Won the French Championships in 1961 and 1964, the US Championships in 1965 and Wimbledon in 1966, becoming the first Spanish man to win the Wimbledon singles title. He became a national figure after leading Spain past the United States in the 1965 Davis Cup, and was quoted before his grass-court breakthrough saying grass was only fit for cows. He later captained Spain's Davis Cup team twice and ran the Madrid Masters until 2019.