Ramiro Gonzalo Benavides Saravia (born 30 January 1947) is a former professional tennis player from Bolivia.

Ramiro Benavides
Country (sports) Bolivia
Born (1947-01-30) 30 January 1947 (age 77)
La Paz, Bolivia
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record44–108
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 124 (12 December 1976)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open2R (1976)
Wimbledon1R (1977)
US Open2R (1979)
Doubles
Career record40–117
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 243 (3 January 1983)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open2R (1975, 1976)
Wimbledon1R (1976, 1977)
US Open1R (1973, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979)

Biography

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Benavides, who was born in La Paz, received a scholarship to the University Corpus Christi in Texas.[1] He completed a degree in business administration and played collegiate tennis.[2]

He then played professionally, with his best performance on tour coming at the Florence Grand Prix tournament in 1975 when he had a win over world number eight Adriano Panatta and made the semi-finals.[2]

His Davis Cup career for Bolivia spanned 32 years and consisted of eight ties. He first played in 1971 and made what was his last appearance for many years in 1982, but made a comeback in 2003 at the age of 56 to play a doubles match against El Salvador. At the time this made him the second oldest player in Davis Cup history, after Togo's Gadonfin Koptigan Yaka.[3]

Now a tennis coach, Benavides competes regularly on the seniors tennis circuit.[2][4]

Challenger titles

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Doubles: (4)

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No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 1978 Shreveport, U.S. Hard   Réjean Genois   Woody Blocher
  Dick R. Bohrnstedt
7–6, 4–6, 6–2
2. 1978 Asheville, U.S. Clay   Réjean Genois   Jai DiLouie
  Ferdi Taygan
7–5, 4–6, 7–6
3. 1981 Naples, Italy Clay   Ricardo Acuña   Alejandro Pierola
  Ricardo Rivera
6–1, 6–1
4. 1981 Zell am See, Austria Clay   Ricardo Acuña   Wayne Hampson
  Chris Johnstone
6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 7–5

References

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  1. ^ Avendaño, Marcelo (15 December 2014). "Ramiro Benavides. A sus 67 no deja de ser campeón". La Razón (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  2. ^ a b c "15 años entre los mejores del mundo". eldia.com.bo (in Spanish). 26 May 2013. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  3. ^ "Davis Cup - Statistics - Player Records". daviscup.com. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  4. ^ "ITF Tennis - Seniors - Player Profile - Benavides Saravia, Ramiro Gonzalo (BOL)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
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