Jairo Velasco Sr.

Jairo Velasco Sr.

Country (sports)	Colombia
Residence	Barcelona, Spain
Born	(1947-05-09) 9 May 1947 Bogotá, Colombia
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Plays	Right-handed
Singles
Career record	115–156
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 49 (21 March 1983)
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open	2R (1969, 71, 75, 82, 83)
Wimbledon	1R (1972, 1975)
US Open	4R (1976)
Doubles
Career record	99–110
Career titles	2
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open	4R (1971)
Wimbledon	2R (1974)
US Open	2R (1972)
Mixed doubles
Career titles	0
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French Open	SF (1973)
Wimbledon	3R (1973)
US Open	1R (1972)

Jairo Velasco Sr. (born 9 May 1947) is a former professional tennis player from Colombia.^{[note 1]}

Career

Velasco team up with Iván Molina to reach the fourth round of the 1971 French Open, before the pair lost to eventual champions Arthur Ashe and Marty Riessen. The right-hander bettered that effort in the 1973 French Open, this time in the mixed doubles, partnering countrywoman Isabel Fernández de Soto, with whom he made it into the semi-finals, where he were defeated in three sets by Patrice Dominguez and Betty Stöve. He became the first ever Colombian to reach the fourth round of the singles draw at a Grand Slam when he beat three players at the 1976 US Open, Ferdi Taygan, Barry Phillips-Moore and Bill Scanlon. His run ended when he lost to Dick Stockton.^[1] He remained the only player from his country to go that deep in a Grand Slam tournament until Alejandro Falla made the four round at the 2011 French Open.

The Colombian made seven doubles finals on the Grand Prix tennis circuit, winning two, at Kitzbühel and at home in Bogota. He also made the singles final at Bogota, in 1979, but lost to Víctor Pecci.^[2]

He won 24 singles rubbers for the Colombia Davis Cup team, a national record. In all he participated in 21 ties and won a total of 33 matches, having also been victorious in nine doubles rubbers. He was most notably a member of the side which defeated the United States in the North & Central America Zone final of the 1974 Davis Cup, beating both Harold Solomon and Erik Van Dillen in his two singles rubbers. In the Americas Inter-Zonal final, which curiously featured the South African team, Velasco lost his first match to Bob Hewitt and was also defeated in the doubles, to surrender the tie. He then beat Ray Moore in a dead rubber. The Colombians, with Velasco in the side, made the Inter-Zonal final again in 1981, but were defeated by Chile.^[3]

Early in his career, Velasco relocated to Barcelona in Spain, where he still lives.^[4] He married a local and had three children, including Jairo Velasco Jr., who played Grand Slam tennis and Gabriela Velasco Andreu, who has been in the world's top 400.^[5]

Grand Prix career finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Outcome	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Runner-up	1.	1979	Bogotá, Colombia	Clay	Víctor Pecci	3–6, 4–6

Doubles: 7 (2–5)

Outcome	No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Runner-up	1.	1974	Calgary, Canada	Indoor	Iván Molina	Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	1974	Salt Lake City, United States	Indoor	Iván Molina	Jimmy Connors Vitas Gerulaitis	6–2, 6–7, 5–7
Winner	3.	1974	Kitzbühel, Austria	Clay	Iván Molina	František Pala Balázs Taróczy	2–6, 7–6, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	1977	Florence, Italy	Clay	Iván Molina	Chris Lewis Russell Simpson	6–2, 6–7, 2–6
Runner-up	5.	1979	Quito, Ecuador	Clay	Iván Molina	Jaime Fillol Álvaro Fillol	7–6, 3–6, 1–6
Winner	6.	1979	Bogotá, Colombia	Clay	Emilio Montaño	Bruce Nichols Charles Owens	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	7.	1981	Mar Del Plata, Argentina	Clay	Ángel Giménez	David Carter Paul Kronk	7–6, 4–6, 0–6

Challenger titles

Singles: (3)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
1.	1979	Le Touquet, France	Clay	Fernando Luna	4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–1
2.	1981	Tarragona, Spain	Clay	Eduardo Osta	6–4, 6–2
3.	1982	Porto, Portugal	Clay	Juan Avendaño	6–7, 6–3, 6–3

Doubles: (1)

No.	Year	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
1.	1979	Le Touquet, France	Clay	Antonio Muñoz	Éric Deblicker Georges Goven	6–0, 3–6, 6–3

Notes

References