| Chris Lewis | |||
| Country: | New Zealand | ||
| Residence: | Irvine, California, US | ||
| Birth Name: | Christopher John Lewis | ||
| Birth Date: | 1957 3, df=yes | ||
| Birth Place: | Auckland, New Zealand | ||
| Module: |
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| Height: | [1] | ||
| Turnedpro: | 1975 | ||
| Retired: | 1986 | ||
| Plays: | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) | ||
| Careerprizemoney: | $647,550 | ||
| Singlesrecord: | 237–196 | ||
| Singlestitles: | 3 | ||
| Highestsinglesranking: | No. 19 (16 April 1984) | ||
| Australianopenresult: | 3R (1977Dec, 1981) | ||
| Frenchopenresult: | 3R (1977) | ||
| Wimbledonresult: | F (1983) | ||
| Usopenresult: | 3R (1982) | ||
| Doublesrecord: | 183–161 | ||
| Doublestitles: | 8 | ||
| Highestdoublesranking: | No. 46 (14 January 1985) | ||
| Australianopendoublesresult: | QF (1980) | ||
| Frenchopendoublesresult: | QF (1982) | ||
| Wimbledondoublesresult: | QF (1981) | ||
| Usopendoublesresult: | 2R (1981) | ||
Christopher John Lewis (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.
Lewis was born in Auckland, New Zealand, and received his secondary education at Marcellin College and Lynfield College.[2] He is the eldest of three sons. His brothers are David Lewis and Mark Lewis who also had competitive tennis careers.[3]
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).
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.
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.[4]
In the 2024 King’s Birthday Honours, Lewis was appointed an Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to tennis.[5]
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| 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 |
| 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 | 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(7–4) | |
| 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 | Broderick Dyke Wally Masur | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Tournament | 1975 | 1985 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left bgcolor=#efefef | Australian Open | A | 2R | 1R | 3R | A | 1R | 1R | 3R | 3R | 3R | 2R | 2R | 0 / 10 | |
| align=left bgcolor=#efefef | French Open | Q2 | A | bgcolor=afeeee colspan=2 | 3R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 9 | |
| align=left bgcolor=#efefef | Wimbledon | Q3 | 2R | bgcolor=afeeee colspan=2 | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | 3R | bgcolor=thistle | F | 2R | 2R | 0 / 9 |
| align=left bgcolor=#efefef | US Open | A | A | A | 1R | 1R | A | 2R | 3R | 2R | 1R | A | 0 / 6 | ||
| style=text-align:left | Strike rate | 0 / 0 | 0 / 2 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 3 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 4 | 0 / 3 | |||