The approach to Wimbledon's first Open Championship in 1968 was hot and sultry. This was not a good sign because Wimbledon officials know that conditions like that are almost certain to be followed by heavy rains. That is exactly what happened and the first week was one of the wettest in the entire history of the Championships.

It was an historic year in another way because of the civil unrest in France when the first French Open was being played prior to Wimbledon. Paris, and other cities in France, were hit by lack of public transport and services, and aircraft movements in and out of France virtually ended. But against this background the French Open proved particularly successful and huge crowds flocked to the Stade Roland Garros. All the players arrived as well as if to prove and to share with the spectators the belief that the show must go on.

Ken Rosewall beat his fellow Australian Rod Laver to win the French title, repeating the victory he had gained in the first open tournament of all - the British Hard Court Championships played at the West Hants club at Bournemouth at the start of the new era for the game which began on April 22.

Wimbledon had always been at the forefront of the drive for an open game. Indeed one chairman of Wimbledon, the late Herman David, has described the amateur game as a "living lie." By the start of 1967 the pressure was growing interminably for the game to become open to all and it was as if to test the water that Wimbledon presented an eight man Wimbledon World Professional Championship on the Centre Court in August. The prize money was £12, 500, and the BBC showed the tournament to salute the introduction of colour television. Laver won the title.

Towards the end of 1967 the Lawn Tennis Association voted for open tennis across the board and within a matter of weeks the world at large was ready for the change. Consequently, the excitement surrounding the first Open at Wimbledon was immense. For the first time some of the great players of the past were to tackle the challenge of Wimbledon once more. Back came Laver after a five year gap as a professional and with him from that same previously excluded grouping came Pancho Gonzales, who had not played at Wimbledon since 1949, Pancho Segura, Lew Hoad, Andres Gimeno, Butch Buchholz, and, of course, Rosewall, who had been runner up in the singles final in 1954 and 1956.

Laver, champion in 1961 and 1962, was top seed. Rosewall was placed second with Gimeno, the Spaniard at third place, and John Newcombe, the 1967 champion, in fourth place. Newcombe had turned professional after winning the title but the arrival of open tennis meant there was no break in his playing at Wimbledon.

Gonzales, a huge favourite, was seeded eighth but lasted no further than the second round where he fell to the Russian, Alex Metreveli. Rosewall, having been pushed by two strong grass court players, Charlie Pasarell and Onny Parun, in the second and third rounds, was beaten in the Fourth by the 15th seeded Australian left hander Tony Roche. Newcombe, too, was a fourth round loser to the American Arthur Ashe while Gimeno was defeated in the third round by the South African Ray Moore.

As the tournament narrowed to the last eight, with play starting at 1pm on three days to counter the effects of the bad weather, Laver and Buchholz were the lone survivors from the old professional ranks and just Laver remained in the Semi-Finals where he faced Ashe, the thirteenth seed, and his fifth American opponent. Roche played another American, the unseeded Clark Graebner, at the same stage. An all-Australian final, not exactly a rarity at Wimbledon, resulted. The winner would earn £2000 in prize money.

It was a daunting task for Roche, the son of the butcher from a hamlet called Tarcutta in New South Wales. He was less known on the world stage and even though he was to become a great champion and dominate Wimbledon doubles with Newcombe he did not have the measure of Laver in a final between two left handers. Laver won 6-3 6-4 6-2 and Wimbledon's first open
tournament was over.

The Ladies' Championship was a triumph for the American Billie Jean King who won for a third year running. Mrs King was seeded to play another former winner, Margaret Court of Australia, in the Final but instead played another Australian Judy Tegart who beat Mrs Court in the quarter-finals. In the semi-finals Mrs King beat the Briish left hander Ann Jones and Miss Tegart beat the American Nancy Richey. Mrs King won the final 9-7 7-5, earning £750.

Elsewhere, John Newcombe and Tony Roche won the Gentlemen's doubles, Rosemary Casals and Billie Jean King won the Ladies' Double and Ken Fletcher and Margaret Court won the Mixed Doubles.