Cacharel Caracas Open

The Cacharel Caracas Open was a men's tennis tournament founded in 1956 as the Altamira International,^[1] also known as the Altamira International Invitation and Caracas International Championships. The tournament was played annually at the Altamira Tennis Club, Miranda, Caracas, Venezuela, usually in mid-March initially as part of the ILTF Caribbean Circuit.

Caracas Open
Defunct tennis tournament
Event name	Altamira International (1956–1968) Altamira International Invitation (1969) Altamira International (1970–1974) WCT Caracas (1975–1976) Cacharel Caracas Open (1982–1983)
Tour	ILTF Caribbean Circuit (1956–1974) WCT Circuit (1975–1976) Grand Prix circuit (1982–1983)
Founded	1956; 69 years ago (1956)
Abolished	1983; 42 years ago (1983)
Editions	22
Location	Miranda, Caracas, Venezuela
Venue	Altimira Tennis Club
Surface	Hard / outdoor

The women's tournament ended in 1970 and the men's event continued. From 1975 to 1976 the men's editions were known as the Caracas WCT tournament before it was briefly discontinued in 1982 the tournament was revived under a new name before it was abolished in 1983.

History

In 1927 the Venezuelan International Tennis Association was established and established a Venezuelan Lawn Tennis Championships at the first Altamira Tennis Club.^[2] In 1946 the Altamira Tennis Club was formally created.^[3] In 1956 the Altamira International,^[4] also known as the Altamira International Invitation tournament was established at Altamira Tennis Club, Caracas, Venezuela.^[4]

The Atamira International was organized as part of a spring (March to May) Caribbean Circuit which included tournaments in Jamaica (Kingston International Invitation), Puerto Rico (Caribe Hilton Championships), Trinidad and Tobago (Trinidad International) and Colombia, Colombia International (Ciudad de Barranquilla). The tournament attracted the top players of the day.

In 1970 the women's event was discontinued. The tournament continued under brand name Altamira International until 1974. Between 1975 and 1976 the men's event became part of the WCT Circuit and was known as the Caracas WCT tournament. In 1977 the tournament was not held for five years when it was revived and rebranded in 1982 as the Caracas Open played at the same venue until 1983.^[5]

Finals

Men's singles

(incomplete roll)

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Score
Altamira International
1956[6]	Orlando Sirola	Mervyn Rose	2–6, 3–6, 12–10, 6–4, 6–2
1958	Budge Patty	Luis Ayala	6–3, 11–13, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4
1959	Jon Douglas	Mike Davies	6–3, 6–4, 6–3
1960	Andres Gimeno	Mike Davies	6–3, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3
1961	Rod Laver	Luis Ayala	4–6, 6–4, 6–3, 4–6, 8–6
1962	Rod Laver (2)	Roy Emerson	9–7, 6–2, 6–0
1963[7]	Manuel Santana	Thomaz Koch	9–11, 8–6, 6–1, 6–4
1964	Ron Holmberg	Roy Emerson	6–2, 6–4, 9–7
1965	Pierre Barthès	Manuel Santana	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
1966	Tony Roche	John Newcombe	0–6, 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
1967	Nikola Pilić	Rafael Osuna	4–6, 7–5, 6–0, 4–6, 6–1
Open era
1968[8]	Marty Riessen	Cliff Richey	6–1, 8–6, 6–1
Altamira International
1969[9]	Thomaz Koch	Mark Cox	8–6, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4
1970[10]	Tom Gorman	Gerald Battrick	6–2, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
1971[11]	Thomaz Koch (2)	Manuel Orantes	7–6, 6–1, 6–3
1972[12]	Manuel Orantes	Haroon Rahim	6–4, 7–5, 6–4
1973[13]	Tom Gorman	Francois Jauffret	6–3, 7–6, 6–3
1974[14]	Charlie Pasarell	Eddie Dibbs	6–7, 6–2, 6–1
Altamira International/Caracas WCT
1975[15]	Rod Laver (3)	Raul Ramirez	7–6, 6–2
1976[16]	Raúl Ramírez	Ilie Năstase	6–3, 6–4
1977/1981	Event suspended
Caracas Open
1982[17]	Raúl Ramírez	Zoltán Kuhárszky	4–6, 7–6, 6–3
1983[18]	Raúl Ramírez (2)	Morris Strode	6–4, 6–2

Men's Doubles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1982[19]	Steve Meister Craig Wittus	Eric Fromm Cary Leeds	6–7, 7–6, 6–4
1983[20]	Jaime Fillol Stan Smith	Andrés Gómez Ilie Năstase	6–7, 6–4, 6–3

Women's Singles

(incomplete roll)

Year	Winner	Runner-up	Score
Altamira International
1958	Althea Gibson	Maria Bueno	6–1, 4–6, 9–7
1959[21]	Christine Truman	Maria Bueno	6–2, 6–3
1960	Maria Bueno	Ann Haydon	3–6, 7–5, 6–2
1961	Maria Bueno (2)	Darlene Hard	7–5, 6–1
1962	Maria Bueno (3)	Darlene Hard	6–2, 5–7, 6–2
1963	Maria Bueno (4)	Lesley Turner	7–5, 8–6
1964	Francoise Durr	Rita Bentley	6–3, 6–2
1965	Margaret Smith	Lesley Turner	4–6, 6–2, 7–5
1966	Norma Baylon	Gail Sherriff	2–6, 7–5, 6–4
1967	Ann Haydon Jones	Virginia Wade	6–2, 6–3
Open era
1968	Ann Haydon Jones (2)	Julie Heldman	6–4, 11–9
Altamira International Open Invitation
1969	Margaret Smith Court (2)	Maria Bueno	w.o.
Altamira International
1970[22]	Mary-Ann Eisel	Patti Hogan	6–3 6–3

Location and venue

The Altimira Tennis Club was founded in 1946 by the Venezuelan International Tennis Association (f.1927) who built the club and is headquartered there.^[23] Today the club consists of 11 tennis courts.^[24]

Event names

The tournament throughout its history had been known by various names including:

• Altamira International
• Altamira International Invitation
• Altamira International Open Invitation
• Caracas International Championships
• Caracas WCT
• Copa Altimira International Invitation

Event statistics

• Most men's titles: Rod Laver & Raúl Ramírez (3)
• Most women's titles: Maria Bueno (4)