Álvaro Betancur (born 3 January 1950) is a Colombian former professional

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

player. Based in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Betancur comes from Medellin originally and featured in seven

Davis Cup The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format. It is described by the organis ...

ties for Colombia during the 1970s. He played in Colombia's Inter-Zonal Final against eventual tournament winners South Africa in 1974 and won a dead rubber singles over

Byron Bertram Byron Bertram (born 29 October 1952), is a former professional tennis player from South Africa Bertram attended Parktown Boys' High School. During his career he won 1 tour doubles title and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 ...

. His Davis Cup career also included a 1979 tie against the United States in Cleveland, where he lost singles matches to

John McEnroe John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was known for his shot-making and volleying skills, his rivalries with Björn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and his confrontational on-court beha ...

and

Dick Stockton Richard Edward Stokvis (born November 22, 1942), known professionally as Dick Stockton, is an American retired sportscaster. Stockton began his career in Philadelphia, then moved to Pittsburgh, where he worked as the sports director for KDKA-TV ...

. While competing on the professional tour he reached a best singles ranking of 68 in the world. He twice made the second round of the US Open, with wins over Billy Martin and

Nick Saviano Nick Saviano (born June 5, 1956) is an American former tennis player and subsequent tennis coach. Career Saviano won one singles title during his career as a pro (1983 Lorraine Open). The left-hander reached his highest individual ranking on th ...

, in 1975 and 1978 respectively. His best performance on the Grand Prix circuit was a semi-final appearance at the 1980

South Orange Open The South Orange Open, formerly known as the Eastern Grass Court Championships, is a defunct Grand Prix affiliated tennis tournament founded in 1970 as the Marlborough Open ChampionshipsBarrett, John. Tingay, Lance. West, Peter. (1971) World of Te ...

. Betancur continues to live in Florida and is the director of coaching at Saddlebrook Preparatory School.

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* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Betancur, Alvaro 1950 births Living people Colombian male tennis players Sportspeople from Medellín Colombian emigrants to the United States 20th-century Colombian people