Mike Gandolfo (born October 3, 1958) 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 the United States.

Biography

Born in

Fort Lauderdale A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, Gandolfo went to Santa Fe High School. A late comer to the sport, he didn't start taking tennis seriously until the age of 15. He took up a scholarship to

Clemson University Clemson University () is a public land-grant research university in Clemson, South Carolina. Founded in 1889, Clemson is the second-largest university in the student population in South Carolina. For the fall 2019 semester, the university enro ...

, where he played number one singles and was MVP of the

ACC ACC most often refers to: * Atlantic Coast Conference, an NCAA Division I collegiate athletic conference located in the US *American College of Cardiology, A US-based nonprofit medical association that bestows credentials upon cardiovascular spec ...

Tournament which they won in his senior year in 1980. For his efforts that season he was also named ITCA Senior Player of the Year and became Clemson's first tennis

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n. During the early 1980s he competed professionally and reached as high as 75 in the world in doubles, with three semi-final appearances in

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 ...

tournaments. He also won a

Challenger Challenger, Challengers, or The Challengers may refer to: Entertainment Comics and manga * Challenger (character), comic book character * ''Challengers'' (manga), manga by Hinako Takanaga Film and TV * ''The Challengers'' (TV series), a 1979 ...

tournament in

West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...

in 1982 and competed in main draws of the men's doubles at the

Australian Open The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually at Melbourne Park in Melbourne, Australia. The tournament is the first of the four Grand Slam tennis events held each year, preceding the French Open, Wimbledon, and the US Open. Th ...

, US Open and

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 the 1983 US Open he made the quarter-finals of the men's doubles with

Gary Donnelly Gary Donnelly (born June 3, 1962) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Donnelly still lives in Phoenix with his five children and wife, where he is a club pro at the Scottsdale Arizona Inn. Donnelly played college ten ...

. As a singles player he had his best performance at a Grand Prix event in Melbourne in 1982, with wins over John Fitzgerald and

Chris Johnstone Chris Johnstone (born 12 October 1960) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. Career Johnstone was runner-up to Pat Serret at the 1978 Australian Junior Championships. His best Grand Slam performance came at the 1982 Wimbledo ...

, before he lost a close quarter-final to

Pat Cash Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning ...

, which went to a final set tiebreak. He made the main singles draw of

1982 Australian Open The 1982 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on grass courts at the Kooyong Lawn Tennis Club in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 71st edition of the Australian Open and was held from Monday 29 November through Monday 13 D ...

and twice at the US Open.

Challenger titles

Doubles: (1)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gandolfo, Mike 1958 births Living people American male tennis players Clemson Tigers men's tennis players Tennis players from Florida Sportspeople from Fort Lauderdale, Florida