Manuel Orantes

Manuel Orantes
Country (sports)	Spain
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	6 February 1949 (age 77); Granada, Spain
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro	1968 (amateur from 1964)
Retired	1983
Plays	Left-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	$1,398,303
Int. Tennis HoF	2012 (member page)
Singles
Career record	724–294
Career titles	36
Highest ranking	No. 2 (23 August 1973)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	QF (1968)
French Open	F (1974)
Wimbledon	SF (1972)
US Open	W (1975)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	W (1976)
Olympic Games	F (1968, demonstration)
Doubles
Career record	298–155
Career titles	23
Highest ranking	No.1 1975
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1968)
French Open	F (1978)
Wimbledon	QF (1972)
US Open	3R (1975)
Team competitions
Davis Cup	F (1967Ch, 1970)
Medal record
Representing Spain
Mediterranean Games

Manuel Orantes Corral (Spanish pronunciation: [maˈnwel oˈɾantes koˈral]; born 6 February 1949) is a Spanish former professional tennis player. He won 36 career singles titles, including the 1975 US Open, defeating 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 straight sets in the final of the US Open at Forest Hills, New York, where he "destroyed Connors' usually furious attacking game with popcorn balls"^[2] 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 (1972), Hamburg (1972 & 1975), Canada (1975), Monte Carlo (1975), the U.S. Claycourt Championships (1973, 1975 & 1977), the U.S. Pro in Boston (1977 & 1978) and the Masters in 1976. He also reached 35 finals, including the French Open (1974), Cincinnati (1973), Monte Carlo (1970), Canada (1973 & 1974), Rome (1973 & 1975), and Hamburg (1976 & 1977).

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)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	1974	French Open	Clay	Björn Borg	6–2, 7–6^(7–1), 0–6, 1–6, 1–6
Win	1975	US Open	Clay	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 6–3, 6–3

Doubles (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1978	French Open	Clay	José Higueras	Gene Mayer Hank Pfister	3–6, 2–6, 2–6

Other significant finals

Year-end championship

Singles: 1 (1 title)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1976	Masters	Carpet (i)	Wojciech Fibak	5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6^(7–1), 6–1

Doubles (1 runner-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent	Score
Win	1975	Masters	Carpet (i)	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	Round robin

ATP career finals

Singles: 74 (36 titles, 38 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Loss	0–1	Mar 1968	Kingston, Jamaica	Hard (i)	Tom Okker	2–6, 4–6
Win	1–1	Sep 1968	Madrid, Spain*	Hard (i)	Manuel Santana	6–2, 6–8, 5–7, 6–3, 8–6
Win	2–1	Feb 1969	Macon, U.S	Carpet (i)	Mark Cox	10–8, 7–5, 4–6, 9–7
Win	3–1	May 1969	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Manuel Santana	6–4, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	3–2	Aug 1969	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Manuel Santana	4–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win	4–2	Sep 1969	Madrid, Spain*	Hard (i)	Barry Philips-Moore	8–6, 6–3, 6–1
Loss	4–3	Apr 1970	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Željko Franulović	4–6, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	4–4	Nov 1970	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Željko Franulović	4–6, 2–6, 0–6
Loss	4–5	Mar 1971	Caracas, Venezuela	Clay	Thomaz Koch	6–7, 1–6, 3–6
Loss	4–6	Jul 1971	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Clark Graebner	Abandoned
Win	5–6	Oct 1971	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Bob Lutz	6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Win	6–6	Mar 1972	Caracas, Venezuela	Hard	Haroon Rahim	6–4, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	6–7	Apr 1972	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Cliff Richey	4–6, 5–7, 6–3, 4–6
Win	7–7	May 1972	Rome, Italy	Clay	Jan Kodeš	4–6, 6–1, 7–5, 6–2
Win	8–7	May 1972	Brussels, Belgium	Clay	Andrés Gimeno	6–4, 6–1, 2–6, 7–5
Win	9–7	Jun 1972	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Adriano Panatta	6–3, 9–8, 6–0
Win	10–7	Jul 1972	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Ilie Năstase	6–4, 6–3, 6–1
Loss	10–8	Aug 1972	South Orange, U.S.	Hard	Ilie Năstase	4–6, 4–6
Loss	10–9	Oct 1972	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Jan Kodeš	3–6, 2–6, 3–6
Win	11–9	Apr 1973	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Adriano Panatta	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
Win	12–9	Apr 1973	Nice, France	Clay	Adriano Panatta	7–6, 5–7, 4–6, 7–6, 12–10
Loss	12–10	Jun 1973	Rome, Italy	Clay	Ilie Năstase	1–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss	12–11	Jul 1973	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Stan Smith	4–6, 2–6, 6–7
Loss	12–12	Jul 1973	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Abandoned
Win	13–12	Aug 1973	Louisville, U.S.	Clay	John Newcombe	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	13–13	Aug 1973	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Ilie Năstase	7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Win	14–13	Aug 1973	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Georges Goven	6–4, 6–1, 6–4
Loss	14–14	Aug 1973	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Tom Okker	3–6, 2–6, 1–6
Loss	14–15	Oct 1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Ilie Năstase	6–2, 1–6, 6–8, 4–6
Loss	14–16	Jun 1974	French Open, Paris	Clay	Björn Borg	6–2, 7–6, 0–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss	14–17	Jul 1974	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	1–6, 2–6
Loss	14–18	Aug 1974	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	4–6, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	14–19	Oct 1974	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Ilie Năstase	6–8, 7–9, 3–6
Loss	14–20	Nov 1974	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	3–6, 6–0, 5–7, 2–6
Win	15–20	Mar 1975	Cairo, Egypt	Clay	François Jauffret	6–0, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win	16–20	Mar 1975	Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco	Clay	Bob Hewitt	6–2, 6–4
Loss	16–21	Apr 1975	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Ilie Năstase	3–6, 0–6
Loss	16–22	Apr 1975	Madrid-2, Spain	Clay	Ilie Năstase	6–7, 1–6, 6–2, 3–6
Win	17–22	May 1975	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Patrick Proisy	6–3, 4–6, 6–2, 7–5
Win	18–22	May 1975	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Jan Kodeš	3–6, 6–2, 6–2, 4–6, 6–1
Loss	18–23	Jun 1975	Rome, Italy	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–7, 5–7, 5–7
Win	19–23	Jul 1975	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	José Higueras	6–0, 6–3
Win	20–23	Aug 1975	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Arthur Ashe	6–2, 6–2
Win	21–23	Aug 1975	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Ilie Năstase	7–6, 6–0, 6–1
Win	22–23	Sep 1975	US Open, New York	Clay	Jimmy Connors	6–4, 6–3, 6–3
Loss	22–24	Nov 1975	Tokyo, Japan	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	22–25	Nov 1975	Calcutta, India	Clay	Vijay Amritraj	5–7, 3–6
Win	23–25	Mar 1976	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Kjell Johansson	6–2, 6–2, 6–2
Win	24–25	May 1976	Munich, West Germany	Clay	Karl Meiler	6–1, 6–4, 6–1
Loss	24–26	May 1976	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Wojciech Fibak	2–6, 9–7, 2–6, 2–6
Loss	24–27	May 1976	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	4–6, 6–4, 1–6, 6–2, 1–6
Loss	24–28	May 1976	Düsseldorf, West Germany	Clay	Björn Borg	2–6, 2–6, 0–6
Loss	22–29	Jul 1976	Pepsi Grand Slam, U.S.	Clay	Ilie Năstase	4–6, 3–6
Win	25–29	Jul 1976	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Jan Kodeš	7–6, 6–2, 7–6
Win	26–29	Oct 1976	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	7–6, 6–0, 2–6, 6–4
Win	27–29	Oct 1976	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 6–2, 6–1
Win	28–29	Oct 1976	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	6–1, 2–6, 2–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	28–30	Nov 1976	London, UK	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	3–6, 4–6
Loss	28–31	Nov 1976	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Mark Cox	6–4, 5–7, 6–7
Win	29–31	Dec 1976	Masters, Houston	Carpet	Wojciech Fibak	5–7, 6–2, 0–6, 7–6, 6–1
Loss	29–32	May 1977	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Paolo Bertolucci	3–6, 6–4, 2–6, 3–6
Loss	29–33	Aug 1977	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	John Alexander	6–2, 4–6, 4–6
Win	30–33	Aug 1977	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Jimmy Connors	6–1, 6–3
Win	31–33	Aug 1977	Boston, U.S.	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 7–5, 6–4
Loss	31–33	Oct 1977	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Björn Borg	2–6, 5–7, 2–6
Win	32–34	Nov 1977	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Clay	Kim Warwick	6–2, 6–1
Loss	32–35	Nov 1977	Manila, Philippines	Hard	Karl Meiler	DEF
Win	33–35	Aug 1978	Boston, U.S.	Clay	Harold Solomon	6–4, 6–3
Win	34–35	May 1979	Munich, West Germany	Clay	Wojciech Fibak	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
Loss	34–36	Sep 1979	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Yannick Noah	3–6, 7–6, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	34–37	Mar 1980	Nice, France	Clay	Björn Borg	2–6, 0–6, 1–6
Win	35–37	Sep 1981	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Pedro Rebolledo	6–4, 6–0, 6–0
Win	36–37	Apr 1982	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Ángel Giménez	6–2, 6–0
Loss	36–38	Mar 1983	Nice, France	Clay	Henrik Sundström	5–7, 6–4, 3–6

Madrid 1968 and 1969 not listed by ATP.

Doubles: 43 (23 titles, 20 runner-ups)

Result	W/L	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1–0	1969	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Patricio Rodríguez	Terry Addison Ray Keldie	8–10, 6–3, 6–1, 5–7, 6–2
Win	2–0	1971	New York City, US	Indoor	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Jimmy Connors Haroon Rahim	7–6, 6–2
Win	3–0	1971	Salisbury, US	Hard (i)	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	6–3, 4–6, 7–6
Loss	3–1	1972	Kansas City, US	Indoor	Andrés Gimeno	Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac	7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win	4–1	1972	Salisbury, US	Hard (i)	Andrés Gimeno	Juan Gisbert Sr. Vladimir Zednik	6–4, 6–3
Loss	4–2	1972	Hampton, US	Hard (i)	Andrés Gimeno	Ilie Năstase Ion Țiriac	4–6, 6–7
Loss	4–3	1972	Caracas, Venezuela	Hard	Jim McManus	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	4–6, 6–7
Loss	4–4	1972	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Andrés Gimeno	Ilie Năstase Stan Smith	2–6, 2–6
Win	5–4	1972	Brussels, Belgium	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Patricio Cornejo Jaime Fillol	9–7, 6–3
Win	6–4	1972	Eastbourne, UK	Grass	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Nicholas Kalogeropoulos Andrew Pattison	8–6, 6–2
Win	7–4	1972	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Frew McMillan Ilie Năstase	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Win	8–4	1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Mike Estep Ion Țiriac	6–4, 7–6
Loss	8–5	1973	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	6–7, 6–7, 6–7
Loss	8–6	1973	Eastbourne, UK	Grass	Ion Țiriac	Ove Nils Bengtson Jim McManus	4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win	9–6	1973	Louisville, US	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Clark Graebner John Newcombe	0–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	9–7	1973	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Ion Țiriac	Bob Carmichael Frew McMillan	3–6, 4–6
Loss	9–8	1973	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Antonio Muñoz	Ilie Năstase Tom Okker	6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Loss	9–9	1974	Tucson, US	Hard	Tom Edlefsen	Charlie Pasarell Sherwood Stewart	4–6, 4–6
Loss	9–10	1974	Monte Carlo, Monaco	Clay	Tony Roche	John Alexander Phil Dent	6–7, 6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win	10–10	1974	Munich, West Germany	Clay	Antonio Muñoz	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	2–6, 6–4, 7–6, 6–2
Win	11–10	1974	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	José Higueras	Roy Emerson Thomaz Koch	7–5, 0–6, 6–1, 9–8
Win	12–10	1974	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	6–1, 2–6, 6–2
Loss	12–11	1974	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Juan Gisbert Sr. Ilie Năstase	6–3, 0–6, 2–6
Win	13–11	1974	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	7–6, 2–6, 6–2
Win	14–11	1974	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	Clark Graebner Thomaz Koch	6–4, 6–3
Win	15–11	1975	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Syd Ball Dick Crealy	8–6, 6–3
Win	16–11	1975	Hamburg, West Germany	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Wojciech Fibak Jan Kodeš	6–3, 7–6
Loss	16–12	1975	Båstad, Sweden	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Björn Borg Ove Nils Bengtson	6–7, 5–7
Win	17–12	1975	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Wojciech Fibak Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	7–5, 6–0
Loss	17–13	1975	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Jan Kodeš Ilie Năstase	6–7, 6–4, 7–9
Win	18–13	1975	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	7–5, 6–7, 6–1, 6–4
Loss	18–14	1975	Tokyo, Japan	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	6–7, 4–6
Win	19–14	1975	Calcutta, India	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Anand Amritraj Vijay Amritraj	1–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	20–14	1975	Masters, Stockholm	Carpet	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	Round robin
Win	21–14	1976	Valencia, Spain	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Corrado Barazzutti Antonio Zugarelli	6–1, 6–4
Win	22–14	1976	Munich, West Germany	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	1–6, 6–3, 6–2, 2–3, ret.
Loss	22–15	1976	Bournemouth, UK	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Wojciech Fibak Fred McNair	6–4, 5–7, 5–7
Loss	22–16	1976	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Bob Hewitt Raúl Ramírez	2–6, 1–6
Loss	22–17	1976	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Juan Gisbert Sr.	Wojciech Fibak Raúl Ramírez	5–7, 1–6
Loss	22–18	1977	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Antonio Muñoz	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	7–6, 6–7, 3–6, 1–6
Loss	22–19	1978	French Open, Paris	Clay	José Higueras	Gene Mayer Hank Pfister	3–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win	23–19	1982	Viña del Mar, Chile	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Guillermo Aubone Ángel Giménez	DEF
Loss	23–20	1982	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Angel Gimenez	Hans Kary Zoltán Kuhárszky	5–7, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1968	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	SR	W–L	Win %
Australian Open	QF	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 1	3–1	75%
French Open	1R	3R	4R	1R	SF	2R	F	1R	QF	A	QF	4R	4R	1R	A	2R	0 / 14	31–11	74%
Wimbledon	1R	1R	3R	1R	SF	A	4R	A	A	A	A	2R	A	A	A	A	0 / 7	11–7	61%
US Open	A	2R	A	QF	3R	3R	2R	W	QF	QF	1R	A	A	A	A	A	1 / 9	25–8	76%
Win–loss	3–2	3–3	5–2	4–2	11–3	3–2	10–3	7–1	8–2	4–1	4–2	4–2	3–0	0–1	0–0	1–1	1 / 31	70–27	72%
Year-end ranking	–	–	–	–	–	5	11	5	4	7	12	19	58	45	41	74

References

1 2 "Manuel Orantes". Association of Tennis Professionals.
↑ "Connors falls in Open showdown". Herald-Journal. 8 September 1975. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

External links

Manuel Orantes at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Manuel Orantes at the International Tennis Federation
Manuel Orantes at the Davis Cup (archived)
Manuel Orantes at the International Tennis Hall of Fame

[atp_profile-1] 1 2 "Manuel Orantes". Association of Tennis Professionals.

[:conora1975-2] "Connors falls in Open showdown". Herald-Journal. 8 September 1975. Retrieved 28 July 2025.

[1]

[2]