Colin Dowdeswell

Colin Dowdeswell
Country (sports) Rhodesia Rhodesia
(1972–1976)
Switzerland Switzerland (1977–1981)
United Kingdom Great Britain
(1982–1986)
Born (1955-05-12) 12 May 1955
London, England
Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Plays Right-handed
Prize money $327,277
Singles
Career record 113–171
Career titles 1
Highest ranking No. 31 (12 December 1983)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 2R (1984)
French Open 2R (1977, 1978, 1979)
Wimbledon 2R (1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986)
US Open 4R (1976, 1978)
Doubles
Career record 216–162
Career titles 11
Highest ranking No. 24 (24 March 1980)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open 3R (1984, 1985)
French Open QF (1977)
Wimbledon F (1975)
US Open SF (1976)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open F (1976)
Wimbledon QF (1976, 1980)
US Open SF (1984)

Colin Dowdeswell (born 12 May 1955), is an English-born former professional tennis player who represented, at different times, Rhodesia, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom[1] and who achieved rank as UK No. 1. During his time on the world tour, he won 1 singles title and 11 doubles titles.[2] Perhaps the highlight of his career was reaching the men's doubles final of Wimbledon.

Early life

Dowdeswell was born in London but grew up in Rhodesia and went to university in South Africa.[3]

Tennis career highlights

Partnering Australian Allan Stone, Dowdeswell finished runner-up in doubles at Wimbledon in 1975. Unseeded, after two straight sets wins, they defeated the No. 7 seeds Tom Okker and Marty Riessen in the round of sixteen in four sets. They did likewise in eliminating the No. 3 seeds, Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan, in the quarterfinals. It took Dowdeswell and Stone then five sets to overcome the unseeded team of Dick Crealy and Niki Pilic in the semi-finals. They lost the final to another unseeded tandem, Vitas Gerulaitis and Sandy Mayer, 5–7, 6–8, 4–6.[4]

Dowdeswell achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 31 in 1983 and a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 24 in 1980.[2]

Grand Prix and WCT singles finals (4)

Titles (1)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponents in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 1974 Dublin, Ireland Outdoor United States Sherwood Stewart 3–6, 8–9
Winner 1. 1975 Istanbul, Turkey Outdoor United States Ferdi Taygan 6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up 2. 1978 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Cliff Richey 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Johan Kriek 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6

Grand Slam, Grand Prix, and WCT doubles finals (28)

Titles (11)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Winner 1. 1974 Dublin, Ireland Outdoor South Africa John Yuill Argentina Lito Álvarez
Venezuela Jorge Andrew
6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 1. 1975 Birmingham, US Carpet South Africa John Yuill West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Karl Meiler
1–6, 6–3, 6–7
Runner-up 2. 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass Australia Allan Stone United States Vitas Gerulaitis
United States Sandy Mayer
5–7, 6–8, 4–6
Runner-up 3. 1975 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Australia Ken Rosewall West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Hans-Jürgen Pohmann
4–6, 7–9, 1–6
Runner-up 4. 1975 Istanbul, Turkey Outdoor United Kingdom John Feaver Australia Colin Dibley
Brazil Thomaz Koch
2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up 5. 1976 Nuremberg, Germany Carpet Australia Paul Kronk South Africa Frew McMillan
West Germany Karl Meiler
6–7, 4–6
Runner-up 6. 1976 Barcelona, Spain Clay Australia Paul Kronk Poland Wojtek Fibak
Poland Jacek Niedźwiedzki
2–6, 3–6
Runner-up 7. 1976 Cologne, Germany Carpet United States Mike Estep South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
1–6, 6–3, 6–7
Runner-up 8. 1977 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay South Africa Bob Hewitt West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Karl Meiler
4–6, 6–7
Runner-up 9. 1977 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Australia Chris Kachel United Kingdom Buster Mottram
United Kingdom Roger Taylor
6–7, 4–6
Winner 2. 1978 Sarasota, US Carpet Australia Geoff Masters South Africa Byron Bertram
South Africa Bernard Mitton
2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Runner-up 10. 1978 Lagos, Nigeria Clay West Germany Jürgen Fassbender United States George Hardie
India Sashi Menon
3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Winner 3. 1978 Berlin, Germany Clay West Germany Jürgen Fassbender Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović
Chile Hans Gildemeister
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 11. 1978 Toronto, Canada Clay Switzerland Heinz Günthardt Poland Wojtek Fibak
Netherlands Tom Okker
3–6, 6–7
Winner 4. 1979 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Switzerland Heinz Günthardt South Africa Raymond Moore
Romania Ilie Năstase
6–3, 7–6
Winner 5. 1979 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay South Africa Frew McMillan Poland Wojtek Fibak
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Runner-up 12. 1980 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Switzerland Heinz Günthardt South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan
4–6, 3–6
Winner 6. 1980 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Egypt Ismail El Shafei Australia Mark Edmondson
Australia Kim Warwick
6–4, 6–4
Winner 7. 1980 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay South Africa Frew McMillan New Zealand Chris Lewis
South Africa John Yuill
6–3, 6–4
Runner-up 13. 1983 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Poland Wojtek Fibak Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
7–6, 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 14. 1983 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Hungary Zoltan Kuharszky Poland Wojtek Fibak
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
5–7, 2–6
Winner 8. 1983 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Hungary Zoltan Kuharszky West Germany Peter Elter
Austria Peter Feigl
6–4, 7–5
Runner-up 15. 1984 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Poland Wojtek Fibak France Henri Leconte
France Pascal Portes
6–2, 6–7, 6–7
Runner-up 16. 1984 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Switzerland Jakob Hlasek Australia Peter Doohan
South Africa Brian Levine
3–6, 4–6
Winner 9. 1985 Palermo, Italy Clay Sweden Joakim Nyström Spain Sergio Casal
Spain Emilio Sánchez
6–4, 6–7, 7–6
Winner 10. 1985 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard South Africa Christo van Rensburg Israel Amos Mansdorf
Israel Shahar Perkiss
3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Winner 11. 1986 Milan, Italy Carpet South Africa Christo Steyn South Africa Brian Levine
Australia Laurie Warder
6–3, 4–6, 6–1
Runner-up 17. 1986 Nice, France Clay United States Gary Donnelly Switzerland Jakob Hlasek
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
3–6, 6–4, 9–11

Davis Cup

Dowdeswell participated in one Davis Cup tie for Rhodesia in 1976, posting a 2–0 record in singles and an 0–1 record in doubles. He participated in six Davis Cup ties for Great Britain from 1984 to 1986, posting an 0–2 record in singles and a 5–1 record in doubles.

Life outside tennis

Dowdeswell completed his tennis career in 1986 and began a successful career in financial services and private banking with Merrill Lynch.[2] Married with three children,[2] he currently resides in Monaco. He has also resided in Wimbledon.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "ITF Men's Circuit Biography of Colin Dowdeswell". ITF Tennis. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "ATP.com Colin Dowdeswell profile". ATP.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. Official website: Biography. Accessed 11 July 2014
  4. "1975 Wimbledon Men's Doubles drawsheet". ATP.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.

External links

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