Stan Smith
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Personal information | |
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Date of birth | December 14, 1946 |
Country | United States |
Career information | |
Highest ranking | No. 1 |
Major wins (2) | |
Wimbledon | 1972 |
U.S. Open | 1971 |
Stan Smith (born December 14, 1946 in Pasadena, California) is a former American tennis player who, with his partner Bob Lutz, was one of the best doubles teams of all time. Together, they won many major titles all over the world. Smith also won many singles titles, including the Wimbledon championship once and the US Open championship once. In 1972, he was the year-ending World No. 1 singles player.
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[edit] Career
Smith played collegiate tennis at the University of Southern California, where he was a three-time All-American and won the 1968 NCAA singles championship and the 1967 and 1968 doubles titles.
In his 1979 autobiography, Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, ranked Smith as one of the 21 best players of all time.[1]
In 2005, TENNIS Magazine put Smith in 35th place in its list of 40 Greatest Players of the TENNIS era.
Smith was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1987.
Following his playing career, Smith became active as a coach for the United States Tennis Association. He now has his own academy with Billy Stearns called Smith Stearns Tennis Academy, located in Hilton Head Island, South Carolina.
Today, Smith lives in Hilton Head with his wife and four children, all of whom competed in collegiate tennis.
[edit] Grand Slam singles finals
[edit] Wins (2)
Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
1971 | U.S. Open | Jan Kodeš | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6 |
1972 | Wimbledon | Ilie Năstase | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
[edit] Runner-up (1)
Year | Championship | Opponent in Final | Score in Final |
1971 | Wimbledon | John Newcombe | 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
[edit] Singles finals (54)
[edit] Wins (35)
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
1. | 1970 | Phoenix, U.S. | Hard | Jim Osborne | 6–3, 6–7, 6–1 |
2. | 1970 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Arthur Ashe | 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
3. | 1970 | Masters, Tokyo | Carpet | Rod Laver | 4–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
4. | 1971 | Paris, France | Clay | François Jauffret | 6–2, 6–4, 7–5 |
5. | 1971 | London/Queen's Club, United Kingdom | Grass | John Newcombe | 8–6, 6–3 |
6. | 1971 | Cincinnati, U.S. | Clay | Juan Gisbert | 7–6, 6–3 |
7. | 1971 | U.S. Open, New York City | Grass | Jan Kodeš | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 7–6 |
8. | 1972 | Salisbury, U.S. | Hard (i) | Ilie Năstase | 5–7, 6–2, 6–3, 6–4 |
9. | 1972 | New York, U.S. | Indoor | Juan Gisbert | 4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–1 |
10. | 1972 | Hampton, U.S. | Hard (i) | Ilie Năstase | 6–3, 6–2, 6–7, 6–4 |
11. | 1972 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 4–6, 6–1, 6–3, 4–6, 6–1 |
12. | 1972 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Ilie Năstase | 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
13. | 1972 | Sacramento, U.S. | Outdoor | Colin Dibley | 6–4, 5–7, 6–4, 6–4 |
14. | 1972 | Los Angeles WCT, U.S. | Hard | Roscoe Tanner | 6–4, 6–4 |
15. | 1972 | Paris Indoor, France | Hard (i) | Andrés Gimeno | 6–2, 6–2, 7–5 |
16. | 1972 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Tom Okker | 6–4, 6–3 |
17. | 1973 | Philadelphia WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Robert Lutz | 7–6, 7–6, 4–6, 6–4 |
18. | 1973 | Atlanta WCT, U.S. | Clay | Rod Laver | 6–3, 6–4 |
19. | 1973 | St. Louis WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Rod Laver | 6–4, 3–6, 6–4 |
20. | 1973 | Munich WCT, Germany | Carpet | Cliff Richey | 6–1, 7–5 |
21. | 1973 | Brussels WCT, Belgium | Carpet | Rod Laver | 6–2, 6–4, 6–1 |
22. | 1973 | Gothenberg WCT, Sweden | Carpet | John Alexander | 5–7, 6–4, 6–2 |
23. | 1973 | Dallas WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Arthur Ashe | 6–3, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4 |
24. | 1973 | Båstad, Sweden | Clay | Manuel Orantes | 6–4, 6–2, 7–6 |
25. | 1974 | Hempstead WCT, U.S. | Hard | John Newcombe | 6–4, 3–6, 6–3 |
26. | 1974 | St. Louis, U.S. | Clay | Alex Metreveli | 6–2, 3–6, 6–2 |
27. | 1974 | Nottingham, United Kingdom | Grass | Alex Metreveli | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 |
28. | 1974 | Chicago, U.S. | Carpet | Marty Riessen | 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
29. | 1975 | Sydney Indoor, Australia | Hard (i) | Robert Lutz | 7–6, 6–2 |
30. | 1977 | Pacific Southwest Open, Los Angeles, U.S. | Carpet | Brian Gottfried | 6–4, 2–6, 6–3 |
31. | 1978 | Atlanta, U.S. | Hard | Eliot Teltscher | 4–6, 6–1, 2–1, ret. |
32. | 1978 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | Balázs Taróczy | 4–6, 7–6, 7–6, 6–3 |
33. | 1979 | Cleveland, U.S. | Hard | Ilie Năstase | 7–6, 7–5 |
34. | 1979 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | Wojtek Fibak | 6–4, 6–0, 6–2 |
35. | 1980 | Frankfurt, Germany | Carpet | Johan Kriek | 2–6, 7–6, 6–2 |
[edit] Runner-ups (19)
No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent in the final | Score |
1. | 1970 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Cliff Richey | 6–2, 10-8, 3–6, 6–1 |
2. | 1971 | Charlotte, U.S. | Hard | Arthur Ashe | 6–3, 6–3 |
3. | 1971 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | John Newcombe | 6–3, 5–7, 2–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
4. | 1971 | Masters, Paris | Carpet | Ilie Năstase | 5–7, 7–6, 6–3 |
5. | 1972 | Masters, Barcelona | Carpet | Ilie Năstase | 6–3, 6–2, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3 |
6. | 1973 | La Costa WCT, U.S. | Hard | Colin Dibley | 6–3, 7–6 |
7. | 1973 | Paris Indoor, France | Hard (i) | Ilie Năstase | 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2 |
8. | 1974 | La Costa WCT, U.S. | Hard | John Newcombe | 6–2, 4–6, 6–4 |
9. | 1975 | Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada | Carpet | Harold Solomon | 6–4, 6–1 |
10. | 1975 | San Antonio WCT, U.S. | Hard | Dick Stockton | 7–5, 2–6, 7–6 |
11. | 1975 | Tokyo Indoor, Japan | Carpet | Robert Lutz | 6–4, 6–4 |
12. | 1976 | Memphis WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Vijay Amritraj | 6–2, 0–6, 6–0 |
13. | 1976 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Roscoe Tanner | 6–4, 7–6 |
14. | 1977 | Springfield, U.S. | Carpet | Guillermo Vilas | 3–6, 6–0, 6–3, 6–2 |
15. | 1977 | Hampton, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | 4–6, 6–3, 6–2, 1–6, 6–3 |
16. | 1978 | Denver, U.S. | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 6–2, 7–6 |
17. | 1979 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Brian Teacher | 1–6, 6–3, 6–4 |
18. | 1980 | Palm Harbor, U.S. | Hard | Paul McNamee | 6–4, 6–3 |
19. | 1980 | Manchester, United Kingdom | Grass | Roscoe Tanner | 6–3, 6–4 |
[edit] Doubles finals (81)
[edit] Wins (54)
[edit] Runner-ups (27)
[edit] References
- ^ Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
[edit] Further reading
- Smith, Stan (2002). Stan Smith's Winning Doubles. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. ISBN 0-7360-3007-7.
[edit] External links
Preceded by R. Malcolm Graham Robert A. Griese Floyd Little James R. Lynch Alan C. Page Ricardo M. Urbina |
Silver Anniversary Awards (NCAA) Class of 1993 Dick Anderson Bob Johnson Donna A. Lopiano Donald A. Schollander Stan Smith Wyomia Tyus |
Succeeded by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Lee Evans Calvin Hill William C. Hurd Leroy Keyes Jim Ryun |
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