Charlie Pasarell
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles "Charlie" Pasarell (born June 12, 1944, San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a former American tennis player and commentator. He is the tournament representative of Americas on ATP Board of Directors since 1990.
Pasarell attended UCLA, where he won the NCAA men's singles title in 1966, one year after his friend and teammate Arthur Ashe. He reached #1 in the rankings of American men's players in 1967. Pasarell competed in major tournaments from 1960 through 1979, with his most successful showings coming in doubles. He reached the finals in men's doubles at Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, the French Open, and the Australian Open. Pasarell was a member of the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1974.
In 1969 at Wimbledon, Pasarell played Pancho Gonzales in the longest match in Wimbledon history. The 41-year old Gonzales finally defeated the 25-year-old Pasarell 22-24, 1–6, 16-14, 6–3, 11-9 after a battle that lasted 5 hours and 12 minutes.
Pasarell is currently the tournament director of the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, California, and a commentator for The Tennis Channel. He is a member of the Intercollegiate Men's Tennis Hall of Fame and the Southern California Tennis Association Hall of Fame.
