Pancho Gonzales
Ricardo Alonso González , known as Pancho Gonzales or Richard Gonzales (born May 9, 1928 in Los Angeles , California , † July 3, 1995 in Las Vegas , Nevada ) was an American tennis player .
life and career
Over a period of 25 years (1948 to the end of 1972) he was a world-class player and was considered the best player in the world from early 1954 to the mid-1960s - longer than anyone before and after. In this respect, alongside Bill Tilden , Rod Laver , Pete Sampras , Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, he can be counted among the best tennis players of all time. Especially his serve was feared by his opponents. In addition, Gonzales had a big fighter heart on the tennis court, similar to Boris Becker or Rafael Nadal later .
His parents emigrated from Mexico to the USA at the beginning of the 20th century . He had a difficult childhood and taught himself to play tennis without the support of the white upper class who dominated tennis in Los Angeles in the 1940s. As an unknown 20-year-old young player, he won the American championships (now the US Open ) in Forest Hills in 1948 . The next year he was able to win the championships again. This was the reason for him to switch to the professionals. In his first year as a professional, he was devastated by Jack Kramer and initially disappeared from the public scene. He then won a few professional tournaments, finally beat Kramer and was the dominant player in professional tennis for almost a decade from 1953.
Gonzales played as a professional before the open tournament era began in 1968, so he couldn't compete in Wimbledon or the US Open until he was 40 . In his professional career he beat all the major players like Frank Sedgman , Ken Rosewall , Lew Hoad , Tony Trabert , Mal Anderson and Ashley Cooper . He won the US professional championships eight times and the English championships four times. In direct comparison, he beat the best amateur players who switched to the professionals. By the age of forty he defeated such famous players as Rod Laver , Stan Smith , John Newcombe and Jimmy Connors , although they were up to 20 years younger. At the age of 43, he was the oldest player of all time to win a professional tennis tournament. Roy Emerson was the dominant player with a dozen wins at Grand Slam tournaments in the 1960s, but he could never beat the much older Gonzales.
Pancho Gonzales married six times and had seven children. His last wife, Rita, is a sister of Andre Agassi . Gonzales died of stomach cancer in Las Vegas in 1995 after a brief serious illness . He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1968.
Grand Slam victories
- Forest Hills
- Singles - 1948, 1949
- Wimbledon
- Doubles - 1949
- French championships
- Doubles - 1949
Professional World Singles Tournament
- Wembley
- Single 1950, 1951, 1952, 1956
- United States Professional Championship
- Singles 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961
Web links
- ATP profile Pancho Gonzales (English)
- ITF profile Pancho Gonzales (English)
- Davis Cup stats by Pancho Gonzales (English)
- Pancho Gonzales in the "International Tennis Hall of Fame" (English; with picture)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Neil Amdur: Pancho Gonzalez, US Tennis Champion, Dies at 67. In: nytimes-com. The New York Times , July 5, 1995, accessed September 27, 2017 .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gonzales, Pancho |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | González, Ricardo Alonso (full name); González, Ricardo; Gonzales, Pancho; Gonzales, Richard |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American tennis player |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 9, 1928 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Los Angeles , United States |
| DATE OF DEATH | 3rd July 1995 |
| Place of death | Las Vegas , United States |