Tom Gorman (born January 19, 1946) is a retired ATP tour American tennis player and coach. He won 7 singles and 9 doubles titles and reached semi-finals in the 3 of the 4 ATP tour grand slam events. His ATP ranking peaked at 8 in 1973.

Tom Gorman
Country (sports) United States
Born (1946-01-19) January 19, 1946 (age 78)
Seattle, United States
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro1968 (amateur tour from 1966)
Retired1981
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record415–293 in pre Open-Era & Open Era
Career titles7
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1973, World's Top 10)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1970, 1977Jan)
French OpenSF (1973)
WimbledonSF (1971)
US OpenSF (1972)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF (1972)
Doubles
Career record205–168
Career titles9

Career edit

Gorman was ranked as high as world No. 8 (consensus) for the year 1973 and No. 10 on the ATP rankings (achieving that ranking on May 1 and June 3, 1974).[1][2]

Gorman won seven singles titles in his career, the biggest coming in 1975 at Cincinnati. He also won nine doubles titles, including Paris in 1971, the same year he reached the French Open doubles final with Stan Smith. Gorman defeated Björn Borg to win the Stockholm Indoor event in 1973.[citation needed]

He reached the semifinal rounds in singles at Wimbledon (in 1971), the US Open (in 1972), and the French Open (in 1973); defeating Rod Laver, Jimmy Connors, and Jan Kodeš respectively. Gorman was a member of the winning U.S. Davis Cup team in 1972. As captain–coach, he led the U.S. Davis Cup team to victory in 1990 and 1992. Gorman holds the record for most match wins (18) by a U.S. Davis Cup captain and is the most current American to have won the Davis Cup as a player and a captain.[citation needed]

He was named coach of the Men's U.S Olympic Tennis teams in Seoul, South Korea and Barcelona, Spain. He guided the American doubles team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso to a gold medal in the doubles competition in Seoul in 1988. In 2001, Gorman and his partner Jaime Fillol of Chile won the Super Masters Seniors at the US Open.[citation needed]

Gorman received praise for his sportsmanship during his 1972 Masters semifinal against Stan Smith in Barcelona. He had injured his back during the course of match, but opened up a 7–6, 6–7, 7–5, 5–4 40–30 lead and held a match point. Knowing that if he were to win the match he would be in no condition to play in the final against Ilie Năstase, he told the umpire that he could not continue and retired. This allowed Smith to instead play in the final, where he was beaten by Năstase in five sets.[citation needed]

He attended Seattle Preparatory School and was the Washington State high school tennis champion three years in a row. Gorman attended and graduated from Seattle University and was a two time All-American. He played in professional tour events in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. For eight years, Gorman served as captain of the United States Davis Cup team, coaching some of America's greatest players and winning world championships in 1990 and '92. He oversaw American dream teams made up of tennis champions Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, and Pete Sampras, faced with the unenviable task of dealing with entourages and egos.[3][4]

In November 2008, Gorman was named Director of Tennis at La Quinta Resort & Club and PGA WEST(TM) which he, along with other top American players including Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, and Charlie Pasarell, help found in La Quinta, California.[5] He retired from La Quinta in September 2015.[citation needed]

Gorman was appointed to the prestigious seven person International Tennis Federation Davis Cup Committee for a two-year term in 2012–14.[citation needed]

Family edit

Gorman and his wife Danni have two grown daughters, Hailey and KellyAnn, and they make their home at Reynolds Lake Oconee in Greensboro,GA.

Career finals edit

Singles (7 titles, 11 runner-ups) edit

Result W-L Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 1968 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay   William Harris 6–3, 2–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 1971 Columbus, U.S. Clay   Jimmy Connors 6–7, 7–6, 4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Loss 1–2 1972 Seattle, U.S. Other   Ilie Năstase 4–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss 1–3 1972 London, England Carpet (i)   Ilie Năstase 4–6, 3–6
Win 2–3 1973 Vancouver WCT, Canada Other   Jan Kodeš 3–6, 6–2, 7–5
Win 3–3 1973 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Björn Borg 6–3, 4–6, 7–6(7–5)
Loss 3–4 1974 Richmond WCT, U.S. Carpet (i)   Ilie Năstase 2–6, 3–6
Loss 3–5 1974 Miami WCT, U.S. Hard   Cliff Drysdale 4–6, 5–7
Loss 3–6 1974 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i)   Tom Okker 6–4, 6–7, 1–6
Loss 3–7 1974 Manchester, England Grass   Vijay Amritraj 7–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win 4–7 1975 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay   Sherwood Stewart 7–5, 2–6, 6–4
Win 5–7 1975 Hong Kong Hard   Sandy Mayer 6–3, 6–1, 6–1
Win 6–7 1976 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet (i)   Ilie Năstase 7–5, 6–3
Win 7–7 1976 Sacramento, U.S. Carpet (i)   Bob Carmichael 6–2, 6–4
Loss 7–8 1977 Hong Kong Hard   Ken Rosewall 3–6, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Loss 7–9 1978 Baltimore, U.S. Carpet (i)   Cliff Drysdale 5–7, 3–6
Loss 7–10 1978 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet (i)   Brian Teacher 3–6, 3–6, 3–6
Loss 7–11 1979 San José, Costa Rica Hard   Bernard Mitton 4–6, 4–6, 3–6

Doubles (9 titles, 10 runner-ups) edit

Result W-L Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1970 Berkeley, U.S. Hard   Roy Barth   Bob Lutz
  Stan Smith
2–6, 5–7, 6–4, 2–6
Win 1–1 1971 Paris, France Clay   Stan Smith   Pierre Barthès
  François Jauffret
3–6, 7–5, 6–2
Loss 1–2 1971 French Open, Paris Clay   Stan Smith   Arthur Ashe
  Marty Riessen
6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 9–11
Win 2–2 1971 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Stan Smith   Arthur Ashe
  Bob Lutz
6–3, 6–4
Win 3–2 1973 Copenhagen WCT, Denmark Carpet (i)   Erik van Dillen   Mark Cox
  Graham Stilwell
6–4, 6–4
Loss 3–3 1973 Vancouver WCT, Canada Other   Erik van Dillen   Pierre Barthès
  Roger Taylor
7–5, 3–6, 6–7
Loss 3–4 1973 Charlotte WCT, U.S. Clay   Erik van Dillen   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen
6–7, 6–3, 3–6
Win 4–4 1973 Nottingham, England Grass   Erik van Dillen   Bob Carmichael
  Frew McMillan
6–4, 6–1
Loss 4–5 1973 South Orange, U.S. Hard   Pancho Gonzales   Jimmy Connors
  Ilie Năstase
7–6, 3–6, 2–6
Win 5–5 1973 Seattle, U.S. Other   Tom Okker   Bob Carmichael
  Frew McMillan
2–6, 6–4, 7–6
Win 6–5 1973 Osaka, Japan Hard   Jeff Borowiak   Jun Kamiwazumi
  Ken Rosewall
6–4, 7–6
Win 7–5 1974 Chicago, U.S. Carpet (i)   Marty Riessen   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
4–6, 6–3, 7–5
Win 8–5 1974 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay   Marty Riessen   Patricio Cornejo
  Jaime Fillol
7–5, 6–1
Loss 8–6 1974 Columbus, U.S. Hard   Bob Lutz   Anand Amritraj
  Vijay Amritraj
DEF
Loss 8–7 1976 Indianapolis WCT, U.S. Carpet (i)   Vitas Gerulaitis   Bob Lutz
  Stan Smith
2–6, 4–6
Win 9–7 1976 Sacramento, U.S. Carpet (i)   Sherwood Stewart   Mike Cahill
  John Whitlinger
3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 9–8 1977 San Jose, U.S. Hard   Geoff Masters   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
2–6, 3–6
Loss 9–9 1977 Taipei, Taiwan Hard   Steve Docherty   Pat DuPré
  Chris Delaney
6–7, 6–7
Loss 9–10 1978 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet (i)   Pat DuPré   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters
3–6, 4–6

References edit

External links edit