Gerulaitis tennis player

By Scoop Malinowski. John McEnroe and the Roland Garros final vs. Bjorn Borg.

After finally getting the better of Jimmy Connors in , the flamboyant New Yorker joked: "Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row! Gerulaitis was one of tennis' great entertainers both on and off the court in the late s and early s thanks to his long, curly blond hair, hilarious post-match quotes and dynamic playing style. The Lithuanian Lion won 27 singles and nine doubles titles, and was ranked as high as No. Yet for all his efforts on the court, Gerulaitis' larger-than-life personality overshadowed his tennis game. He frequently partied with celebrities at Studio 54 in New York City, drove a Rolls-Royce, dated beautiful models and needed treatment for a serious drug habit.

Gerulaitis tennis player

American tennis player. Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis. English Wikipedia. Swedish Wikipedia. Italian Wikipedia. United States of America. Tennis Temple player ID. Tennis Temple. ATP website. ATP player ID. Find a Grave. Find a Grave memorial ID. Vitas Gerulaitis. The Bud Collins History of Tennis 2nd ed. Long Island.

The Gerulaitis family reached a confidential settlement with some of the defendants in their civil case by Yet for all his efforts on the court, Gerulaitis' larger-than-life personality overshadowed his tennis game, gerulaitis tennis player. He retired from the professional tour inand was a regular tennis commentator on the USA network between and

Starting in the mids, Vitas Gerulaitis was recognized as a top American tennis player with a flamboyant style and a funny-sounding name. After retiring from competitive action in , he worked as a tennis commentator until That same year tragedy struck when he unexpectedly died in a bizarre incident of carbon monoxide poisoning. Vitas Gerulaitis arrived on the scene when World TeamTennis was becoming popular, increasing the profile and the prize money for the sport. The season was the best of his career. Gerulaitis had a near-miss at Wimbledon, losing in the semifinals in a five-set thriller to Bjorn Borg.

He was Gerulaitis won only one Grand Slam event singles title, the Australian Open, but reached the final in two others, losing to McEnroe in the U. Open and to Bjorn Borg in the French Open. Although Gerulaitis won 27 singles titles, nine doubles titles, was ranked in the top 10 from and reached as high as No. It was Lloyd who was beaten by Gerulaitis on the grass courts of Kooyong in Melbourne in the Australian Open final 17 years ago.

Gerulaitis tennis player

Every day Tennis Majors takes you back in time to celebrate a significant moment in tennis history. Today, we go back to , to the day tennis great Vitas Gerulaitis died at the age of 40 from an accidental case of carbon monoxide poisoning. Vitas Gerulaitis was born in in New York to Lithuanian parents who had fled their country during the war.

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The stunt, however, was short-lived when Gerulaitis and Riggs lost a doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver. F Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. He regularly came to watch my matches and chat afterwards. People loved being around him, and he them. They wanted to see HIM play the next day, not the other poor sap. A born showman, Vitas nearly always established a very positive rapport with the spectators. Spokane, Washington. Brussels , Belgium. I think about him almost every day. Columbia Lions men's tennis. Gerulaitis was known for his exceptionally quick hands at the net and his outstanding court coverage.

US Open. Published Aug 21, Vitas Gerulaitis was a fine player who had the misfortune, in terms of tennis achievements, to play in a golden age dominated by Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe and Jimmy Connors.

Tonino Zugarelli. March 4, Oslo , Norway. For Vitas to come down the next day, it surprised everybody. Adriano Panatta. WorldCat Identities ID superseded. Did you know he put white gauze tape on his grip? He failed to show up for a dinner at 7 p. Create a new Lexeme Recent changes Random Lexeme. At the Wimbledon Championships , Gerulaitis made it to the fourth round of the singles and en route won a match against 16th seed Marita Redondo , in which she dropped just two games. March 9, Tennis Abstract player ID. January 1,