Tim Gullikson

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Tim Gullikson (September 8, 1951-May 3, 1996) was a tennis player and coach from the United States.

Tim was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin. In 1977, he won three tour singles titles and was named the ATP's Newcomer of the Year.

During his career as a tennis player, Tim won 15 top-level doubles titles – ten of them partnering his identical twin brother, Tom Gullikson. The brothers were runners-up in the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon in 1983.

Tim also won a total of four top-level singles titles. His career-high rankings were World No. 15 in singles (in 1979) and World No. 6 in doubles (in 1984). He retired from the professional tour in 1986.

After retiring as a player, Tim turned his talents to coaching. He worked with several stars including Martina Navratilova, Mary Joe Fernandez and Aaron Krickstein. Tim is probably best remembered for his work with Pete Sampras, who won six Grand Slam singles titles and reached the World No. 1 ranking during the period Tim was his coach.

Tim also continued to play tennis in seniors events, and won the 35-over singles title at Wimbledon in 1991.

At the beginning of 1995, Tim was diagnosed with brain tumors. He suffered a stroke during the Australian Open, where he was coaching Sampras, and had to fly back to the US during the tournament. Sampras was famously overcome by emotion during the fifth set of his quarter-final match against Jim Courier, after a fan called out to Sampras to win the match for Tim. Despite fighting back tears for much of the fifth set, Sampras still managed to win the match.

Tim died in May 1996. After Tim's death, Tom formed the Tim & Tom Gullikson Foundation, which funds support programs to assist brain tumor patients and their families with the physical, emotional and social challenges presented by the disease.