Gerulaitis tennis player

By Scoop Malinowski. John McEnroe and the Roland Garros final vs. Bjorn Borg.

After finally getting the better of Jimmy Connors in , the flamboyant New Yorker joked: "Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row! Gerulaitis was one of tennis' great entertainers both on and off the court in the late s and early s thanks to his long, curly blond hair, hilarious post-match quotes and dynamic playing style. The Lithuanian Lion won 27 singles and nine doubles titles, and was ranked as high as No. Yet for all his efforts on the court, Gerulaitis' larger-than-life personality overshadowed his tennis game. He frequently partied with celebrities at Studio 54 in New York City, drove a Rolls-Royce, dated beautiful models and needed treatment for a serious drug habit.

Gerulaitis tennis player

American tennis player. Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis. English Wikipedia. Swedish Wikipedia. Italian Wikipedia. United States of America. Tennis Temple player ID. Tennis Temple. ATP website. ATP player ID.

Gerulaitis was known for his exceptionally quick hands at the net gerulaitis tennis player his outstanding court coverage. QF He retired from the professional tour inand was a regular tennis commentator on the USA network between and

Starting in the mids, Vitas Gerulaitis was recognized as a top American tennis player with a flamboyant style and a funny-sounding name. After retiring from competitive action in , he worked as a tennis commentator until That same year tragedy struck when he unexpectedly died in a bizarre incident of carbon monoxide poisoning. Vitas Gerulaitis arrived on the scene when World TeamTennis was becoming popular, increasing the profile and the prize money for the sport. The season was the best of his career. Gerulaitis had a near-miss at Wimbledon, losing in the semifinals in a five-set thriller to Bjorn Borg. Later that year, he won his first and only singles title at the Australian Open, defeating John Lloyd in five sets.

The undeniable legacy of Vitas Gerulaitis: How to be a better human He did this with his spirit, a Pied Piper-like capacity for inclusion, generosity and empathy—be it donating thousands of racquets to at-risk children, to treating numerous friends and newly met acquaintances for meals. By Joel Drucker. This week on Tennis Channel, we're looking back some of the sport's most important players, personalities and moments throughout its colorful history. On Thursday, from p. Here's a preview, and a present-day perspective. Vitas Gerulaitis was one of those people who appeared to live twice as fast as most of us. However much there is struggle, the tale of a titan also tilts north towards redemptive, massive victory. It was very different with Vitas.

Gerulaitis tennis player

He was Gerulaitis won only one Grand Slam event singles title, the Australian Open, but reached the final in two others, losing to McEnroe in the U. Open and to Bjorn Borg in the French Open. Although Gerulaitis won 27 singles titles, nine doubles titles, was ranked in the top 10 from and reached as high as No. It was Lloyd who was beaten by Gerulaitis on the grass courts of Kooyong in Melbourne in the Australian Open final 17 years ago. Everything just clicked.

Kelly mcgillis wiki

Spokane, Washington. Tonino Zugarelli. Like Sportscasting on Facebook. He was very quick, it was hard to dictate points against him, he transitioned from defense to offense seamlessly. Home Tennis. Rotterdam , Netherlands. I was flattered that he took an interest in my tennis when he had a son who was such a great player. Multilingual sites 1 entry edit. Virtual International Authority File. Wikimedia import URL. Contents move to sidebar hide. Gerulaitis and her brother teamed up at the US Open to make the quarter-finals of the mixed doubles.

Every day Tennis Majors takes you back in time to celebrate a significant moment in tennis history.

Multilingual sites 1 entry edit. March 9, I never won a set from him. Basel , Switzerland. Wojtek Fibak. Gerulaitis had a near-miss at Wimbledon, losing in the semifinals in a five-set thriller to Bjorn Borg. He did just that following what many considered to be one of the best Wimbledon matches ever against Borg in the semifinals. He was a pied piper. I had a very good tournament beating some higher ranked players and reaching the semis. ITF player ID before archived. English Wikipedia. A couple of years later, a jury acquitted the pool mechanic and the company he worked for of negligent homicide.