Jay Berger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jay Berger (born November 26, 1966, in Fort Dix, New Jersey) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
He reached his career-high singles ranking of World # 7 in April 1990.
| Country | USA | |
| Residence | Miami, FL, USA | |
| Date of birth | 26-Nov-66 | |
| Place of birth | Fort Dix, NJ | |
| Height | 5'11 (180 cm) | |
| Weight | 165 lbs (75 kg) | |
| Turned Pro | 1986 | |
| Plays | Right | |
| Career Prize Money | $992,136 USD | |
| Singles | ||
| Career record: | 141 - 80 | |
| Career titles: | 3 | |
| Highest ranking: | 7 (4/16/1990) | |
| Grand Slam results | ||
| Australian Open | ||
| French Open | ||
| Wimbledon | ||
| U.S. Open | ) | |
| Doubles | ||
| Career record: | 19 - 28 | |
| Career titles: | 1 | |
| Highest ranking: | 196 (11/14/1988) | |
Contents |
[edit] Tennis career
Berger was the USTA Boys’ 18s National Champion in 1985.[1][2]
He also won the 1985 Florida State Junior Championship.
He had the best finish of any reigning Boys’ 18s National Champion at the US Open during the Open Era when he reached the 4th round in 1985.
[edit] College career
Berger was an All-American at Clemson University in 1985 and 1986, where he recorded a 91-22 singles record in two seasons. His 80.5% career winning percentage in singles play places 3rd all-time at Clemson.
[edit] Pro tennis career
Berger turned professional in 1985. He played on the tour from 1985-91.
He won his first top-level singles title in 1986 at Buenos Aires.
In 1988, he captured both the singles and doubles titles at São Paulo.
In 1989, Berger reached the quarter-finals at both the French Open and the US Open. He also won the third tour singles title of his career that year at Charleston, South Carolina.
Berger was runner-up at the Canadian Open (Tennis Masters Series event) in 1990.
During his career, Berger won three top-level singles titles and one tour doubles title. He registered victories over Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Mats Wilander.
He retired from the professional tour in 1991. Chronic knee injuries forced his retirement.
[edit] Davis Cup
He represented the United States in Davis Cup play in 1988 and 1990, and went undefeated in two singles matches.[3]
[edit] Halls of Fame & Awards
Berger was inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame in 1993.
He was inducted into the Greater Miami-Dade Hall of Fame in 2001.
He was also voted "Sportsman of the Year" by the Olympic Committee in 1985, and "Junior Player of the Year" by Tennis Magazine in 1985.
[edit] Coaching career
Berger went on to become an assistant coach at Florida International University, where he resumed his studies and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Sports Management in 1994.
Berger was the Head Men’s and Women’s Tennis Coach at the University of Miami, and a USTA National Coach. He was the Big East Coach of the Year for two consecutive years, after leading the Hurricanes to the tennis conference championships in 2000 and 2001.
Berger rejoined the USTA Player Development staff in January 2003 as a National Coach for men's tennis.[4] He is located in Key Biscayne.
Berger coaches Ashley Harkleroad.
[edit] Trivia
- Berger was famous for using the aluminum Prince Pro oversize racquet, despite the fact that virtually all professionals were using graphite (or graphite composite) racquets. He continued to play with the Prince Pro, despite not having any endorsements from Prince.
- Berger's racquets were strung at very high tensions, using inexpensive Prince Synthetic Gut string. It was not unusual to see his racquets getting warped out of shape with any moderate impact, since the tensions were at least 90 lb on many occasions (normal tension for that racquet was from 65-80 lb).
- The most unusual aspect of Berger's game was an awkward, no-wind-up service motion in which the racket was started behind his shoulder, with no backswing. This service motion was adopted after a shoulder injury during junior tennis which made a normal service motion painful.
- He and his wife Nadia reside on Key Biscayne, and have four children, daughter Alexandra and sons Daniel, Jonathan, and Noah.
- He was known for fiercely contesting long points. He would also write notes to himself during changeovers.
- His mother, Cookie Swift, was a renowned amateur golfer.
