Michael Fishbach (born December 1, 1954) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Biography

Fishbach, who grew up in Great Neck, New York, was a right-handed player, who famously used the controversial "spaghetti racquet" at the 1977 US Open. The racquet, which was double-strung and greatly increased topspin, was first used professionally by

Barry Phillips-Moore Barry Phillips-Moore (born 9 June 1938) is an Australian former tennis player of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. In singles, Phillips-Moore twice reached the semifinals of the Australian Championships, in 1961 and 1968. In doubles, he was a q ...

. While in a camera store in Gstaad, Switzerland, Fishbach found a similar racquet and although the owner didn't allow him to buy it, he examined it and set about making one of his own when he returned home. With help from his brother, Fishback used nylon strings, cord from a Venetian blind, plastic tubing, and adhesive tape to make the racquet, which he would use in the US Open. After getting through qualifying, he beat Billy Martin in the first round and faced 16th seed

Stan Smith Stanley Roger Smith (born December 14, 1946) is an American former professional tennis player. Smith is best known to non-tennis players as the namesake of a popular brand of tennis shoes. A world No. 1 player and two-time major singles cham ...

in the second round, a match he won easily 6–0, 6–2. His run ended in the third round when he lost to British player John Feaver, who later described seeing balls coming off Fishback's racquet as looking like "an egg in flight". Several weeks later the racquet was banned, soon after Guillermo Vilas had conceded a match against Ilie Năstase who was using one. By the end of the 1977 season, Fishbach was ranked in the world's top 50. In 1978, he made the main draw of both 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, in addition to the US Open. He also had a win over

John Lloyd John Lloyd may refer to: Artists, writers, and entertainers *John J. Lloyd (1922–2014), American art director and production designer *John Lloyd (graphic designer) (born 1944), co-founder of design consultancy Lloyd Northover *John Lloyd (journa ...

in the Indianapolis Clay Court Championships that year and won a

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

doubles title at

Kitzbühel Kitzbühel (, also: ; ) is a medieval town situated in the Kitzbühel Alps along the river Kitzbüheler Ache in Tyrol, Austria, about east of the state capital Innsbruck and is the administrative centre of the Kitzbühel district (). Kitzbühel ...

, with Chris Lewis. His season ended in September when he ruptured two discs in his back. The injury was serious enough that he was unable to walk for six months and it wasn't until late in 1979 that he was able to return to tennis. He continued on the professional circuit until 1982 and now works as a whale conservationist.

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fishbach, Mike 1954 births Living people American male tennis players Tennis people from New York (state)