Matt Mitchell (tennis)

Matt Mitchell (born 16 March 1957) is a retired American tennis player who played from 1974 to 1987. As a doubles pro, he was once the world's 30th-best. As an amateur, he won two NCAA championships and earned a place in two halls of fame.

Matt Mitchell
Country (sports) United States
Born (1957-03-16) March 16, 1957 (age 67)
Berkeley, California, United States
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro1977
Retired1990
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$303,978
Singles
Career record64–103
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 53 (2 January 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1979, 1984)
French Open1R (1983, 1984, 1985)
Wimbledon2R (1985)
US Open2R (1982)
Doubles
Career record123–133
Career titles7
Highest rankingNo. 30 (8 October 1984)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1984)
French OpenQF (1985)
Wimbledon2R (1982, 1983, 1984)
US OpenSF (1986)

Early life

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Mitchell, who was born in Berkeley, California, was the number one player in the last year of his age group from the 10s through the 16s. Mitchell holds four National Junior Titles: National Hardcourt Championships in Burlingame, California, in the 12-and-under Doubles with Jeff Robinson at the Peninsula Tennis Club; National Hardcourt Championships in Burlingame, California, in the 14-and-under Singles where he defeated Southern California's Perry Wright in the finals after upsetting Howard Schoenfield in the semifinals; National Hardcourt Championships in Burlingame, California at the Peninsula Tennis Club in the 16-and-under Singles, where he defeated Southern California's Walter Redondo; and, the National Hardcourt Championships in Kalamazoo, Michigan, in the 16-and-under Doubles with Nial Brash.[1]

Career

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Amateur

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In 1974, Mitchell was recruited by Coach Dick Gould of Stanford University, where he signed his letter of intent in 1975. At Stanford University, he became a three-time All-American, where he achieved his first All-American honors when he beat the two-sport All-American John Lucas from the University of Maryland in the round of 32 at the NCAA Championships in Corpus Christi, Texas.[1]

In 1977, Mitchell helped win the NCAA National Team Championships, where each team sent their best six singles players and best three doubles teams to compete in a single-elimination tournament.[2] After Stanford University won the National Team Championships, Mitchell, seeded first in the singles event, beat John Bennett of Brigham Young University, John Austin of UCLA, Ben McKown of Trinity College, Bruce Nichols of UCLA, Chris Lewis of USC, and finally, Tony Graham of UCLA in a best-of-five set to win the NCAA Singles Championship.[1]

Professional

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In 1979 Mitchell, in his first year as a professional player, was nominated as Rookie of the Year after he was ranked the second highest rookie, behind Vince Van Patten.[citation needed] Mitchell's greatest success in singles came at the Black and Decker Championships, in Melbourne, Australia in 1984, where he beat Eliot Teltscher who was eighth in the world, and Pat Cash who was tenth in the world to win the tournament.[3] That single event catapulted Mitchell's ranking from 164 in the world to 63.[4]

Mitchell's greatest success as a professional came as a doubles player, winning seven tournaments in doubles between 1980 and 1985.[5] These included the 1984 ATP Player's Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio with Francisco Gonzalez, and, while partnering with Kevin Curren former All-American from University of Texas at Austin in 1986, they lost in the semifinals of the US Open Championships to Mats Wilander and Joakim Nyström of Sweden in a five-set match, 7–6 in the fifth.[6] Mitchell's highest doubles ranking as a professional was 30 in the world.

Honors

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In 1981, Mitchell was inducted into Stanford University Athletic Hall of Fame.[7]

In 2006, Mitchell was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Men's Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.[8]

Career finals

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Singles: 1 title, 1 runner-up

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1983 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Martin Davis 3–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 Oct 1984 Melbourne, Australia Carpet (i)   Pat Cash 6–4, 3–6, 6–2

Doubles: 7 titles, 3 runner-ups

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Oct 1980 Brisbane, Australia Grass   John McEnroe   Phil Dent
  Rod Frawley
8–6
Win 2–0 Oct 1981 Maui, U.S. Hard   Tony Graham   John Alexander
  James Delaney
6–3, 3–6, 7–6
Loss 2–1 Aug 1982 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Craig Wittus   Victor Amaya
  Hank Pfister
4–6, 6–7
Win 3–1 Oct 1982 Melbourne, Australia Grass   Francisco González   Syd Ball
  Rod Frawley
7–6, 7–6
Loss 3–2 Aug 1983 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Francisco González   Mike Myburg
  Christo van Rensburg
6–7, 5–7
Win 4–2 Aug 1984 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Francisco González   Martin Davis
  Chris Dunk
7–6, 7–5
Win 5–2 Aug 1984 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard   Francisco González   Sandy Mayer
  Balázs Taróczy
4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Win 6–2 Oct 1984 Brisbane, Australia Carpet (i)   Francisco González   Broderick Dyke
  Wally Masur
6–7, 6–2, 7–5
Win 7–2 Oct 1985 Melbourne, Australia Carpet (i)   Brad Drewett   David Dowlen
  Nduka Odizor
4–6, 7–6, 6–4
Loss 7–3 Mar 1986 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet (i)   Wojciech Fibak   Stefan Edberg
  Slobodan Živojinović
6–2, 3–6, 2–6

References

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  1. ^ a b c "2015 USTA Northern California Hall of Fame - Matt Mitchell". Archived from the original on December 24, 2016. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  2. ^ "NCAA tennis champions". Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  3. ^ "Matt Mitchell 1984 tennis season". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Matt Mitchell ATP rankings". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "ATP titles and final of Matt Mitchell". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  6. ^ "Steve's Tennis: ATP US Open Draw (Men's) - 1986". Retrieved September 20, 2016.
  7. ^ "1981 Stanford Hall of Fame". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  8. ^ "Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame - Class of 2006". Retrieved September 19, 2016.
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