Experts considered Bill Scanlon to be a great tennis talent from an early age. In 1976 he started his professional career. It was able to hold its own especially on hard courts , while slower surfaces, such as. B. Sand , did not meet his game. In 1977 he was in five finals on the ATP Tour . He was defeated in two individual finals, as well as in two of the double finals reached. Scanlon achieved his first final victory in the doubles tournament in Brisbane on grass. Together with Vitas Gerulaitis he beat the Australian doubles Anderson / Ken Rosewall 7: 6 and 6: 4.
In 1978 Scanlon won his first individual tournament when he won with a smooth 6: 2 and 6: 0 against his compatriot Peter Fleming in Maui . A year later Scanlon was able to defend the title, again against Fleming, whom he beat 6-1 and 6-1 this time. In 1981 three more tournament victories followed. In January he won the Auckland hard court in a dramatic five-set game against Tim Wilkison 6-7, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 and 6-0 . In Bangkok in November Scanlon defeated the Swede Mats Wilander in the final 6: 2 and 6: 3. There was also a title in Salisbury . Another tournament victory came in March 1982. In Zurich he beat his former doubles partner Gerulaitis 7: 5, 7: 6, 1: 6, 0: 6 and 6: 4.
In 1983 Scanlon made an entry in the Guinness Book of Records . Until August 2013 he was the only man who managed a golden set , a set win without losing points. He succeeded on February 22, 1983 in Delray Beach when he defeated the Brazilian Marcos Hocevar 6-2 and 6-0 in the first round . It wasn't until 2013 that another male player, the German Julian Reister , made it .
After a knee injury, Bill Scanlon was sidelined for five months in 1985. After his comeback, he managed two more tournament victories. In 1986 he won the individual competition of the Newport tournament with a 7: 5 and 6: 4 against Tim Wilkison . In 1987 he and Ivan Lendl won the Adelaide tournament in doubles with a 6: 7, 6: 3 and 6: 4 over the Australian duo Peter Doohan / Laurie Warder . In August 1990 Scanlon ended his professional career, ranked 996.
After the career
After his career, Bill Scanlon founded the Dallas Youth Foundation , the aim of which is to teach children how to play tennis and teach athletic behavior and fairness. He died of cancer on June 1, 2021.
United States
Auckland
Vijay Amritraj
Bangkok
Mats Wilander
Zurich
Vienna
Paris
Wojciech Fibak
Ivan Lendl
Adelaide
Monterrey
Wembley