Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas |
![Guillermo Vilas in 1975](/2009-wikipedia_en_wp1-0.7_2009-05/I/250px_Vilas_1975.jpg) |
Country |
Argentina |
Residence |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Date of birth |
17 August 1952 (1952-08-17) (age 57) |
Place of birth |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Height |
180 cm (5 ft 11 in) |
Weight |
75 kg (165 lb) |
Turned pro |
1969 |
Retired |
1992 |
Plays |
Left; One-handed backhand |
Career prize money |
$ 4,923,882 |
Singles |
Career record: |
923–284 |
Career titles: |
68 (including 62 listed by the ATP) |
Highest ranking: |
No. 2 (30 April 1975) |
Grand Slam results |
Australian Open |
W (1978, 1979) |
French Open |
W (1977) |
Wimbledon |
QF (1975, 1976) |
US Open |
W (1977) |
Major tournaments |
Masters Cup |
W (1974) |
Doubles |
Career record: |
216–149 |
Career titles: |
15 |
Highest ranking: |
No. 175 (3 January 1983) |
Mixed Doubles |
Career record: |
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Career titles: |
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Highest ranking: |
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Guillermo Vilas (born 17 August 1952, in Buenos Aires, Argentina) is a retired professional tennis player from Argentina.
Career
Raised in the sea resort of Mar del Plata, Vilas was a southpaw and played his first tour event in 1969. He was in the year-ending top ten from 1974 through 1982. He was a clay-court specialist but also played well on hard, grass, and carpet surfaces.
Vilas was the first South American male player to win a Grand Slam singles title.[1] He won four of them: the 1977 French Open and the 1977 US Open (both played on clay) and the 1978 and 1979 Australian Open (both played on grass). He was also the runner-up at the French Open three times (1975, 1978, and 1982) and at the Australian Open once (January 1977).
Vilas got his first big break in the 1974 Masters tournament (played on grass), where he defeated Ilie Năstase in the final.
Best year
A left-handed baseliner, Vilas's best year on tour was 1977 when he won two of the four Grand Slam singles tournaments and 16 of the 31 Association of Tennis Professionals tournaments he entered.[2] His playing record for that year was 145 wins against 14 losses (ATP win-loss record was 130-14). The climax was winning the last US Open played at Forest Hills against Jimmy Connors 2–6, 6–3, 7–6(4), 6–0 in a match where Vilas surprised his American rival by attacking the net.[1]
Records: Winning streak, most titles in a single year
He had a 46-match all-surface winning streak (still unrivalled) and won seven consecutive titles - Kitzbühel (clay), Washington (clay), Louisville (hard), South Orange (hard), Columbus (hard), US Open (clay) and Paris (clay) after Wimbledon in 1977. He also had a record 53-match winning streak on clay courts (including both Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) and unofficial tournaments), which stood until the record was broken by Rafael Nadal in 2006. Both his winning streaks were terminated in October 1977 by Ilie Năstase in the final of the Aix-en-Provence tournament. In the best of five-set final, Vilas dropped the first two sets by 6–1, 7–5 and then retired in protest of Năstase's use of a spaghetti strung racquet (which was banned by the ATP shortly after).[3]
Even though he won 16 ATP singles titles, including the French Open and the US Open and was the runner-up at the January edition of the Australian Open in 1977, he was never ranked by the ATP as World No. 1 during 1977. He was instead year-end World No. 2 in those rankings, below Jimmy Connors (who won the Masters and six other titles and was the runner-up at Wimbledon and the US Open in 1977). However, the magazine World Tennis and Michel Sutter gave Vilas the World No. 1 ranking.
Retirement
Vilas retired from the ATP tour in 1989 but still played ATP Challenger Series until 1992.[4] He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991.[1]
Distinctions
- Won the Grand Prix in 1974, 1975, and 1977.
- Won 62 ATP singles titles (sixth highest during the open era) and was the runner-up in 40 singles tournaments (plus two unfinished finals). Won 15 doubles titles with other 10 doubles finals.
- He took Argentina to its first-ever Davis Cup final in 1981 (lost to the United States), together with José Luis Clerc, who was also a top-ten player. The Argentine press often referred to the tensions between the two, which even reverberated to the 2004 French Open awards ceremony, in which Vilas presented Gastón Gaudio with his trophy over Clerc's objections.
- Vilas's success on the court led to a surge in popularity of tennis in Argentina and throughout Latin America. Guillermo Cañas and Guillermo Coria were named after him.
- In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Vilas in 24th place in its list of the 40 Greatest Players of the Tennis Open Era (women included).
- The only player to win ATP Tour singles titles in five different continents in the same year, 1977 - Europe, South America, North America, Africa, and Asia.
Grand Slam singles finals
Wins (4)
Year |
Championship |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
1977 |
French Open |
Brian Gottfried |
6–0, 6–3, 6–0 |
1977 |
US Open |
Jimmy Connors |
2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–0 |
1978 |
Australian Open |
John Marks |
6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
1979 |
Australian Open (2) |
John Sadri |
7–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
Runner-ups (4)
Year |
Championship |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
1975 |
French Open |
Björn Borg |
6–2, 6–3, 6–4 |
1977 |
Australian Open (Jan.) |
Roscoe Tanner |
6–3, 6–3, 6–3 |
1978 |
French Open (2) |
Björn Borg |
6–2, 6–1, 6–3 |
1982 |
French Open (3) |
Mats Wilander |
1–6, 7–6, 6–0, 6–4 |
Singles titles (68)
Singles titles listed by the ATP Website (62)
Legend |
Grand Slam (4) |
Tennis Masters Cup (1) |
ATP Tour (57) |
|
Titles by Surface |
Hard (5) |
Clay (46) |
Grass (4) |
Carpet (7) |
|
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
1. |
2 December 1973 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (1) |
Clay |
Björn Borg |
3–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–6 retired |
2. |
24 July 1974 |
Gstaad, Switzerland (1) |
Clay |
Manuel Orantes |
6–1, 6–2 |
3. |
28 July 1974 |
Hilversum, Netherlands (1) |
Clay |
Barry Phillips-Moore |
6–4, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3 |
4. |
11 August 1974 |
Louisville, U.S. (1) |
Clay |
Jaime Fillol |
6–4, 7–5 |
5. |
18 August 1974 |
Toronto, Canada (1) |
Hard |
Manuel Orantes |
6–4, 6–2, 6–3 |
6. |
3 November 1974 |
Tehran, Iran (1) |
Clay |
Raúl Ramírez |
6–0, 6–3, 6–1 |
7. |
1 December 1974 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (2) |
Clay |
Manuel Orantes |
6–3, 0–6, 7–5, 6–2 |
8. |
15 December 1974 |
Masters, Melbourne, Australia |
Grass |
Ilie Năstase |
7–6, 6–2, 3–6, 6–4 |
9. |
11 May 1975 |
Munich, West Germany (1) |
Clay |
Karl Meiler |
2–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3 |
10. |
20 July 1975 |
Hilversum, Netherlands (2) |
Clay |
Željko Franulović |
6–4, 6–7, 6–2, 6–3 |
11. |
27 July 1975 |
Washington D.C. (1) |
Clay |
Harold Solomon |
6–1, 6–3 |
12. |
10 August 1975 |
Louisville, U.S. (2) |
Clay |
Ilie Năstase |
6–4, 6–3 |
13. |
16 November 1975 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (3) |
Clay |
Adriano Panatta |
6–1, 6–4, 6–4 |
14. |
22 February 1976 |
St. Louis WCT, U.S. |
Carpet |
Vijay Amritraj |
4–6, 6–0, 6–4 |
15. |
29 February 1976 |
Fort Worth WCT, U.S. |
Hard |
Phil Dent |
6–7(4), 6–1, 6–1 |
16. |
18 April 1976 |
Monte Carlo WCT, Monaco (1) |
Clay |
Wojtek Fibak |
6–1, 6–1, 6–4 |
17. |
22 August 1976 |
Toronto, Canada (2) |
Hard |
Wojtek Fibak |
6–4, 7–6, 6–2 |
18. |
21 November 1976 |
São Paulo, Brazil |
Carpet |
José Higueras |
6–3, 6–0 |
19. |
28 November 1976 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (4) |
Clay |
Jaime Fillol |
6–2, 6–2, 6–3 |
20. |
13 February 1977 |
Springfield, U.S. |
Carpet |
Stan Smith |
3–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–2 |
21. |
17 April 1977 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (5) |
Clay |
Wojtek Fibak |
6–4, 6–3, 6–0 |
22. |
24 April 1977 |
Virginia Beach, U.S. |
Hard |
Ilie Năstase |
6–2, 4–6, 6–2 |
23. |
5 June 1977 |
French Open |
Clay |
Brian Gottfried |
6–0, 6–3, 6–0 |
24. |
17 July 1977 |
Kitzbühel, Austria (1) |
Clay |
Jan Kodeš |
5–7, 6–2, 4–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
25. |
24 July 1977 |
Washington D.C. (2) |
Clay |
Brian Gottfried |
6–4, 7–5 |
26. |
31 July 1977 |
Louisville, U.S. (3) |
Clay |
Eddie Dibbs |
1–6, 6–0, 6–1 |
27. |
7 August 1977 |
South Orange, U.S. (1) |
Clay |
Roscoe Tanner |
6–4, 6–1 |
28. |
14 August 1977 |
Columbus, U.S. |
Clay |
Brian Gottfried |
6–2, 6–1 |
29. |
11 September 1977 |
US Open |
Clay |
Jimmy Connors |
2–6, 6–3, 7–6, 6–0 |
30. |
25 September 1977 |
Paris, France |
Clay |
Christophe Roger-Vasselin |
6–2, 6–1, 7–6 |
31. |
9 October 1977 |
Tehran, Iran (2) |
Clay |
Eddie Dibbs |
6–2, 6–4, 1–6, 6–1 |
32. |
13 November 1977 |
Bogotá, Colombia |
Clay |
José Higueras |
6–1, 6–2, 6–3 |
33. |
20 November 1977 |
Santiago, Chile |
Clay |
Jaime Fillol |
6–0, 2–6, 6–4 |
34. |
27 November 1977 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (6) |
Clay |
Jaime Fillol |
6–2, 7–5, 3–6, 6–3 |
35. |
4 December 1977 |
Johannesburg WCT, South Africa |
Hard |
Buster Mottram |
7–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
36. |
21 May 1978 |
Hamburg, West Germany |
Clay |
Wojtek Fibak |
6–2, 6–4, 6–2 |
37. |
28 May 1978 |
Munich, West Germany (2) |
Clay |
Buster Mottram |
6–1, 6–3, 6–3 |
38. |
16 July 1978 |
Gstaad, Switzerland (2) |
Clay |
José Luis Clerc |
6–3, 7–6, 6–4 |
39. |
6 August 1978 |
South Orange, U.S. (2) |
Clay |
José Luis Clerc |
6–1, 6–3 |
40. |
1 October 1978 |
Aix-en-Provence, France |
Clay |
José Luis Clerc |
6–3, 6–0, 6–3 |
41. |
29 October 1978 |
Basel, Switzerland |
Carpet |
John McEnroe |
6–3, 5–7, 7–5, 6–4 |
42. |
7 January 1979 |
Australian Open 1978 (1) |
Grass |
John Marks |
6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
43. |
14 January 1979 |
Hobart, Australia |
Grass |
Mark Edmondson |
6–4, 6–4 |
44. |
22 July 1979 |
Washington D.C. (3) |
Clay |
Víctor Pecci |
7–6, 7–6 |
45. |
25 November 1979 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (7) |
Clay |
José Luis Clerc |
6–1, 6–2, 6–2 |
46. |
6 January 1980 |
Australian Open 1979 (2) |
Grass |
John Sadri |
7–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
47. |
25 May 1980 |
Rome, Italy |
Clay |
Yannick Noah |
6–0, 6–4, 6–4 |
48. |
27 July 1980 |
Kitzbühel, Austria (2) |
Clay |
Ivan Lendl |
6–3, 6–2, 6–2 |
49. |
14 September 1980 |
Palermo, Italy |
Clay |
Paul McNamee |
6–4, 6–0, 6–0 |
50. |
8 February 1981 |
Mar del Plata, Argentina |
Clay |
Víctor Pecci |
2–6, 6–3, 2–1 retired |
51. |
15 March 1981 |
Cairo, Egypt |
Clay |
Peter Elter |
6–2, 6–3 |
52. |
12 April 1981 |
Houston, U.S. |
Clay |
Sammy Giammalva Jr. |
6–2, 6–3 |
53. |
7 February 1982 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina (8) |
Clay |
Alejandro Ganzábal |
6–2, 6–4 |
54. |
21 March 1982 |
Rotterdam, Netherlands |
Carpet |
Jimmy Connors |
0–6, 6–2, 6–4 |
55. |
28 March 1982 |
Milan, Italy |
Carpet |
Jimmy Connors |
6–3, 6–3 |
56. |
11 April 1982 |
Monte Carlo, Monaco (2) |
Clay |
Ivan Lendl |
6–1, 7–6, 6–3 |
57. |
2 May 1982 |
Madrid, Spain |
Clay |
Ivan Lendl |
6–7, 4–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–3 |
58. |
18 July 1982 |
Boston, U.S. |
Clay |
Mel Purcell |
6–4, 6–0 |
59. |
25 July 1982 |
Kitzbühel, Austria (3) |
Clay |
Marcos Hocevar |
7–6, 6–1 |
60. |
13 February 1983 |
Richmond WCT, U.S. |
Carpet |
Steve Denton |
6–3, 7–5, 6–4 |
61. |
27 February 1983 |
Delray Beach WCT, U.S. |
Clay |
Pavel Složil |
6–1, 6–4, 6–0 |
62. |
27 July 1983 |
Kitzbühel, Austria (4) |
Clay |
Henri Leconte |
7–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
Other singles titles not listed by the ATP Website (6)
No. |
Date |
Tournament |
Surface |
Opponent in Final |
Score in Final |
1. |
1972 |
Buenos Aires, Argentina |
Clay |
Héctor Romani |
6–2, 6–4, 6–2 |
2. |
10 March 1974 |
River Plate, Argentina |
Clay |
Julián Ganzabal |
7–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
3. |
20 April 1975 |
River Plate, Argentina |
Clay |
Clark Graebner |
6–2, 6–1, 6–4 |
4. |
28 August 1977 |
Rye, Westchester Country Club, U.S. (8-man draw) |
Clay |
Ilie Nastase |
6–2, 6–0 |
5. |
28 October-30, 1977 |
Caracas, The Super Tennis 77 Tournament, Venezuela |
Clay |
Ilie Nastase |
6–2, 6–2 |
6. |
25 July-26, 1979 |
Aix-en-Provence, France |
Hard |
Ilie Nastase |
6–4, 6–4 |
Doubles titles (15)
- 1974 (4) - Buenos Aires, Montreal/Toronto, Tehran, Hilversum
- 1975 (3) - Barcelona, Hilversum, Louisville
- 1977 (4) - Baltimore, Buenos Aires, Nice, Tehran
- 1978 (2) - Aix-En-Provence, Munich
- 1979 (2) - North Conway, San Jose
ATP singles runner-ups (42)
- 1972 (2) - Buenos Aires, Cincinnati
- 1974 (1) - Washington
- 1975 (3) - Boston, French Open, San Francisco
- 1976 (3) - Dallas WCT, Rome, São Paulo WCT
- 1977 (6) - Aix en Provence, Australian Open (Jan.), Baltimore, Nice, Palm Springs, Johannesburg (not held)
- 1978 (1) - French Open
- 1979 (5) - Indianapolis, Richmond WCT, Rome, Stuttgart Indoor, Sydney Indoor
- 1980 (4) - Barcelona, Hamburg, Madrid, Monte Carlo
- 1981 (7) - Monte Carlo (not finish, final abandoned because of rain), Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Kitzbühel, North Conway, Pepsi Grand Slam, Washington
- 1982 (5) - Baltimore WCT, Barcelona, Gstaad, Johannesburg, French Open
- 1983 (4) - Barcelona, Detroit WCT, Hilton Head WCT, Rotterdam
- 1986 (1) - Forest Hills
Grand Slam / Masters singles performance
Tournament |
1970 |
1971 |
1972 |
1973 |
1974 |
1975 |
1976 |
1977 |
1978 |
1979 |
1980 |
1981 |
1982 |
1983 |
1984 |
1985 |
1986 |
1987 |
1988 |
1989 |
Career
WR |
Career
Win-Loss |
Australian Open1 |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
F |
A |
W |
W |
SF |
3R |
A |
A |
A |
A |
NH |
A |
A |
A |
2 / 5 |
23–3 |
French Open |
A |
A |
3R |
3R |
3R |
F |
QF |
W |
F |
QF |
QF |
4R |
F |
QF |
1R |
2R |
QF |
2R |
2R |
1R |
1 / 18 |
56–17 |
Wimbledon |
1R |
A |
1R |
A |
3R |
QF |
QF |
3R |
3R |
2R |
A |
1R |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
0 / 11 |
15–11 |
US Open |
A |
A |
2R |
1R |
4R |
SF |
SF |
W |
4R |
4R |
4R |
4R |
SF |
3R |
3R |
2R |
1R |
A |
A |
A |
1 / 15 |
43–14 |
Grand Slam WR |
0 / 1 |
0 / 0 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 3 |
2 / 4 |
1 / 4 |
1 / 4 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 4 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 2 |
0 / 3 |
0 / 1 |
0 / 1 |
0 / 1 |
4 / 49 |
N/A |
Grand Slam Win-Loss |
0–1 |
0–0 |
3–3 |
2–2 |
7–3 |
15–3 |
13–3 |
21–2 |
17–3 |
14–3 |
10–3 |
8–4 |
11–2 |
6–3 |
2–2 |
2–2 |
4–3 |
1–1 |
1–1 |
0–1 |
N/A |
137–45 |
Masters |
A |
A |
A |
A |
W |
SF |
SF |
SF2 |
A |
RR2 |
RR2 |
RR2 |
SF2 |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
A |
1 / 8 |
16–11 |
1The Australian Open was played twice in 1977, in January and December. Vilas played only the January event.
2The year-ending Masters tournament was actually played in January of the following year.
NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.
WR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.
References
External links
Awards |
Preceded by
Vijay Amritraj
|
ATP Most Improved Player
1974
|
Succeeded by
Vitas Gerulaitis
|
Preceded by
Horacio Iglesias |
Olimpia de Oro
1974 – 1975 |
Succeeded by
Juan Carlos Harriot |
Preceded by
Juan Carlos Harriot |
Olimpia de Oro
1977 |
Succeeded by
Daniel Martinazzo |
Australian Open men's singles champions |
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French Open men's singles champions |
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US Open men's singles champions |
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