singles title (def. Ricardo Ycaza) and reaching the final of the US Open boys' singles (lost to Howard Schoenfield).
Pro tour
In reaching the 1983 Wimbledon final, after a five-set win over Kevin Curren in the semifinals, Lewis became the seventh unseeded man and only the second New Zealander after Anthony Wilding (who won four times between 1910 and 1913) to reach a Wimbledon singles final. He lost the final to John McEnroe in three sets. He also reached the final at the Cincinnati Masters in 1981, again losing to John McEnroe in straight sets.
After tennis
In the 1999 New Zealand general election, Lewis unsuccessfully stood for parliament as a list candidate for the Libertarianz party. Now a resident in Irvine, California, Lewis is the co-founder of the Brymer Lewis Tennis Academy, based at the Orange County Great Park Sports Complex in Irvine. His daughter Geneva Lewis, born 1998, is a violinist.
In the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, Lewis was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tennis.
Equipment
Lewis was the first man in history to reach the final of one of the four tennis majors (Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, US Open) while using an oversize racquet, a Prince original graphite (second only to Pam Shriver in the 1978 US Open). He was also one of the early players equipped with custom made shoes designed for the grass surface.
Grand Slam finals
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1983 | Wimbledon | Grass | John McEnroe | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
ATP Masters Series finals
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1981 | Cincinnati Masters | Hard | John McEnroe | 3–6, 4–6 |
Career finals
Singles: 10 (3 titles, 7 runner-ups)
| Finals by surface |
|---|
| Winner – Legend (pre/post 2009) |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) |
| ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1) |
| ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) |
| ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–4) |
| Finals by surface |
| Hard (1–2) |
| Clay (2–1) |
| Grass (0–4) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Grand Slam tournaments (0–1) |
| ATP Masters Series / ATP World Tour Masters 1000 (0–1) |
| ATP International Series Gold / ATP World Tour 500 Series (0–1) |
| ATP International Series / ATP World Tour 250 Series (3–4) |
| Hard (1–2) |
| Clay (2–1) |
| Grass (0–4) |
| Carpet (0–0) |
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Dec 1977 | Adelaide, Australia | Grass | Tim Gullikson | 6–3, 4–6, 6–3, 2–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jul 1978 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Vladimír Zedník | 6–1, 6–4, 6–0 |
| Loss | 1–2 | Mar 1981 | Stuttgart, West Germany | Hard (i) | Ivan Lendl | 3–6, 0–6, 7–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 2–2 | May 1981 | Munich, West Germany | Clay | Christophe Roger-Vasselin | 4–6, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1, 6–1 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Aug 1981 | Cincinnati, United States | Hard | John McEnroe | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–4 | Oct 1981 | Brisbane, Australia | Grass | Mark Edmondson | 6–7, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–5 | Dec 1981 | Sydney, Australia | Grass | Tim Wilkison | 4–6, 6–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2–6 | Apr 1982 | Hilton Head, United States | Clay | Van Winitsky | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–7 | Jun 1983 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | John McEnroe | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 3–7 | Jan 1985 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Wally Masur | 7–5, 6–0, 2–6, 6–4 |
Doubles: 16 (8 titles, 8 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jan 1977 | Auckland, New Zealand | Grass | Russell Simpson | Peter Langsford Jonathan Smith | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | Apr 1977 | Nice, France | Clay | Chris Kachel | Ion Țiriac Guillermo Vilas | 4–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Apr 1977 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Russell Simpson | Iván Molina Jairo Velasco | 2–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 3–1 | Jul 1978 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Mike Fishbach | Pavel Huťka Pavel Složil | 6–7, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 3–2 | Aug 1978 | Indianapolis, US | Clay | Jeff Borowiak | Gene Mayer Hank Pfister | 3–6, 1–6 |
| Win | 4–2 | Nov 1978 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Van Winitsky | José Luis Clerc Belus Prajoux | 6–4, 3–6, 6–0 |
| Loss | 4–3 | May 1980 | São Paulo, Brazil | Carpet | David Carter | Anand Amritraj Fritz Buehning | 6–7, 2–6 |
| Loss | 4–4 | May 1980 | Munich, West Germany | Clay | David Carter | Heinz Günthardt Bob Hewitt | 6–7, 1–6 |
| Loss | 4–5 | Jul 1980 | Stuttgart, West Germany | Clay | John Yuill | Colin Dowdeswell Frew McMillan | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4–6 | Jul 1980 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Carlos Kirmayr | Klaus Eberhard Ulrich Marten | 4–6, 6–3, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4–7 | Apr 1981 | Nice, France | Clay | Pavel Složil | Yannick Noah Pascal Portes | 6–4, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 5–7 | Oct 1981 | Brisbane, Australia | Grass | Rod Frawley | Mark Edmondson Mike Estep | 7–5, 4–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 6–7 | Jan 1983 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Russell Simpson | David Graham Laurie Warder | 7–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 7–7 | May 1983 | Munich, West Germany | Clay | Pavel Složil | Anders Järryd Tomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 7–8 | Apr 1984 | Aix-en-Provence, France | Clay | Wally Masur | Pat Cash Paul McNamee | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Win | 8–8 | Jan 1985 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | John Fitzgerald | Broderick Dyke Wally Masur | 7–6, 6–2 |
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
| Tournament | 1975 | 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | SR | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 10 |
| French Open | Q2 | A | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 9 | |
| Wimbledon | Q3 | 2R | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | F | 2R | 2R | 0 / 9 | |
| US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | |
| Strike rate | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 34 | |
Note: The Australian Open was held twice in 1977, in January and December.