Gerald Battrick (27 May 1947 – 26 November 1998) was a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

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 who reached as high as No. 3 in Britain (and world No. 53), winning at least 6 titles.

Personal life

Gerald Battrick was born on 27 May 1947 in Bridgend, Glamorgan, where his father was the Medical Officer.

Tennis career

Juniors

Battrick won the junior titles of Great Britain, Belgium and France and represented Britain in the

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 ...

. In 1965 he won 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 ...

Boys' Singles.

Pro tour

In 1971 he won the singles title at the Dutch Open in Hilversum, defeating Australian

Ross Case Ross or ROSS may refer to: People * Clan Ross, a Highland Scottish clan * Ross (name), including a list of people with the surname or given name Ross, as well as the meaning * Earl of Ross, a peerage of Scotland Places * RoSS, the Republic of Sout ...

in the final in three straight sets, and the

British Hard Court Championships The British Hard Court Championships is a defunct Grand Prix tennis and WTA Tour affiliated tennis tournament played from 1968 to 1983 and 1995 to 1999. The inaugural edition of the tournament was held in 1924 in Torquay, moving to the West Hant ...

in Bournemouth where he won the final against

Željko Franulović Željko Franulović (; born 13 June 1947) is a Croatian former tennis player who competed for SFR Yugoslavia and has since had a long career in tennis management. He has been the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament director since 2005. Whilst his c ...

in four sets. In doubles, Battrick reached the quarterfinals of the

in 1968 and 1970 and at

Wimbledon Wimbledon most often refers to: * Wimbledon, London, a district of southwest London * Wimbledon Championships, the oldest tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam championships Wimbledon may also refer to: Places London * ...

in 1975. He played for the

Great Britain Davis Cup team The Great Britain Davis Cup team has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900 in the Davis Cup. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federation's European associatio ...

in 1970 and 1971 compiling a record of two wins and three losses. In 1972 Battrick joined

Lamar Hunt Lamar Hunt (August 2, 1932 – December 13, 2006) was an American businessman most notable for his promotion of American football, soccer, and tennis in the United States. He was the principal founder of the American Football League (AFL) and ...

World Championship Tennis World Championship Tennis (WCT) was a tour for professional male tennis players established in 1968 (the first players signed a contract at the end of 1967) and lasted until the emergence of the ATP Tour in 1990. A number of tennis tournaments arou ...

circuit.

World Team Tennis

Battrick played for the co-ed

Pittsburgh Triangles The Pittsburgh Triangles were a charter franchise of World Team Tennis (WTT). The Triangles won the 1975 WTT Championship. The team folded after the 1976 season. Team history The Triangles were founded in 1973 as a charter member of WTT by Centur ...

World TeamTennis World TeamTennis (WTT) is a mixed-gender professional tennis league played with a team format in the United States, which was founded in 1973. The league's season normally takes place in the summer months. Players from the ATP and WTA take a ...

in 1974 and 1975. He was part of the Triangles 1975 league championship team.

Career finals

Singles: 7 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)

Doubles (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Battrick, Gerald Welsh male tennis players French Championships junior (tennis) champions 1998 deaths 1947 births Sportspeople from Bridgend British male tennis players Grand Slam (tennis) champions in boys' singles