Andrés Gimeno

Andrés Gimeno
Country (sports)  Spain
Residence Barcelona, Spain
Born (1937-08-03) 3 August 1937
Barcelona, Spain
Height 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro 1960
Retired 1974
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 2009 (member page)
Singles
Career record 210–108
Highest ranking No. 3 (1962, Karoly Mazak)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open F (1969)
French Open W (1972)
Wimbledon SF (1970)
US Open 4R (1969, 1972)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (1972)
Professional majors
US Pro F (1967)
Wembley Pro F (1965)
French Pro F (1962, 1967)
Doubles
Career record 94–60
Career titles 3
This name uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Gimeno and the second or maternal family name is Tolaguera .

Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera (born 3 August 1937 in Barcelona, Spain) is a retired Spanish tennis player. His greatest achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open.[2]

Early years

Andres came from a family that loved tennis and his father Esteban supported him to play tennis. Esteban had been a good tennis player and he became Andres' coach. They practiced at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. At an early age Andres started to become a really good tennis player, winning some important tournaments in his region. At age sixteen he won the U-18 Championship of Spain. In 1954 he won the Championship of Spain in the doubles’ category playing with Juan Manuel Couder. At the same time, he stopped studying to focus on his tennis’ career.

He was a successful tennis player in Spain, but also represented his country throughout Europe. He played in the Galea's Cup, the European Championship U21, and won it in 1956 and 1957. He was the runner-up in 1958. After that, he decided to go to Australia to play with the man who was considered the best tennis coach in the world, Harry Hopman. He increased his tennis level and soon, he had two important victories in the championships in Perth and in Sidney.

Tennis career

Gimeno went back to Spain in 1960 where he then did his best year as an amateur, winning the titles in Barcelona, Caracas, Monte Carlo, and Queen's. In Barcelona, he became the first Spanish player to win the Torneo Conde de Godó, beating the Italian player Giuseppe Merlo. That same year he reached the doubles final too, but failed to win in that category, losing to an Australian duo in the final. After that year, he joined the professional group “World Championship Tennis”,[3] where Jack Kramer offered him $50,000 for three years, and more money for each victory. The group consisted of some of the best tennis players in history such as Rod Laver, Pancho Gonzalez, Ken Rosewall. Gimeno won the World Championship in 1966, beating Rod Laver in five sets and the same tournament in doubles.[4] He also won the Netherlands' Open, the Madison Square Garden's Championship in 1969, the Dakar and Hamburg in 1971.

His Grand Slam's results came in 1968 when the Open Era started and the professional could participate in Grand Slams. His first good result was the final in Australian Open[5] in 1969, where he lost to Rod Laver in three sets.[6]

Andres Gimeno's best year was in 1972 when he was a finalist in Brussels and in Paris, and he won in Los Angeles, in Eastbourne,[7] in Gstaad, and the French Open. The Catalan won his first and only Grand Slam in 1972. He holds the record for the oldest male player to win the French Open (at the age of 34). In the final, he beat the French player Patrick Proisy in four sets (4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1). In addition, he reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon.[8] In 1973 he reached the final in Hilversum, where Tom Okker beat him in five sets.

Gimeno was an active Davis Cup player, recording an 18–5 singles record and 5–5 his doubles record.[9] His debut was in the match that Spain played against Egypt with one of the most important players in Spain, Manuel Santana. He couldn’t play the competition while he was a part of the professional group, but he participated as coach in 1966. In 1973 he injured his meniscus and decided to quit playing tennis. He became the tennis coach in the RFET, Tennis’ Spanish Federation and then in the Suisse Federation.[10]

Gimeno was ranked World No. 6 for 1961 by L'Équipe, World No. 4 for 1964 by Joe McCauley and World No. 3 for 1962, 1963, 1966 and 1967 by Karoly Mazak in his amateur-pro combined rankings.[1]

After retiring from tennis

After his professional career, he decided to join the tennis circuit for retired players called Legends Championship. He also founded a tennis club in 1974 called "Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno" in Castelldefels, Barcelona.[11] He also worked as tennis commentator in Television Espanola and in Telecinco, both Spanish televisions.

He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, becoming the fourth Spanish tennis player in it, after Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Manuel Alonso and Manuel Santana.[12][13]

He got married to Cristina Corolla in 1962 and together they have three children: Alejo Gimeno, Andres Gimeno Jr and Cristina Gimeno.[14] In 2011, Gimeno lost all his money and some of the best Spanish tennis players such as Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano López and David Ferrer played an exhibition tennis tournament in Palau Blaugrana to raise funds for him.[15][16][17]

Grand Slam singles finals

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up (0/1) 1969 Australian Open Grass Australia Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6, 5–7
Winner (1/2) 1972 French Open Clay France Patrick Proisy 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1

Singles titles (5)

Legend
Grand Slam (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Tour (4)
Number Date Championship Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. 17 May 1971 Hamburg Open, Germany Clay Hungary Péter Szőke 6–3, 6–2, 6–2
2. 14 February 1972 Los Angeles, USA Hard France Pierre Barthes 6–3, 2–6, 6–3
3. 22 May 1972 French Open, France Clay France Patrick Proisy 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1
4. 19 June 1972 Eastbourne, England Grass France Pierre Barthes 7–5, 6–3
5. 10 July 1972 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Italy Adriano Panatta 7–5, 9–8, 6–4

Performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF R# RR Q# A P Z# PO G F-S SF-B NMS NH
(W) Won tournament; reached (F) final, (SF) semifinal, (QF) quarterfinal; (R#) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; competed at a (RR) round-robin stage; reached a (Q#) qualification round; (A) absent from tournament; played in a (Z#) Davis/Fed Cup Zonal Group (with number indication) or (PO) play-off; won a (G) gold, (F-S) silver or (SF-B) bronze Olympic medal; a (NMS) downgraded Masters Series/1000 tournament; or (NH) tournament not held.
To avoid confusion and double counting, these charts are updated either at the conclusion of a tournament, or when the player's participation in the tournament has ended.
Tournament Amateur Pro Open Era SR W–L Win %
1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961–67 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Championships/Australian Open A A A QF A banned F A 2R A A 0 / 3 6–3 66.67
French Championships/French Open 1R 3R 4R A QF banned SF QF A A W 2R 1 / 8 24–7 77.42
Wimbledon 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R banned 3R 4R SF 1R 2R A 0 / 10 17–10 62.96
US National Championships/US Open A A A A A banned 1R 4R 1R A 4R A 0 / 4 6–4 60.00
Win–Loss 2–2 2–2 4–2 4–2 4–2 n/a 7–3 14–4 5–2 0–2 11–2 1–1 1 / 25 53–24 68.83
Year End Championships
The Masters not held A A RR A 0 / 1 0–3 0.00
Win–Loss n/a n/a n/a 0–3 n/a 0 / 1 0–3 0.00

Professional Grand Slam

Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 SR W–L Win %
US Pro Championships A SF A A SF A SF F 0 / 4 4–4 50.00
French Pro Championship QF QF F 1R SF QF SF F 0 / 8 10–8 55.55
Wembley Championships QF QF QF QF QF F QF SF 0 / 8 8–8 50.00
Win–Loss 2–2 2–3 4–2 1–2 2–3 2–2 2–3 7–3 0 / 20 22–20 52.38

References

  1. 1 2 Mazak, Karoly (2010). The Concise History of Tennis, p. 90-95.
  2. ↑ Dorish, Joe (8 May 2013). "Youngest and Oldest Men to win the French Open in Tennis". Yahoo. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  3. ↑ "Andres Gimeno Inked by Kramer for Pro Circuit". The Montreal Gazette. 13 July 1960.
  4. ↑ "Andres Gimeno Master en tenis". ABC. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  5. ↑ EFE (28 January 2009). "Verdasco bate al gigante Tsonga y alcanza su primera semifinal de Grand Slam". ABC. Retrieved 18 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Serras, Manel (22 October 2011). "Andres es uno de los grandes". El Pais. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  7. ↑ "Nadal, primer español en 36 años que gana un torneo jugado en hierba". ABC. 16 June 2008. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  8. ↑ "Gimeno wins first major tennis title". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 June 1972. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  9. ↑ Grasso, John (2011). Historical Dictionary of Tennis. Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 117.
  10. ↑ Serras, Manel (6 December 2000). "El pacto de Gimeno y la Federación Española". El Pais. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  11. ↑ "Andres Gimeno Tennis Club". Castelldefells Tourisme. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  12. ↑ "Spanish tennis legends Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario,". tennisfame.com. The International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 10 April 2013.
  13. ↑ "Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Manolo Santana y Andrés Gimeno recibirán el anillo de oro del 'Hall of Fame' en el Conde de Godó". MARCA. 23 March 2011. Retrieved 7 April 2013.
  14. ↑ Perez de Rozas, Emilio (22 April 2013). "La escalofriante vida de Andres Gimeno". Sport. Retrieved 3 May 2013.
  15. ↑ Escorcia, Dagoberto (5 October 2011). "Andres Gimeno:"Solo quiero tener para pagar la luz."". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 5 April 2013.
  16. ↑ <http://www.eldiariomontanes.es/v/20111008/sociedad/destacados/tenista-andres-gimeno-confiesa-20111008.html>.
  17. ↑ "Gimeno recibe el apoyo de la familia del tenis". ABC. 22 October 2011. Retrieved 18 April 2013.

External links

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