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Van Winitsky

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Van Winitsky
Country (sports)United States
Born(1959-03-12)March 12, 1959(age 65)
Miami,USA
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro1978
Retired1985
PlaysLeft-handed
Prize money$408,120
Singles
Career record106–133
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 35 (February 8, 1982)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open3R (1980)
Wimbledon2R (1978)
US Open3R (1980)
Doubles
Career record150–119
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 7 (October 10, 1983)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open2R (1978, 1980)
Wimbledon3R (1979)
US OpenF (1983)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Wimbledon2R (1979, 1980)

Van Winitsky(born March 12, 1959) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. He achieved a career-high rankings of World No. 7 in doubles in October 1983 and world No. 35 in singles in February 1984.[1]

Early and personal life[edit]

Winitsky was born in Miami, Florida, lived in Lauderhill, Florida, and is Jewish.[1][2][3]His father Manny Winitsky was the best player of his age in Florida for 15 years, beginning at age 45.[3]He lives in Delray Beach, Florida.[4]Van attendedNorth Miami Beach Senior High Schooland won the Florida state high school singles tennis championships as a freshman in 1974.[3]

Tennis career[edit]

Winitsky won Junior Wimbledon, Junior U.S. Open and Junior Nat'l at Kalamazoo, Mich. in singles and doubles in 1977 and won 3 Junior Orange Bowl singles titles.[3][5]He played college tennis forUCLAfor one and a half years, and was an All American.[6][7]He played on the 1978U.S. Davis Cup teamin withJohn McEnroe,Brian Gottfried,andHarold Solomon.[7]

Winitsky enjoyed most of his tennis success while playing doubles. During his career, he won 9 ATP Tour doubles titles and finished runner-up an additional 11 times. PartneringFritz Buehningin doubles, Winitsky finished runner-up at the1983 US Open.[3]Winitsky also was a quarter finalist in mixed doubles partnering with Rayni Fox Borinsky at the 1980 US Open. He won 3 ATP Tour singles titles and finished runner-up 1 additional time. His titles included 1981 Hong Kong Seiko Open over Mark Edmondson of Australia, 1982 Hollywood Bowl Classic in Guaruja, Brazil over Carlos Kirmayr of Brazil, and 1982 Hilton Head Shipyard WCT over Chris Lewis of New Zealand in the finals. His runner-up finish was the 1978 Cleveland Grand Prix against Peter Feigl of Austria.

At just before 21st birthday, he had surgery that resulted in a 16-inch scar and atrophied muscles.[3]In 1985, he retired from ATP Tour after winning the WTT conference championships for the Miami Beach Breakers.[3][7]

Career finals[edit]

Doubles (11 titles, 9 runner-ups)[edit]

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1978 Tulsa,U.S. Hard (i) New ZealandRussell Simpson BrazilCarlos Kirmayr
EcuadorRicardo Ycaza
4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Win 2. 1978 North Conway,U.S. Clay United KingdomRobin Drysdale United StatesMike Fishbach
South AfricaBernard Mitton
4–6, 7–6, 6–3
Loss 1. 1978 Boston,U.S. Clay SwitzerlandHeinz Günthardt ParaguayVíctor Pecci
HungaryBalázs Taróczy
3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Loss 2. 1978 Hartford,U.S. Carpet AustraliaMark Edmondson United StatesJohn McEnroe
United StatesBill Maze
3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Win 3. 1978 Buenos Aires,Argentina Clay New ZealandChris Lewis ArgentinaJosé Luis Clerc
ChileBelus Prajoux
6–4, 3–6, 6–0
Loss 3. 1980 Tulsa,U.S. Hard (i) ParaguayFrancisco González United StatesRobert Lutz
United StatesDick Stockton
6–2, 6–7, 2–6
Loss 4. 1980 South Orange,U.S. Clay United StatesFritz Buehning United StatesBill Maze
United StatesJohn McEnroe
6–7, 4–6
Win 4. 1981 Washington, D.C.,U.S. Clay MexicoRaúl Ramírez CzechoslovakiaPavel Složil
United StatesFerdi Taygan
5–7, 7–6, 7–6
Loss 5. 1981 Indianapolis,U.S. Clay MexicoRaúl Ramírez South AfricaKevin Curren
United StatesSteve Denton
3–6, 7–5, 5–7
Win 5. 1981 Cleveland,U.S. Hard United StatesErik van Dillen AustraliaSyd Ball
AustraliaRoss Case
6–4, 5–7, 7–5
Win 6. 1981 Tel Aviv,Israel Hard United StatesSteve Meister United KingdomJohn Feaver
United StatesSteve Krulevitz
3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Loss 6. 1981 Bangkok,Thailand Carpet United StatesLloyd Bourne United StatesJohn Austin
United StatesMike Cahill
3–6, 6–7
Loss 7. 1982 Las Vegas,U.S. Hard BrazilCarlos Kirmayr United StatesSherwood Stewart
United StatesFerdi Taygan
6–7, 4–6
Loss 8. 1982 Hilton Head WCT,U.S. Clay United StatesAlan Waldman AustraliaMark Edmondson
AustraliaRod Frawley
1–6, 5–7
Win 7. 1982 Washington, D.C.,U.S. Clay MexicoRaúl Ramírez ChileHans Gildemeister
EcuadorAndrés Gómez
7–5, 7–6
Win 8. 1982 South Orange,U.S. Clay MexicoRaúl Ramírez United StatesJai DiLouie
United StatesBlaine Willenborg
3–6, 6–4, 6–1
Loss 9. 1982 Hong Kong Hard AustraliaKim Warwick United StatesCharles Buzz Strode
United StatesMorris Skip Strode
4–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss 10. 1983 Guarujá,Brazil Hard IsraelShlomo Glickstein United StatesTim Gullikson
CzechoslovakiaTomáš Šmíd
7–5, 6–7, 3–6
Loss 11. 1983 U.S. Open Hard United StatesFritz Buehning United StatesPeter Fleming
United StatesJohn McEnroe
3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Win 9. 1983 Dallas,U.S. Hard NigeriaNduka Odizor United StatesSteve Denton
United StatesSherwood Stewart
6–3, 7–5

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Van Winitsky | Overview | ATP Tour | Tennis".ATP Tour.
  2. ^"Jewish Post 12 March 1982 — Hoosier State Chronicles: Indiana's Digital Historic Newspaper Program".newspapers.library.in.gov.
  3. ^abcdefgHeeren, Dave."INJURIES FORCE FATHER, SON TO GIVE UP TENNIS CAREERS".Sun-Sentinel.com.
  4. ^"Van Winitsky | Bio | ATP Tour | Tennis".ATP Tour.
  5. ^Google Books.
  6. ^Association, National Collegiate Athletic (1976).National Collegiate Championships Records Book.National Collegiate Athletic Association. – via Google Books.
  7. ^abc"Van Winitsky Pro Tennis Career | ATP Doubles Tournaments".

External links[edit]