Peter Leslie Doohan (2 May 1961 – 21 July 2017) was an Australian tennis player who won three consecutive Australian Hard Court Championships singles titles (1984, 1985, 1986),[1] which remains an Open era record for that tournament. He won a further two singles titles at the South Australian Open in 1984 and San Louis Potosí tournament in Mexico in 1988. He also won five doubles titles during his career. The right-hander reached his highest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 43 in August 1987.

Peter Doohan
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceNelson Bay, New South Wales, Australia
Born(1961-05-02)2 May 1961
Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Died21 July 2017(2017-07-21) (aged 56)
Australia
Height190 cm (6 ft 3 in)
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
CollegeUniversity of Arkansas
Prize money$445,192
Singles
Career record49–81
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 43 (3 August 1987)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1987)
French Open1R (1986)
Wimbledon4R (1987)
US Open2R (1984)
Doubles
Career record141–106
Career titles5
Highest rankingNo. 15 (9 February 1987)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (1987)
French Open2R (1989)
WimbledonSF (1984, 1988)
US Open3R (1988, 1990)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1989)
French Open3R (1989)
Wimbledon3R (1984, 1985, 1989)
US Open1R (1987)

Early and personal life edit

Peter Leslie Doohan was born on 2 May 1961 in Newcastle, New South Wales, to Paul and Thelma Doohan.[2][3] Her sisters were Cathie Roff and Margaret Knight.[2][3] His sons include tennis coach John Doohan and American actor Hunter Doohan.

Doohan died on 21 July 2017 from motor neurone disease.[4]

Career edit

At the 1987 Wimbledon Championships, he unexpectedly defeated two-time defending champion and top-seeded Boris Becker in the second round, earning himself the nickname "The Becker Wrecker" at home in Australia.[5][6][7]

Doohan played collegiately in the United States with the University of Arkansas where he won the NCAA doubles title in 1982. Also a successful singles player, he won three Australian Hard Court Championships consecutively from (1984–1986). In 1984, he won the South Australian Open singles title.[8] In 1988, he won the San Louis Potosí singles title on clay[9] in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He also coached high school tennis at Donoho High School in Anniston, Alabama, for several years in the mid-1990s.[4]

Grand Slam finals edit

Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up) edit

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1987 Australian Open Grass   Laurie Warder   Stefan Edberg
  Anders Järryd
4–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)

ATP career finals edit

Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups) edit

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour Championship Series (0–0)
ATP World Tour World Series (1–3)
Titles by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (1–3)
Carpet (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (1–3)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Dec 1984 Adelaide, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Huub van Boeckel 1–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Dec 1985 Adelaide, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Eddie Edwards 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1–2 Dec 1985 Melbourne, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Jonathan Canter 7–5, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 1–3 Feb 1987 Sydney, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Miloslav Mečíř 2–6, 4–6

Doubles: 14 (5 titles, 9 runner-ups) edit

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–1)
ATP World Tour Finals (0–0)
ATP World Tour Masters Series (0–1)
ATP World Tour Championship Series (0–1)
ATP World Tour World Series (5–6)
Titles by surface
Hard (3–4)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (2–4)
Carpet (0–0)
Titles by setting
Outdoor (5–9)
Indoor (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Sep 1984 Tel Aviv, Israel Grand Prix Hard   Brian Levine   Colin Dowdeswell
  Jakob Hlasek
6–3, 6–4
Loss 1–1 Dec 1984 Adelaide, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Brian Levine   Broderick Dyke
  Wally Masur
6–4, 5–7, 1–6
Win 2–1 Jul 1985 Newport, United States Grand Prix Grass   Sammy Giammalva   Paul Annacone
  Christo van Rensburg
6–1, 6–3
Win 3–1 Jul 1985 Livingston, United States Grand Prix Hard   Mike De Palmer   Eddie Edwards
  Danie Visser
6–3, 6–4
Loss 3–2 Mar 1986 Fort Meyers, United States Grand Prix Hard   Paul McNamee   Andrés Gómez
  Ivan Lendl
5–7, 4–6
Loss 3–3 Jan 1987 Adelaide, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Laurie Warder   Ivan Lendl
  Bill Scanlon
7–6, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 3–4 Jan 1987 Melbourne, Australia Grand Slam Grass   Laurie Warder   Stefan Edberg
  Anders Järryd
4–6, 4–6, 6–7
Loss 3–5 Feb 1987 Sydney, Australia Grand Prix Grass   Laurie Warder   Brad Drewett
  Mark Edmondson
4–6, 6–4, 2–6
Loss 3–6 Aug 1987 Montreal, Canada Masters Series Hard   Laurie Warder   Pat Cash
  Stefan Edberg
7–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 4–6 Jun 1988 Bristol, United Kingdom Grand Prix Grass   Laurie Warder   Marty Davis
  Tim Pawsat
2–6, 6–4, 7–5
Loss 4–7 Sep 1988 Los Angeles, United States Grand Prix Hard   Jim Grabb   John McEnroe
  Mark Woodforde
4–6, 4–6
Win 5–7 Jan 1989 Wellington, New Zealand Grand Prix Hard   Laurie Warder   Rill Baxter
  Glenn Michibata
3–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 5–8 May 1989 Munich, Germany Grand Prix Clay   Laurie Warder   Javier Sánchez
  Balázs Taróczy
6–7, 3–6
Loss 5–9 Aug 1989 Indianapolis, United States Championship Series Hard   Laurie Warder   Pieter Aldrich
  Danie Visser
6–7, 6–7

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals edit

Singles: 1 (0–1) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–1)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–1)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 1989 San Luis Potosí, Mexico Challenger Clay   Jorge Lozano 4–6, 4–6

Doubles: 1 (1–0) edit

Legend
ATP Challenger (1–0)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–0)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Sep 1990 Canberra, Australia Challenger Carpet   Brett Custer   David Adams
  Jamie Morgan
6–3, 6–4

Performance timelines edit

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles edit

Tournament 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A 1R Q1 Q3 1R 1R 3R A 4R 2R 1R 1R 1R 0 / 9 6–9 40%
French Open A A A A A A A 1R A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Wimbledon Q2 1R Q1 1R Q3 Q2 1R 1R 4R 1R Q2 Q1 A 0 / 6 3–6 33%
US Open A A A A A 2R 1R A 1R A A A A 0 / 3 1–3 25%
Win–loss 0–0 0–2 0–0 0–1 0–1 1–2 2–3 0–2 6–3 1–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 0 / 19 10–19 34%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A A A A A A A 1R A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Miami A A A A A A 2R A A 1R A A A 0 / 2 1–2 33%
Canada A A A A A A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Cincinnati A A A A A A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 0–0 0–2 0–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0 / 5 1–5 17%

Doubles edit

Tournament 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R 1R A 1R SF 3R A F 1R 3R 1R 2R 0 / 10 11–10 52%
French Open A A A A A A A A A 2R A A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Wimbledon 1R Q2 A Q2 SF 1R 2R 3R SF QF 2R 1R 0 / 9 15–9 63%
US Open A A 1R A 2R 2R A 2R 3R A 3R A 0 / 6 7–6 54%
Win–loss 0–2 0–1 0–1 0–1 8–3 2–3 1–1 7–3 6–3 6–3 3–3 1–2 0 / 26 34–26 57%
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells A A A A A A A 2R QF 2R A A 0 / 3 4–3 57%
Miami A A A A A 3R A QF 2R A 2R A 0 / 4 0–4 64%
Monte Carlo A A A A A A A A A 2R A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Hamburg A A A A A A A A A QF A A 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Rome A A A A A A A A A QF A A 0 / 1 2–1 67%
Canada A A A A A A 2R F A A SF A 0 / 3 8–3 73%
Cincinnati A A A A A A 2R QF 2R A A A 0 / 3 4–3 57%
Paris A A A A A A A 1R A A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 2–1 2–2 10–5 4–3 5–4 4–2 0–0 0 / 17 27–17 50%

Mixed doubles edit

Tournament 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 SR W–L Win %
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A QF 1R SF 2R 0 / 4 6–4 60%
French Open A A A A A 3R A 0 / 1 1–1 50%
Wimbledon 3R 3R A 2R A 3R 1R 0 / 5 7–5 58%
US Open A A A 1R A A A 0 / 1 0–1 0%
Win–loss 2–1 2–1 0–0 3–3 0–1 6–3 1–2 0 / 11 14–11 56%

References edit

  1. ^ "Display:Peter Doohan". collections.ncc.nsw.gov.au. NSW Government Sporting Hall of Fame, Australia. Archived from the original on 25 June 2017. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  2. ^ a b "Obituary for Peter Leslie Doohan, Nelson Bay, Australia, AR". www.nwaonline.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Thelma DOOHAN Obituary (2018) - Legacy Remembers". Legacy.com. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
  4. ^ a b "'Becker wrecker': Ex-Aussie tennis player Peter Doohan dies at age 56". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 July 2017.
  5. ^ "Becker Is Upset at Wimbledon by Unseeded Australian". New York Times. 27 June 1987. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  6. ^ Warren, Dan (23 June 2003). "Wimbledon's greatest shocks". BBC Sport. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  7. ^ Paul Fein (2005). You Can Quote Me on That: Greatest Tennis Quips, Insights, and Zingers. Potomac Books, Incorporated. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-57488-925-3.
  8. ^ "South Australian Open tournament roll of honour". thetennisbase.com. The Tennis Base. Retrieved 13 October 2017.
  9. ^ "1988 San Luis Potosí tournament draw". thetennisbase.com. The Tennis Base. Retrieved 13 October 2017.

External links edit