Bernard Boileau (born 25 May 1959) is a 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 from
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
.
Career
Boileau was the Belgian national champion every year from 1978 to 1983.ATP World Tour Profile /ref> During that time he was a regular fixture in the Belgian
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 ...
team.Davis Cup Profile /ref> The Belgian appeared in a total of 14 Davis Cup ties for his country, the first in 1977 and last in 1985. He appeared in 38 rubbers, of which he won 22, 16 of them in singles and six in doubles.
He started touring in 1978 and the following year managed to reach the semi-finals at the
Brussels Outdoor
The Belgian Open Championships and originally known as the Belgian International Championships and Belgian Championships was a men's tennis tournament played in Brussels, Belgium.
History
Originally called the Belgian International Championship ...
tournament.
In 1981, Boileau was a quarter-finalist in
Linz
Linz ( , ; cs, Linec) is the capital of Upper Austria and third-largest city in Austria. In the north of the country, it is on the Danube south of the Czech border. In 2018, the population was 204,846.
In 2009, it was a European Capital of ...
.
His best year for
Grand Slam
Grand Slam most often refers to:
* Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves
Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to:
Games and sports
* Grand slam, winning category te ...
tennis was in 1982, when he made the second round of the
French Open
The French Open (french: Internationaux de France de tennis), also known as Roland-Garros (), is a major tennis tournament held over two weeks at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France, beginning in late May each year. The tournament and ven ...
and
Wimbledon Championships
The Wimbledon Championships, commonly known simply as Wimbledon, is the oldest tennis tournament in the world and is widely regarded as the most prestigious. It has been held at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, All England Club in ...
, beating
Ricardo Ycaza
Ricardo Ycaza (born 16 February 1958) is an Ecuadorian tennis player who was a world top 10 junior, a Davis Cup stalwart, and a world top 100 touring professional.
Tennis career
His most noteworthy achievement was winning the 1976 US Open Jun ...
and
Vincent van Patten
Vincent Van Patten (born October 17, 1957) is an American actor, former professional tennis player, and the commentator for the World Poker Tour.
Personal life
Van Patten was born in Bellerose, New York, as the youngest son of actor Dick Van Pa ...
, respectively. He also reached the quarter-finals in
Sao Paulo
SAO or Sao may refer to:
Places
* Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD
* Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso
* Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...
.
Boileau partnered with
Libor Pimek
Libor Pimek (born 3 August 1963) is a former professional male tennis player.
Pimek's best Grand Slam singles result came at the 1987 US Open when he reached the 3rd round, losing to Swede Mats Wilander in straight sets. He won one singles tou ...
Bernard Fritz
Bernard Fritz (born 5 October 1953) is a 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 ...
and
Jean-Louis Haillet
Jean-Louis Haillet (born 7 May 1954 in Nice, France) is a 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 ...
. In the
1983 French Open
The 1983 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 23 May until 5 June. It was the 87th staging of the French Open, and the first Grand Slam ...
, Boileau had a five set opening round win over
Per Hjertquist
Per Hjertquist (born 6 April 1960) is a former professional tennis player from Sweden. During his career he won one singles title and one doubles title. He achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 68 in 1980 and a career-high doubles r ...
, before losing in the second round to
Eric Fromm
Eric Fromm (born June 27, 1958) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Tennis career
Fromm's best result at a Grand Slam was reaching the fourth round of the French Open in 1983 in singles, where he lost in straight se ...
. Also that year, Boileau defeated
Tim Mayotte
Timothy Mayotte (born August 3, 1960) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.
Professional career
A tall serve-and-volleyer, Mayotte learned to play the game on the public courts of Forest Park in his hometown of Springfi ...
Hilversum
Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...
that year. In the former he upset
Kevin Curren
Kevin Melvyn Curren (born 2 March 1958) is a South African former professional tennis player. He played in two Grand Slam singles finals and won four Grand Slam doubles titles, reaching a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 198 ...
, a top-10-ranked player. His fourth and final victory in a Grand Slam match came in the
1984 French Open
The 1984 French Open was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland Garros in Paris, France. The tournament was held from 28 May until 10 June. It was the 88th staging of the French Open, and the first Grand ...
, where he defeated
Guy Forget
Guy Forget (; born 4 January 1965) is a French tennis administrator and retired professional player. During his career, he helped France win the Davis Cup in both 1991 and 1996. Since retiring as a player, he has served as France's Davis Cup te ...
.
Personal life
Boileau revealed in 1988 that he had used
heroin
Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
"almost daily" towards the end of his career.
In 1990 he was sentenced to more than three years' jail for drug use, assault and dangerous driving.''
Evening Times
The ''Glasgow Times'' is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. Called ''The Evening Times'' from 1876, it was rebranded as the ''Glasgow Times'' on 4 December 2019."Tennis star sent to jail" 16 January 1990, p. 4