Harold Solomon

Last updated

Harold Solomon
Country (sports)Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States
Residence Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Born (1952-09-17) September 17, 1952 (age 71)
Washington D.C.
Height1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Turned pro1972 (amateur from 1971)
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,802,769
Singles
Career record585–339
Career titles22
Highest rankingNo. 5 (September 8, 1980)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open F (1976)
Wimbledon 1R (1972, 1974, 1977, 1986)
US Open SF (1977)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals SF (1976)
WCT Finals QF (1975, 1976)
Doubles
Career record73–129
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 4 (1976)

Harold Solomon (born September 17, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player who played during the 1970s and 1980s. He achieved a career-high world ranking of No. 5 in singles in 1980, and of No. 4 in doubles in 1976. [1] Over the course of his career, he won 22 singles titles.

Contents

Solomon was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame, the USTA Mid Atlantic Section Hall of Fame, the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

Early and personal life

Solomon is Jewish. He grew up in Silver Spring, Maryland and attended Springbrook High School and later lived in Pompano Beach, Florida. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] He lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, has a wife named Jan, a daughter named Rachel, and a son named Jesse. [2]

Tennis career

Solomon began playing tennis when he was five. [7] Ranked as high as second in the United States in his junior career, Solomon won the Clay Court Championship when he was 18. [8] He was named an All-American at Rice University, where he was a political science major and a member of Wiess College. [1] [9] [2]

He turned professional when he finished university in 1972, and first won pro matches in 1974. [1] [8] Among his shots was the moonball—a high and deep shot, normally hit with a lot of spin. [9] [10]

At the French Open, Solomon's best showing was when he reached the finals in singles play in 1976. He reached the quarterfinals in 1972 and 1976, and made it to the semifinals in 1974 and 1980. [8] At the US Open, he was a semifinalist in 1977. [8] [9] He won the tournament now known as the Cincinnati Open twice (in 1977 and 1980) and was a finalist at the 1976 and 1978 United States Pro Championships.

Solomon captured a total of 22 professional singles titles. [11] His lifetime professional win–loss record is 564–315, and he earned over $1.8 million. [1] He was ranked among the top 10 singles players worldwide in 1976, 1978, 1979, and 1980, and was among the top 20 from 1974 to 1980. [1] His best year was in 1980 when his win–loss record was 64–23 and he was ranked No. 5 in the world. [9] He appeared in Playgirl Magazine's list of 10 sexiest men that same year. [8]

Solomon played doubles with Eddie Dibbs. In 1976 they were ranked No. 4 worldwide, and were among the top ten in 1974, 1975, and 1976. They were nicknamed "The Bagel Twins." [1]

Solomon is credited with coining the term 'Bagel', referring to a set in tennis that ends with a score of 6–0. It was then popularized by commentator Bud Collins. [12]

Davis Cup

Solomon played in the Davis Cup on the American team in 1972, 1973, 1974, and 1978. [1] He has a record of nine wins and four losses in this competition. [9] The US team won the Davis Cup final in 1972 (3–2 against Romania) and 1978 (4–1 against Great Britain) although Solomon did not play in either final. [9]

ATP

Solomon served as president of the Association of Tennis Professionals from 1980 to 1983 [1] and later on its board of directors. [8] [9]

Halls of Fame

Solomon was inducted into the USTA Mid Atlantic Section Hall of Fame in 1994 [13] and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2004. [1] He was named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Hall of Fame (player) in 2013. He was inducted into the D.C. Sports Hall of Fame in 2016. [14]

Coaching career

Solomon began coaching in the 1990s, working with Jennifer Capriati, Mary Joe Fernandez, Shahar Pe'er, Justin Gimelstob, Eugenie Bouchard, Allie Kiick, Jim Courier, Monica Seles, Anna Kournikova and others. [15] [16] [17] [18] [1] [9] Some of his players won Grand Slam events and the Olympic Games. [11] He founded and runs the Harold Solomon Tennis Center, now known as the Florida Tennis SBT Academy, in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. [9] [19]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 runner-up

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1976 French Open Clay Flag of Italy.svg Adriano Panatta 1–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7

Career finals

Singles: 38 (22 wins, 16 losses)

Category
Grand Slam
Grand Prix Masters (1970–89)
WCT Finals (1971–89)
Grand Prix Series (1970–89), WCT Series (1968–89)
ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Jul 1974 Washington D.C., U.S.Clay Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss1–1Aug 1974 Bretton Woods, U.S.Clay Flag of Australia (converted).svg Rod Laver 4–6, 3–6
Loss1–2Sep 1974 Los Angeles, U.S.Hard Flag of the United States.svg Jimmy Connors 3–6, 1–6
Win2–2Feb 1975Toronto Indoor, CanadaCarpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Stan Smith 6–4, 6–1
Win3–2Mar 1975 Memphis, U.S.Hard (i) Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Jiří Hřebec 2–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss3–3Jul 1975Washington D.C., U.S.Clay Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Vilas1–6, 3–6
Loss3–4Oct 1975Melbourne, AustraliaGrass Flag of the United States.svg Brian Gottfried 2–6, 6–7, 1–6
Win4–4Oct 1975 Perth, AustraliaHard Flag of the United States.svg Alex Mayer 6–2, 7–6, 7–5
Win5–4Nov 1975Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Flag of the United States.svg Brian Gottfried6–3, 6–2, 5–7, 6–2
Loss5–5Jan 1976 Monterrey WCT, MexicoCarpet Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Dibbs 6–7, 2–6
Win6–5Mar 1976 Washington WCT, U.S.Carpet (i) Flag of New Zealand.svg Onny Parun 6–3, 6–1
Win7–5Apr 1976 Houston WCT, U.S.Clay Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ken Rosewall 6–4, 1–6, 6–1
Loss7–6Jun 1976 French Open, ParisClay Flag of Italy.svg Adriano Panatta 1–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–7(3–7)
Win8–6Aug 1976 Louisville Open, U.S.Clay Flag of Poland.svg Wojciech Fibak 6–2, 7–5
Loss8–7Aug 1976 Boston, U.S.Clay Flag of Sweden.svg Björn Borg 7–6, 4–6, 1–6, 2–6
Win9–7Oct 1976 Maui, U.S.Hard Flag of the United States.svg Bob Lutz 6–3, 5–7, 7–5
Win10–7Nov 1976Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Flag of the United States.svg Brian Gottfried6–2, 6–7, 6–3, 6–4
Win11–7Jun 1977 Brussels, BelgiumClay Flag of Germany.svg Karl Meiler 7–5, 3–6, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win12–7Jul 1977 Cincinnati Masters, U.S.Clay Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Mark Cox 6–2, 6–3
Win13–7Sep 1977 WCT Tournament of Champions, U.S.Carpet (i) Flag of Australia (converted).svg Ken Rosewall6–5(7–5), 6–2, 2–6, 0–6, 6–3
Loss13–8Feb 1978 Springfield, U.S.Carpet (i) Flag of Switzerland (Pantone).svg Heinz Günthardt 3–6, 6–3, 2–6
Win14–8Apr 1978 Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Flag of Italy.svg Corrado Barazzutti 6–1, 3–0 ret.
Win15–8Jul 1978Louisville Open, U.S.Clay Flag of Australia (converted).svg John Alexander 6–2, 6–2
Loss15–9Aug 1978Boston, U.S.Clay Flag of Spain (1977-1981).svg Manuel Orantes 4–6, 3–6
Loss15–10Dec 1978 Johannesburg, South AfricaHard Flag of the United States.svg Tim Gullikson 6–2, 6–7, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6
Win16–10Jan 1979 Baltimore, U.S.Carpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Marty Riessen 7–5, 6–4
Loss16–11May 1979 Hamburg, West GermanyClay Flag of Spain (1977-1981).svg José Higueras 6–3, 1–6, 4–6, 1–6
Loss16–12Jul 1979 Forest Hills WCT, U.S.Clay Flag of the United States.svg Eddie Dibbs 6–7, 1–6
Win17–12Aug 1979 North Conway, U.S.Clay Flag of Spain (1977-1981).svg José Higueras5–7, 6–4, 7–6
Loss17–13Oct 1979 Bordeaux, FranceClay Flag of France.svg Yannick Noah 0–6, 7–6, 1–6, 6–1, 4–6
Win18–13Nov 1979 Paris Open, FranceHard (i) Flag of Italy.svg Corrado Barazzutti 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss18–14Nov 1979 Wembley Championship, EnglandCarpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 3–6, 4–6, 5–7
Win19–14Jan 1980 Baltimore U.S.Carpet (i) Flag of the United States.svg Tim Gullikson 7–6, 6–0
Loss19–15Apr 1980Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Flag of Sweden.svg Björn Borg3–6, 1–6
Win20–15May 1980 Hamburg, West GermanyClay Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Vilas6–7, 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–3
Win21–15Aug 1980 Cincinnati, U.S.Hard Flag of Paraguay.svg Francisco González 7–6, 6–3
Win22–15Oct 1980 Tel Aviv, IsraelHard Flag of Israel.svg Shlomo Glickstein 6–2, 6–3
Loss22–16Apr 1981Las Vegas, U.S.Hard Flag of the Czech Republic.svg Ivan Lendl 4–6, 2–6

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Key
W F SFQF#RRRQ#DNQANH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 Career W-L
Australian Open AAAAAAAAAAAAAANH0–0
French Open QF 3R SF QF F 4R 3R 4R SF 1R 2R A 3R AA36–12
Wimbledon 1R A 1R AA 1R AAAAAAAA 1R 0–4
US Open 2R 1R A 4R 1R SF 4R 4R 4R 3R 3R 1R AAA22–11
Win–loss4–32–25–27–26–28–35–26–28–22–23–20–12–10–00–158–27

See also

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References

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