Gene Mayer

Summary

Gene Mayer (born May 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 professional singles titles during his career.

Gene Mayer
Gene Mayer at the 1979 ABN Tennis Tournament
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceMill Neck, New York
Born (1956-05-11) May 11, 1956 (age 67)
Flushing, Queens
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro1973
Retired1986 (brief comeback in 2001)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed both sides)
Prize money$1,382,422
Singles
Career record317–158
Career titles14
Highest rankingNo. 4 (October 6, 1980)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open4R (1979)
WimbledonQF (1980, 1982)
US OpenQF (1982, 1984)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (1980)
WCT FinalsQF (1979)
Doubles
Career record167–91
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 5 (July 9, 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenW (1978, 1979)

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

  1. ^ "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."
  2. ^ Best Boys Tennis Team of the Century, The Star-Ledger. Accessed December 10, 2007.
  3. ^ Martin, Rachel (April 11, 2016). "Happy Birthday To Wayne's Gene Mayer". South Passaic Daily Voice. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  4. ^ 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."
  5. ^ "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