Alexander "Zan" Guerry III (born February 12, 1949) 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

Guerry, winner of the Under-16s

Orange Bowl The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...

title in 1964, grew up in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020 ...

, and won 13 national junior titles in the 1960s. He attended

Baylor School Baylor School, commonly called Baylor, is a private, coeducational college-preparatory school in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Founded in 1893, the school currently sits atop a 690-acre campus and enrolls students in grades 6-12, including boarding ...

in Chattanooga, at the same time as

Roscoe Tanner Leonard Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is a retired American tennis player, who turned professional in 1972 and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 4 on July 30, 1979. Tanner was famous for his big left-handed serve, which ...

, a teammate in the school's tennis team.

College

After finishing at Baylor in 1967, Guerry went to

Rice University William Marsh Rice University (Rice University) is a private research university in Houston, Texas. It is on a 300-acre campus near the Houston Museum District and adjacent to the Texas Medical Center. Rice is ranked among the top universities ...

for four years and played in a strong varsity side which were runners-up in the

NCAA Championships The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges and ...

twice, in 1968 and 1970. He was a losing finalist, to

Butch Seewagen George Lansing "Butch" Seewagen (born June 13, 1946) is a former professional tennis player from the United States. Biography He was born in New York City on June 13, 1946, to George and Clella Seewagen. His father was the tennis coach at St. Jo ...

, at the 1969 United States Amateur Championships and earned multiple

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 selections, before graduating in 1971. Following that he went to

Wharton Business School The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in P ...

and worked at the Texas Commerce Bank in Houston as a financial planner when not playing tennis.

Professional career

During the 1970s, Guerry competed professionally on the world tennis circuit. He had a win over a young

Guillermo Vilas Guillermo Vilas (; born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977, and won four Grand Slam tournaments, one year-end Masters, nine Grand Prix Super Se ...

early in his career in 1970. His only

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 ...

title came at Jackson in 1973, when he partnered South African

Frew McMillan Frew Donald McMillan (born 20 May 1942) is a former professional male tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by ...

to win the Mississippi International Indoor Tennis Championship doubles tournament. He made the main draws of the singles at the French Open in 1969 and Wimbledon in 1973, in addition to five appearances at the US Open. At the

1973 Wimbledon Championships The 1973 Wimbledon Championships was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was scheduled to be held from Monday 25 June ...

he made it to the second round, where he lost a five set match to

Bernard Mitton Bernard Mitton (9 November 1954 – 5 May 2017) was a professional tennis player from South Africa. Mitton reached his highest singles ranking of world No. 51 on 15 December 1975, and his highest doubles ranking of 20 on 25 June 1984. His car ...

. He lost to Jimmy Connors in the third round of the 1977 US Open, which was the furthest he got in a Grand Slam tournament. In 1977 he managed to defeat Stan Smith in Washington. It wasn't the first time he had beaten him in a match, having caused a greater upset while at Rice University in 1971 when he defeated the then number one ranked Smith in Houston. He was inducted into the ITA Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2012.

Business

In 1978 he joined healthcare company

Chattem Chattem, Inc. is an American, Chattanooga, Tennessee-based, producer and marketer of over-the-counter healthcare products, toiletries, dietary supplements, topical analgesics, and medicated skin care products. Originally named the Chattanooga Me ...

and served as CEO for 25 years. In 2014 he was announced as Chairman.

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 1 (1–0)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Guerry, Zan 1949 births Living people American male tennis players Tennis people from Tennessee Sportspeople from Chattanooga, Tennessee Rice Owls men's tennis players Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni American chief executives Businesspeople from Tennessee