Todd Witsken

Summary

Todd Witsken (November 4, 1963 – May 25, 1998) was an American tennis player. He specialized in playing doubles and began his professional career in 1985. He was a three-time all-American at the University of Southern California. His career-high rankings were world No. 43 in singles and No. 4 in doubles.[1] Witsken retired just before the 1993 US Open and died from brain cancer on May 25, 1998, at the age of 34.[1]

Todd Witsken
Country (sports) United States
Born(1963-11-04)November 4, 1963
Indianapolis, Indiana, US
DiedMay 25, 1998(1998-05-25) (aged 34)
Zionsville, Indiana, US
Turned pro1985
Retired1993
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CollegeUniversity of Southern California
Prize money$1,420,910
Singles
Career record115–135
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 43 (November 13, 1989)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQF (1988)
French Open2R (1988, 1989)
Wimbledon2R (1986, 1989)
US Open4R (1986)
Doubles
Career record222–148
Career titles12
Highest rankingNo. 4 (August 29, 1988)

His biggest singles win was at the 1986 US Open, where he beat five-time US Open champion, Jimmy Connors, 6–2, 6–4, 7–5, in their third-round match. It was the first time since 1973 that Connors had failed to reach the US Open semifinals.

In 1989, Witsken lost to Greg Holmes 7–5, 4–6, 6–7(5), 6–4, 12–14, in the second round at Wimbledon, a match that was the longest men's singles match at Wimbledon, timed at 5 hours 28 minutes, until the record-breaking Isner-Mahut match in 2010.

He was one of eight children born to Marilyn and Henry Witsken. His hometown was Carmel, Indiana, where he left behind four children. His nephew is Ben Shelton.

ATP career finals edit

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
ATP Masters Series (2)
ATP International Series Gold (0)
ATP Tour (10)

Doubles: 21 (12 wins, 9 losses) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. Oct 1987 San Francisco, USA Carpet (i)   Glenn Layendecker   Jim Grabb
  Patrick McEnroe
2–6, 6–0, 4–6
Loss 2. Mar 1988 Indian Wells, USA Hard   Jorge Lozano   Boris Becker
  Guy Forget
4–6, 4–6
Loss 3. May 1988 Charleston, USA Clay   Jorge Lozano   Pieter Aldrich
  Danie Visser
6–7, 3–6
Win 1. May 1988 Forest Hills, USA Clay   Jorge Lozano   Pieter Aldrich
  Danie Visser
6–3, 7–6
Win 2. May 1988 Rome, Italy Clay   Jorge Lozano   Anders Järryd
  Tomáš Šmíd
6–3, 6–3
Win 3. Jul 1988 Boston, USA Clay   Jorge Lozano   Bruno Orešar
  Jaime Yzaga
6–2, 7–5
Loss 4. Jul 1988 Washington, USA Hard   Jorge Lozano   Rick Leach
  Jim Pugh
3–6, 7–6, 2–6
Win 4. Jul 1988 Stratton Mountain, USA Hard   Jorge Lozano   Pieter Aldrich
  Danie Visser
6–3, 7–6
Loss 5. Nov 1988 Itaparica, Brazil Hard   Jorge Lozano   Sergio Casal
  Emilio Sánchez
6–7, 6–7
Win 5. Apr 1989 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Carpet (i)   Jorge Lozano   Patrick McEnroe
  Tim Wilkison
2–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 6. Jul 1989 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Cássio Motta   Petr Korda
  Milan Šrejber
6–4, 6–3
Win 7. Aug 1989 Montreal, Canada Hard   Kelly Evernden   Charles Beckman
  Shelby Cannon
6–3, 6–3
Win 8. Nov 1989 Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (i)   Jorge Lozano   Rick Leach
  Jim Pugh
6–3, 5–7, 6–3
Loss 6. Nov 1989 Itaparica, Brazil Hard   Jorge Lozano   Rick Leach
  Jim Pugh
2–6, 6–7
Loss 7. Jul 1990 Washington, USA Hard   Jorge Lozano   Grant Connell
  Glenn Michibata
3–6, 7–6, 2–6
Loss 8. Oct 1990 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i)   Jorge Lozano   Udo Riglewski
  Michael Stich
4–6, 4–6
Win 9. Apr 1991 Hong Kong, UK Hard   Patrick Galbraith   Glenn Michibata
  Robert Van't Hof
6–2, 6–4
Win 10. May 1991 Munich, Germany Clay   Patrick Galbraith   Anders Järryd
  Danie Visser
7–5, 6–4
Win 11. Jul 1991 Montreal, Canada Hard   Patrick Galbraith   Grant Connell
  Glenn Michibata
6–4, 3–6, 6–1
Win 12. Mar 1992 Key Biscayne, USA Hard   Ken Flach   Kent Kinnear
  Sven Salumaa
6–4, 6–3
Loss 9. Jul 1992 Washington, USA Hard   Ken Flach   Bret Garnett
  Jared Palmer
2–6, 3–6

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up) edit

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Feb 1990 San Francisco, USA Hard (i)   Andre Agassi 1–6, 3–6

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Todd Witsken, 34, Champion in Tennis Doubles". New York Times. May 27, 1998. Retrieved March 21, 2008.

External links edit