Gene Mayer
Country (sports) | United States |
---|---|
Residence | Mill Neck, New York, U.S. |
Born | Flushing, Queens, New York, U.S. | May 11, 1956
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Turned pro | 1973 |
Retired | 1986 (brief comeback in 2001) |
Plays | Right-handed (two-handed both sides) |
Prize money | $1,382,422 |
Singles | |
Career record | 317–158 |
Career titles | 14 |
Highest ranking | No. 4 (October 6, 1980) |
Grand Slam singles results | |
French Open | 4R (1979) |
Wimbledon | QF (1980, 1982) |
US Open | QF (1982, 1984) |
Other tournaments | |
Tour Finals | SF (1980) |
WCT Finals | QF (1979) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 167–91 |
Career titles | 15 |
Highest ranking | No. 5 (July 9, 1979) |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
French Open | W (1978, 1979) |
Gene Mayer (born May 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 professional singles titles during his career.
Mayer was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. He grew up in Wayne, New Jersey,[1] and played tennis at Wayne Valley High School, where he went unbeaten in his two years on the tennis team.[2][3] He was a double hander on both forehand and backhand.
The right-hander Mayer reached his highest ranking on the ATP Tour on October 6, 1980, when he reached the rank of World No. 4.
Mayer has been a resident of Woodmere, New York.[4] In 2005, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame.[5]
Gene's older brother Sandy was also a tour player. He achieved the rank of World No. 7 in 1982. They met each other in the Stockholm Open final 1981 and won 5 doubles tournaments together, including 1979 French Open.
Career finals
[edit]Singles: 26 (14 wins, 12 losses)
[edit]Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1. | 1976 | Hamilton, Bermuda | Clay | Cliff Richey | 6–7, 2–6 |
Win | 1. | 1978 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Clay | John Newcombe | 6–3, 6–4 |
Loss | 2. | 1979 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | José Higueras | 3–6, 6–2, 6–7 |
Win | 2. | 1979 | Cologne, Germany | Hard (i) | Wojtek Fibak | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
Loss | 3. | 1979 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | John McEnroe | 7–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
Win | 3. | 1980 | Denver, U.S. | Carpet | Victor Amaya | 6–2, 6–2 |
Loss | 4. | 1980 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet | Heinz Günthardt | 2–6, 4–6 |
Win | 4. | 1980 | Metz, France | Carpet | Gianni Ocleppo | 6–3, 6–3, 6–0 |
Win | 5. | 1980 | Los Angeles | Hard | Brian Teacher | 6–3, 6–2 |
Loss | 5. | 1980 | Boston, U.S. | Clay | Eddie Dibbs | 2–6, 1–6 |
Win | 6. | 1980 | Cleveland, U.S. | Hard | Victor Amaya | 6–2, 6–1 |
Win | 7. | 1980 | San Francisco, U.S. | Carpet | Eliot Teltscher | 6–2, 2–6, 6–1 |
Loss | 6. | 1980 | Wembley, United Kingdom | Carpet | John McEnroe | 4–6, 3–6, 3–6 |
Win | 8. | 1981 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Roscoe Tanner | 6–2, 6–4 |
Win | 9. | 1981 | Denver, U.S. | Carpet | John Sadri | 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 7. | 1981 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Jimmy Connors | 1–6, 6–2, 2–6 |
Win | 10. | 1981 | Cleveland, U.S. | Hard | Dave Siegler | 6–1, 6–4 |
Win | 11. | 1981 | Stockholm, Sweden | Hard (i) | Sandy Mayer | 6–4, 6–2 |
Loss | 8. | 1982 | Las Vegas, U.S. | Hard | Jimmy Connors | 2–5, retired |
Win | 12. | 1982 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Peter Elter | 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1 |
Loss | 9. | 1982 | Sydney Indoor, Australia | Hard (i) | John McEnroe | 4–6, 1–6, 4–6 |
Loss | 10. | 1983 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Jimmy Connors | 5–7, 0–6 |
Win | 13. | 1983 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Guillermo Vilas | 6–1, 7–6 |
Win | 14. | 1983 | Los Angeles | Hard | Johan Kriek | 7–6, 6–1 |
Loss | 11. | 1984 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Libor Pimek | 4–6, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6 |
Loss | 12. | 1984 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay | Henri Leconte | 6–7, 0–6, 6–1, 1–6 |
Doubles: 24 (15 wins, 9 losses)
[edit]Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Loss | 1. | 1976 | La Costa, U.S. | Hard | Peter Fleming | Marty Riessen Roscoe Tanner |
6–7, 6–7 |
Loss | 2. | 1976 | Charlotte WCT, U.S. | Carpet | Vitas Gerulaitis | John Newcombe Tony Roche |
3–6, 5–7 |
Loss | 3. | 1977 | Columbus, U.S. | Clay | Peter Fleming | Robert Lutz Stan Smith |
6–4, 5–7, 2–6 |
Win | 1. | 1978 | Mexico City WCT, Mexico | Hard | Sashi Menon | Marcello Lara Raúl Ramírez |
6–3, 7–6 |
Win | 2. | 1978 | Miami, Florida, U.S. | Carpet | Tom Gullikson | Bob Carmichael Brian Teacher |
7–6, 6–3 |
Loss | 4. | 1978 | Guadalajara, Mexico | Clay | Sashi Menon | Sandy Mayer Sherwood Stewart |
6–4, 6–7, 3–6 |
Win | 3. | 1978 | San Jose, California, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Hank Pfister Brad Rowe |
6–3, 6–4 |
Win | 4. | 1978 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Hank Pfister | Manuel Orantes José Higueras |
6–3, 6–2, 6–2 |
Win | 5. | 1978 | Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. | Clay | Raúl Ramírez | Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie |
6–3, 6–3 |
Win | 6. | 1978 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | Hank Pfister | Jeff Borowiak Chris Lewis |
6–3, 6–1 |
Win | 7. | 1979 | Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. | Hard | Sandy Mayer | Cliff Drysdale Bruce Manson |
6–4, 7–6 |
Win | 8. | 1979 | Houston, U.S. | Clay | Sherwood Stewart | John Alexander Geoff Masters |
6–1, 5–7, 6–4 |
Win | 9. | 1979 | French Open, Paris | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Ross Case Phil Dent |
6–4, 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 5. | 1979 | Forest Hills WCT, U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Peter Fleming John McEnroe |
7–6, 6–7, 3–6 |
Win | 10. | 1979 | Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. | Clay | John McEnroe | Jan Kodeš Tomáš Šmíd |
6–4, 7–6 |
Win | 11. | 1979 | Cologne, Germany | Hard (i) | Stan Smith | Heinz Günthardt Pavel Složil |
6–3, 6–4 |
Win | 12. | 1980 | Metz, France | Carpet | Colin Dibley | Chris Delaney Kim Warwick |
7–6, 7–5 |
Loss | 6. | 1980 | Las Vegas, U.S. | Hard | Wojtek Fibak | Robert Lutz Stan Smith |
2–6, 5–7 |
Win | 13. | 1980 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Raúl Ramírez | Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta |
6–1, 6–4 |
Win | 14. | 1980 | Boston, U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez |
1–6, 6–4, 6–4 |
Loss | 7. | 1980 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Clay | Sandy Mayer | Hans Gildemeister Andrés Gómez |
4–6, 5–7 |
Loss | 8. | 1980 | San Francisco, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Peter Fleming John McEnroe |
1–6, 4–6 |
Win | 15. | 1981 | Memphis, U.S. | Carpet | Sandy Mayer | Mike Cahill Tom Gullikson |
7–6, 6–7, 7–6 |
Loss | 9. | 1981 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Hard (i) | Sandy Mayer | Fritz Buehning Ferdi Taygan |
6–7, 6–1, 4–6 |
References
[edit]- ^ "Vilas Extended by Mayer", The New York Times, February 13, 1977. Accessed December 10, 2007. "Guillermo Vilas, the Argentine left hander, had unexpectedly strong opposition, but ousted young Gene Mayer of Wayne, N.J., 7–6, 7–6, 6–1, in the semifinals of the $50,000 Springfield International, a Grand Prix tennis tournament."
- ^ Best Boys Tennis Team of the Century, The Star-Ledger. Accessed December 10, 2007.
- ^ Martin, Rachel (April 11, 2016). "Happy Birthday To Wayne's Gene Mayer". South Passaic Daily Voice. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
- ^ Cavanaugh, Jack. "A TENNIS TOURNAMENT SERVES SOME ACES", The New York Times, August 23, 1987. Accessed September 16, 2008. "Most of what rooting interest developed focused on the closest thing to a homegrown product in the competition, Gene Mayer of Woodmere."
- ^ "NC Sports Commission Invites Athlete and Coach Nominations From Community" Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Three Village Times, January 28, 2005. Accessed December 22, 2007. "The NCSC is privileged to announce that four-time Track and Field Gold Medallist Al Oerter and former world ranked tennis professional Gene Mayer are scheduled, among others, to accept their induction into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame on April 11."
External links
[edit]- 1956 births
- American male tennis players
- French Open champions
- Living people
- American people of German descent
- People from Woodmere, New York
- Sportspeople from Hempstead, New York
- People from Wayne, New Jersey
- Wayne Valley High School alumni
- Sportspeople from Queens, New York
- Tennis players from New York City
- Stanford Cardinal men's tennis players
- Tennis players from New Jersey
- Wimbledon champions
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles
- Sportspeople from Passaic County, New Jersey
- 20th-century American sportsmen