Mike Fishbach

Mike Fishbach
Full name Michael Fishbach
Country (sports)  United States
Born (1954-12-01) December 1, 1954
The Bronx, New York
Plays Right-handed
Singles
Career record 17-41
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 47 (January 16, 1978)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open 1R (1978)
Wimbledon 1R (1978)
US Open 3R (1977)
Doubles
Career record 38-51
Career titles 1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 1R (1978)
Wimbledon 1R (1978)
US Open 3R (1978)

Michael "Mike" Fishbach (born December 1, 1954) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Biography

Fishbach, who grew up in Great Neck, New York, was a right-handed player, who famously used the controversial "spaghetti racquet" at the 1977 US Open.[1] The racquet, which was double-strung and greatly increased topspin, was first used professionally by Barry Phillips-Moore.[1] While in a camera store in Gstaad, Switzerland, Fishbach found a similar racquet and although the owner didn't allow him to buy it, he examined it and set about making one of his own when he returned home.[1] With help from his brother, Fishback used nylon strings, cord from a Venetian blind, plastic tubing and adhesive tape to make the racquet, which he would use in the US Open.[1] After getting though qualifying, he beat Billy Martin in the first round and faced 16th seed Stan Smith in the second round, a match he won easily 6-0, 6-2.[2][3] His run ended in the third round when he lost to British player John Feaver, who later described seeing balls coming off Fishback's racquet as looking like "an egg in flight".[1] Several weeks later the racquet was banned, soon after Guillermo Vilas had conceded a match against Ilie Năstase who was using one.[1][4] By the end of the 1977 season, Fishbach was ranked in the world's top 50.

In 1978 he made the main draw of both the French Open and Wimbledon, in addition to the US Open.[5] He also had a win over John Lloyd in the Indianapolis Clay Court Championships that year and won a Grand Prix doubles title at Kitzbühel, with Chris Lewis. His season ended in September when he ruptured two discs in his back.[5] The injury was serious enough that he was unable to walk for six months and it wasn't until late in 1979 that he was able to return to tennis.[5]

He continued on the professional circuit until 1982 and now works as a whale conservationist.[1]

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

Outcome No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1. 1978 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay New Zealand Chris Lewis Czechoslovakia Pavel Huťka
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil 		6-7, 6-4, 6-3
Runner-up 2. 1978 North Conway, U.S. Clay South Africa Bernard Mitton United Kingdom Robin Drysdale
United States Van Winitsky 		6-4, 6-7, 3-6
Runner-up 3. 1982 Stowe, U.S. Hard United States Eric Fromm United States Andy Andrews
United States John Sadri 		3-6, 4-6

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Steinbergeraug, Michael (August 23, 2012). "Queens Was Burning, Too". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Vilas Takes Zing Out of Controversial Racquet". Star-Banner. September 27, 1977. p. 4B. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  3. ↑ "Romanian Tennis Star Upset". Observer–Reporter. September 3, 1977. p. C3. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  4. ↑ "Double-strung.". The Canberra Times (ACT: National Library of Australia). 5 October 1977. p. 32. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
  5. 1 2 3 Farrell, Lynne (12 July 1980). "Fishback still battling back". The Register-Guard. p. 3C. Retrieved 29 November 2015.

External links

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