José Luis Clerc (born August 16, 1958 in Buenos Aires) is a former Argentine professional tennis player, and one of the most important Argentine players in history.
Right handed, Batata Clerc started playing professionally in 1977, and won 25 ATP Titles, and retired in 1988. His highest rank was World No. 4 on August 4, 1981, following a run of 27 victories and 4 titles in one month, and had year-ending rankings 8th in 1980, 5th in 1981, 6th in 1982, and 8th in 1983.
Clerc represented Argentina for the Davis Cup from 1976 to 1989. With team mate Guillermo Vilas, Argentina was runner up of the 1981 Davis Cup losing 3–1 to United States in Cincinnati. He defeated Roscoe Tanner 7-5, 6-3, 8-6 in a singles match, but lost to John McEnroe in five sets, and to Fleming/McEnroe in doubles with Vilas.
Also with Vilas and Carlos Gattiker, Argentina won the 1980 World Team Cup, defeating Adriano Panatta 7-6, 6-3 to beat Italy 3–0 in the finals in Düsseldorf.
He received the ATP Sportsmanship Award of 1981, and Argentine Konex Awards in 1980 and 1990 for Merit in Tennis.
Clerc runs a tennis school in Argentina, participates in Senior tournaments, and regularly serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN Latin America and ESPN Deportes. He also coaches Julia Cohen, a top American junior player.
Clerc is currently developing and will serve as director of the "José Luis Clerc Tennis Academy" at Algodon Wine Estates in San Rafael, Mendoza, Argentina. He also serves as Ambassador to the "Algodon" brand.[1]
Contents |
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
| ATP Masters Series (1) |
| ATP Tour (24) |
| No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
| 1. | May 21, 1978 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Patrice Dominguez | 6–4, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 2. | November 26, 1978 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 6–4, 6–4 |
| 3. | December 4, 1978 | Santiago de Chile, Chile | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 3–6, 6–3, 6–3 |
| 4. | April 16, 1979 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Deon Joubert | 6–2, 6–1 |
| 5. | March 10, 1980 | San José de Costa Rica, Costa Rica | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 4–6, 2–6, retired |
| 6. | July 28, 1980 | South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. | Clay | John McEnroe | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 7. | August 4, 1980 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | Mel Purcell | 7–5, 6–3 |
| 8. | September 29, 1980 | Madrid, Spain | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 6–3, 1–6, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 9. | November 3, 1980 | Quito, Ecuador | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 6–4, 1–6, 10–8 |
| 10. | November 17, 1980 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Rolf Gehring | 6–7, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3 |
| 11. | May 11, 1981 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Raúl Ramírez | 6–1, 6–2 |
| 12. | May 18, 1981 | Italian Open, Rome | Clay | Víctor Pecci | 6–3, 6–4, 6–0 |
| 13. | July 13, 1981 | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Clay | Hans Gildemeister | 0–6, 6–2, 6–2 |
| 14. | July 20, 1981 | Washington D.C. | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 7–5, 6–2 |
| 15. | July 28, 1981 | North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S. | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 6–3, 6–2 |
| 16. | August 3, 1981 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 4–6, 6–4, 6–2 |
| 17. | February 8, 1982 | Richmond, Virginia, U.S. | Carpet | Fritz Buehning | 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3 |
| 18. | June 7, 1982 | Venice, Italy | Clay | Peter McNamara | 7–6, 6–1 |
| 19. | July 5, 1982 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Guillermo Vilas | 6–1, 6–3, 6–2 |
| 20. | July 12, 1982 | Zell am See, Austria | Clay | Heinz Günthardt | 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1 |
| 21. | November 15, 1982 | San Paolo, Brazil | Clay | Marcos Hocevar | 6–2, 6–7, 6–3 |
| 22. | January 24, 1983 | Guarujá, Brazil | Hard | Mats Wilander | 3–6, 7–5, 6–1 |
| 23. | July 11, 1983 | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Clay | Jimmy Arias | 6–3, 6–1 |
| 24. | July 18, 1983 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Clay | Jimmy Arias | 6–3, 3–6, 6–0 |
| 25. | July 25, 1983 | North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S. | Clay | Andrés Gómez | 6–3, 6–1 |
Jose Luis Clerc is married to Annalie and has two sons & a daughter, Juan Pablo 9/23/81, Dominique 1/12/84 & Nicolas 10/19/90.