Gerald Battrick

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Gerald Battrick
Gerald Battrick holding the trophy at the 1971 Dutch Open
Country (sports) United Kingdom
Born(1947-05-27)27 May 1947
Bridgend, Wales
Died26 November 1998(1998-11-26) (aged 51)[1]
Height1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1964)
Retired1976
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record528-373
Career titles27
Highest rankingNo. 53 (15 October 1973)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1970)
French Open4R (1968)
Wimbledon3R (1971)
US Open2R (1969, 1971, 1974, 1976)
Doubles
Career record97–134
Career titles1
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1970)
French OpenQF (1968, 1970)
WimbledonQF (1975)
US Open2R (1973)

Gerald Battrick (27 May 1947[2] – 26 November 1998) was a Welsh tennis player who reached as high as No. 3 in Britain (and world No. 53), winning at least 6 titles.

Personal life[edit]

Gerald Battrick was born on 27 May 1947 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, where his father was the Medical Officer.[1]

Tennis career[edit]

Juniors[edit]

Battrick won the junior titles of Great Britain, Belgium and France and represented Britain in the Davis Cup. In 1965, he won the French Open Boys' Singles.[2]

Pro tour[edit]

In 1971 he won the singles title at the Dutch Open in Hilversum, defeating Australian Ross Case in the final in three straight sets. He also won the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth, winning the final against Željko Franulović in four sets. In doubles, Battrick reached the quarterfinals of the French Open in 1968 and 1970 and at Wimbledon in 1975.

He played for the Great Britain Davis Cup team in 1970 and 1971 compiling a record of two wins and three losses. In 1972 Battrick joined Lamar Hunt's World Championship Tennis circuit.[1]

World Team Tennis[edit]

Battrick played for the co-ed Pittsburgh Triangles of World TeamTennis in 1974 and 1975. He was part of the Triangles 1975 league championship team.

Career finals[edit]

Singles: 7 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)[edit]

Finals by surface
Hard (1–2)
Grass (0–0)
Clay (2–1)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 1970 Caracas, Venezuela Hard United States Tom Gorman 2–6, 4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Win 1–1 Mar 1970 Willemstad, Curacao Hard Spain Juan Gisbert Sr. 2–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Loss 1–2 Apr 1970 Kingston, Jamaica Hard West Germany Christian Kuhnke 4–6, 0–6
Win 2–2 May 1971 Bournemouth, UK Clay Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Željko Franulović 6–3, 6–2, 5–7, 6–0
Win 3–2 Aug 1971 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Australia Ross Case 6–3, 6–4, 9–7
Win 4–2 Nov 1971 London, UK Carpet (i) South Africa Bob Hewitt 6–3, 6–4
Loss 4–3 Apr 1973 Clemmons, U.S. Clay Chile Jaime Fillol Sr. 2–6, 4–6

Doubles (1 title, 4 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1968 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay United Kingdom Bobby Wilson West Germany Wilhelm Bungert
West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
3–6, 5–7
Loss 0–2 Feb 1971 Caracas, Venezuela Clay United Kingdom Peter Curtis Brazil Thomaz Koch
Brazil José Edison Mandarino
4–6, 6–3, 7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win 1–2 Aug 1973 Columbus, U.S. Hard United Kingdom Graham Stilwell Australia Colin Dibley
United States Charlie Pasarell
6–4, 7–6
Loss 1–3 Sep 1973 Chicago, U.S. Carpet (i) United Kingdom Graham Stilwell Australia Owen Davidson
Australia John Newcombe
7–6, 6–7, 6–7
Loss 1–3 Nov 1973 London, UK Carpet (i) United Kingdom Graham Stilwell United Kingdom Mark Cox
Australia Owen Davidson
4–6, 6–8

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c Edwards, Bill (8 January 1999). "Obituary: Gerald Battrick". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Gerald Battrick". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 3 October 2010.

External links[edit]