Schalk van der Merwe

Schalk van der Merwe
Country (sports) South Africa South Africa
Born (1961-04-16)16 April 1961
Robertson, Cape Province
Died 24 January 2016(2016-01-24) (aged 54)
Ireland
Plays Right-handed
Singles
Career record 10–20
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 157 (3 January 1983)
Grand Slam Singles results
Wimbledon 2R (1982)
US Open 3R (1982)
Doubles
Career record 23–32
Career titles 0
Highest ranking No. 81 (3 January 1983)
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 2R (1982)
Wimbledon 2R (1981, 1982)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Wimbledon 3R (1982)
US Open 1R (1982)

Schalk van der Merwe (16 April 1961 – 24 January 2016) was a former professional tennis player from South Africa.

Career

Van der Merwe was a quarterfinalist in the juniors events at the 1978 US Open and 1979 Wimbledon Championships.[1]

In 1982, van der Merwe had his best season on tour.[2] He reached the quarter-finals in Metz and was a doubles runner-up in the U.S. Pro Tennis Championships, partnering Freddie Sauer.[2] The South African made it to the third round in the 1982 US Open, with wins over Derek Tarr and Raúl Ramírez, before losing to Bob Lutz in four sets.[2] In Wimbledon he started the tournament by defeating Terry Moor and then lost a marathon second round match to Steve Denton.[2] His match against Denton had to be stopped due to darkness, with the scores level at 10-10 in the fifth set.[3] When play resumed the following day, Denton finished on top, 13-11.[2] He did however make the third round of the mixed doubles, with Yvonne Vermaak as his partner.[4]

Death

While in Ireland, where he was working as a medical doctor, Van der Merwe was found dead in his car. The cause of death is still unknown, although he had apparently suffered from high blood pressure in the time preceding his death.[5]

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Outcome No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up 1. 1982 Boston, United States Clay South Africa Freddie Sauer United States Steve Meister
United States Craig Wittus		 2–6, 3–6

Challenger titles

Doubles: (1)

No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 1982 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard South Africa Freddie Sauer South Africa Tian Viljoen
South Africa Danie Visser		 6–2, 6–1

References

  1. ↑ ITF Junior Profile
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 ATP World Tour Profile
  3. ↑ Lewiston Daily Sun, "King Moves to Quarterfinals", 30 June 1982
  4. ↑ ITF Pro Circuit Profile
  5. ↑ Mostert, Herman (26 January 2016). "Former SA tennis pro dies". Sport24. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
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