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Gene Mayer
Gene Mayer at the 1979 ABN Tennis Tournament
Country (sports)  United States
Residence Mill Neck, New York
Born (1956-05-11) May 11, 1956 (age 67)
Flushing, Queens
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro1973
Retired1986 (brief comeback in 2001)
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed both sides)
Prize money $1,382,422
Singles
Career record317–158
Career titles14
Highest rankingNo. 4 (October 6, 1980)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open4R ( 1979)
WimbledonQF ( 1980, 1982)
US OpenQF ( 1982, 1984)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsSF ( 1980)
WCT FinalsQF ( 1979)
Doubles
Career record167–91
Career titles15
Highest rankingNo. 5 (July 9, 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenW (1978, 1979)

Gene Mayer (born May 11, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States who won 14 professional singles titles during his career.

Mayer was born in Flushing, Queens, New York. He grew up in Wayne, New Jersey, [1] and played tennis at Wayne Valley High School, where he went unbeaten in his two years on the tennis team. [2] [3] He was a double hander on both forehand and backhand.

The right-hander Mayer reached his highest ranking on the ATP Tour on October 6, 1980, when he reached the rank of World No. 4.

Mayer has been a resident of Woodmere, New York. [4] In 2005, he was inducted into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame. [5]

Gene's older brother Sandy was also a tour player. He achieved the rank of World No. 7 in 1982. They met each other in the Stockholm Open final 1981 and won 5 doubles tournaments together, including 1979 French Open.

Career finals

Singles: 26 (14 wins, 12 losses)

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1976 Hamilton, Bermuda Clay United States Cliff Richey 6–7, 2–6
Win 1. 1978 Guadalajara, Mexico Clay Australia John Newcombe 6–3, 6–4
Loss 2. 1979 Houston, U.S. Clay Spain José Higueras 3–6, 6–2, 6–7
Win 2. 1979 Cologne, Germany Hard (i) Poland Wojtek Fibak 6–3, 3–6, 6–1
Loss 3. 1979 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) United States John McEnroe 7–6, 3–6, 3–6
Win 3. 1980 Denver, U.S. Carpet United States Victor Amaya 6–2, 6–2
Loss 4. 1980 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Switzerland Heinz Günthardt 2–6, 4–6
Win 4. 1980 Metz, France Carpet Italy Gianni Ocleppo 6–3, 6–3, 6–0
Win 5. 1980 Los Angeles Hard United States Brian Teacher 6–3, 6–2
Loss 5. 1980 Boston, U.S. Clay United States Eddie Dibbs 2–6, 1–6
Win 6. 1980 Cleveland, U.S. Hard United States Victor Amaya 6–2, 6–1
Win 7. 1980 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Loss 6. 1980 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet United States John McEnroe 4–6, 3–6, 3–6
Win 8. 1981 Memphis, U.S. Carpet United States Roscoe Tanner 6–2, 6–4
Win 9. 1981 Denver, U.S. Carpet United States John Sadri 6–4, 6–4
Loss 7. 1981 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) United States Jimmy Connors 1–6, 6–2, 2–6
Win 10. 1981 Cleveland, U.S. Hard United States Dave Siegler 6–1, 6–4
Win 11. 1981 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i) United States Sandy Mayer 6–4, 6–2
Loss 8. 1982 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard United States Jimmy Connors 2–5, retired
Win 12. 1982 Munich, Germany Clay West Germany Peter Elter 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–1
Loss 9. 1982 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) United States John McEnroe 4–6, 1–6, 4–6
Loss 10. 1983 Memphis, U.S. Carpet United States Jimmy Connors 5–7, 0–6
Win 13. 1983 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–1, 7–6
Win 14. 1983 Los Angeles Hard United States Johan Kriek 7–6, 6–1
Loss 11. 1984 Munich, Germany Clay Belgium Libor Pimek 4–6, 6–4, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 12. 1984 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay France Henri Leconte 6–7, 0–6, 6–1, 1–6

Doubles: 24 (15 wins, 9 losses)

Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. 1976 La Costa, U.S. Hard United States Peter Fleming United States Marty Riessen
United States Roscoe Tanner
6–7, 6–7
Loss 2. 1976 Charlotte WCT, U.S. Carpet United States Vitas Gerulaitis Australia John Newcombe
Australia Tony Roche
3–6, 5–7
Loss 3. 1977 Columbus, U.S. Clay United States Peter Fleming United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Win 1. 1978 Mexico City WCT, Mexico Hard India Sashi Menon Mexico Marcello Lara
Mexico Raúl Ramírez
6–3, 7–6
Win 2. 1978 Miami, Florida, U.S. Carpet United States Tom Gullikson Australia Bob Carmichael
United States Brian Teacher
7–6, 6–3
Loss 4. 1978 Guadalajara, Mexico Clay India Sashi Menon United States Sandy Mayer
United States Sherwood Stewart
6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win 3. 1978 San Jose, California, U.S. Carpet United States Sandy Mayer United States Hank Pfister
United States Brad Rowe
6–3, 6–4
Win 4. 1978 French Open, Paris Clay United States Hank Pfister Spain Manuel Orantes
Spain José Higueras
6–3, 6–2, 6–2
Win 5. 1978 Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez Egypt Ismail El Shafei
New Zealand Brian Fairlie
6–3, 6–3
Win 6. 1978 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Clay United States Hank Pfister United States Jeff Borowiak
New Zealand Chris Lewis
6–3, 6–1
Win 7. 1979 Rancho Mirage, California, U.S. Hard United States Sandy Mayer South Africa Cliff Drysdale
United States Bruce Manson
6–4, 7–6
Win 8. 1979 Houston, U.S. Clay United States Sherwood Stewart Australia John Alexander
Australia Geoff Masters
6–1, 5–7, 6–4
Win 9. 1979 French Open, Paris Clay United States Sandy Mayer Australia Ross Case
Australia Phil Dent
6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 5. 1979 Forest Hills WCT, U.S. Clay United States Sandy Mayer United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe
7–6, 6–7, 3–6
Win 10. 1979 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Clay United States John McEnroe Czechoslovakia Jan Kodeš
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–4, 7–6
Win 11. 1979 Cologne, Germany Hard (i) United States Stan Smith Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
6–3, 6–4
Win 12. 1980 Metz, France Carpet Australia Colin Dibley United States Chris Delaney
Australia Kim Warwick
7–6, 7–5
Loss 6. 1980 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Poland Wojtek Fibak United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith
2–6, 5–7
Win 13. 1980 Florence, Italy Clay Mexico Raúl Ramírez Italy Paolo Bertolucci
Italy Adriano Panatta
6–1, 6–4
Win 14. 1980 Boston, U.S. Clay United States Sandy Mayer Chile Hans Gildemeister
Ecuador Andrés Gómez
1–6, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 7. 1980 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay United States Sandy Mayer Chile Hans Gildemeister
Ecuador Andrés Gómez
4–6, 5–7
Loss 8. 1980 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Sandy Mayer United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe
1–6, 4–6
Win 15. 1981 Memphis, U.S. Carpet United States Sandy Mayer United States Mike Cahill
United States Tom Gullikson
7–6, 6–7, 7–6
Loss 9. 1981 Rotterdam, Netherlands Hard (i) United States Sandy Mayer United States Fritz Buehning
United States Ferdi Taygan
6–7, 6–1, 4–6

References

  1. ^ "Vilas Extended by Mayer", The New York Times, February 13, 1977. Accessed December 10, 2007. "Guillermo Vilas, the Argentine left hander, had unexpectedly strong opposition, but ousted young Gene Mayer of Wayne, N.J., 7–6, 7–6, 6–1, in the semifinals of the $50,000 Springfield International, a Grand Prix tennis tournament."
  2. ^ Best Boys Tennis Team of the Century, The Star-Ledger. Accessed December 10, 2007.
  3. ^ Martin, Rachel (April 11, 2016). "Happy Birthday To Wayne's Gene Mayer". South Passaic Daily Voice. Retrieved February 21, 2021.
  4. ^ Cavanaugh, Jack. "A TENNIS TOURNAMENT SERVES SOME ACES", The New York Times, August 23, 1987. Accessed September 16, 2008. "Most of what rooting interest developed focused on the closest thing to a homegrown product in the competition, Gene Mayer of Woodmere."
  5. ^ "NC Sports Commission Invites Athlete and Coach Nominations From Community" Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Three Village Times, January 28, 2005. Accessed December 22, 2007. "The NCSC is privileged to announce that four-time Track and Field Gold Medallist Al Oerter and former world ranked tennis professional Gene Mayer are scheduled, among others, to accept their induction into the Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame on April 11."

External links