Jay Berger

Last updated
Jay Berger
Country (sports)Flag of the United States.svg  United States
Residence Jupiter, Florida, US
Born (1966-11-26) November 26, 1966 (age 57)
Fort Dix, New Jersey, US
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro1986
Retired1991
PlaysRight-handed (two handed backhand)
Prize money $992,136
Singles
Career record141–80
Career titles3
Highest rankingNo. 7 (April 16, 1990)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open 3R (1991)
French Open QF (1989)
Wimbledon 2R (1988)
US Open QF (1989)
Doubles
Career record19–28
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 196 (November 14, 1988)
Grand Slam doubles results
US Open 2R (1987)

Jay Berger (born November 26, 1966) is an American former professional tennis player. He won three singles and one doubles title on the ATP Tour and reached his career-high singles ranking of World No. 7 in April 1990.

Contents

Early and personal life

Berger was born in Fort Dix, New Jersey, and is Jewish. [1] [2] [3] He and his wife Nadia resided on Key Biscayne and now reside in Jupiter, Florida, and have four children: daughter Alexandra, and sons Daniel, Jonathan, and Noah. [4] His son Daniel, who played golf at Florida State (where he was an All-American), is a PGA Tour pro golfer who was 2015 Rookie of the Year, and as of February 14, 2021, has four career PGA Tour wins. [5]

Tennis career

Berger was the USTA Boys’ 18s National Champion in 1985. [6] He also won the 1985 Florida State Junior Championship.

He reached the fourth round in the 1985 US Open. [7]

College career

Berger was an All-American at Clemson University in 1985 and 1986, where he recorded a 91–22 singles record in two seasons. His 80.5% career winning percentage in singles play places 3rd all-time at Clemson.

Pro tennis career

Berger turned professional in 1986. He played on the tour from 1986 to 1991.

He won his first top-level singles title in 1986 at Buenos Aires. In 1988, he captured both the singles and doubles titles at São Paulo. In March he upset world # 2 Mats Wilander, 6–0, 7–5, in Orlando, Florida. In March 1989 Berger upset world # 3 Boris Becker, 6–1, 6–1, in Indian Wells. In May he upset world # 3 Mats Wilander, 6–3, 6–4, in Rome. In August Berger beat world # 3 Stefan Edberg, 6–4, 6–2, at Indianapolis.

In 1989, Berger reached the quarterfinals at both the French Open and the US Open. He also won the third tour singles title of his career that year at Charleston, South Carolina. Berger was runner-up at the Canadian Open in 1990.

He retired from the professional tour in 1991. Chronic knee injuries forced his retirement.

During his career, Berger won three top-level singles titles and one tour doubles title. He registered victories over Stefan Edberg, Boris Becker, Jimmy Connors, Pete Sampras, and Mats Wilander.

Davis Cup

Berger appeared in Davis Cup play in 1988 and 1990. [8]

Halls of Fame and Awards

Berger was inducted into the Florida Hall of Fame in 1993. He was inducted into the Greater Miami-Dade Hall of Fame in 2001. He was also voted "Sportsman of the Year" by the Olympic Committee in 1985, and "Junior Player of the Year" by TENNIS Magazine in 1985. In 2014 he was inducted into the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. [9] [10]

Coaching career

Career record141–80
Career record19–28
Coaching career (1994–)
Coaching awards and records
Awards

Big East Coach of the Year 2000, '01

Berger went on to become an assistant coach at Florida International University, where he resumed his studies and graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Sports Management in 1994. Berger was the Head Men’s and Women’s tennis coach at the University of Miami and coached the national team. [7] He was the Big East Coach of the Year in 2000 and 2001. [11]

He coached Ryan Harrison until Jan-Michael Gambill replaced him in 2014 after which he coached former world No. 8 Jack Sock. He currently coaches the World No. 19 Reilly Opelka.

Career finals

Singles (3 wins – 4 losses)

ResultW-LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Nov 1986 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClay Flag of Argentina.svg Franco Davín 6–3, 6–3
Loss1–1Nov 1987 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClay Flag of Argentina.svg Guillermo Pérez Roldán 2–3 ret.
Win2–1Oct 1988São Paulo, BrazilHard Flag of Argentina.svg Horacio de la Peña 6–4, 6–4
Win3–1May 1989Charleston, USClay Flag of the United States.svg Lawson Duncan 6–4, 6–3
Loss3–2Aug 1989 Indianapolis, USHard Flag of the United States.svg John McEnroe 4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss3–3Nov 1989 Itaparica, BrazilHard Flag of Argentina.svg Martín Jaite 4–6, 4–6
Loss3–4Jul 1990 Toronto, CanadaHard Flag of the United States.svg Michael Chang 6–4, 3–6, 6–7(3–7)

Doubles (1 win – 1 loss)

ResultW-LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss0–1Nov 1987 Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClay Flag of Argentina.svg Horacio de la Peña Flag of Spain.svg Tomás Carbonell
Flag of Spain.svg Sergio Casal 		def.
Win1–1Oct 1988São Paulo, BrazilHard Flag of Argentina.svg Horacio de la Peña Flag of Chile.svg Ricardo Acuña
Flag of Spain.svg Javier Sánchez 		5–7, 6–4, 6–3

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Mendelsohn, Ezra (March 31, 2009). Jews and the Sporting Life: Studies in Contemporary Jewry XXIII. Oxford University Press. ISBN   9780199724796 – via Google Books.
  2. ↑ Silverman, B. P. Robert Stephen (September 21, 2003). The 100 Greatest Jews in Sports: Ranked According to Achievement. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN   9780810847750 – via Google Books.
  3. ↑ Horvitz, Peter S. (April 21, 2007). The Big Book of Jewish Sports Heroes: An Illustrated Compendium of Sports History and the 150 Greatest Jewish Sports Stars. SP Books. ISBN   9781561719075 – via Google Books.
  4. ↑ "Confident Berger custom fit for match play". ESPN.com. September 27, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Daniel Berger". www.pgatour.com. PGA Tour.
  6. ↑ "Past Winners". USTA.
  7. 1 2 "Jay Berger – Men's National Coach". United States Tennis Association. 2005. Archived from the original on November 16, 2006. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
  8. ↑ "Davis Cup players – Jay Berger". www.daviscup.com. International Tennis Federation.
  9. ↑ "Schwartz: National Jewish Sports Hall Of Fame Welcomes Its 2014 Class". CBS New York. September 12, 2014.
  10. ↑ Sal Cacciatore (September 14, 2014). "National Jewish Hall of Fame holds induction ceremony".
  11. ↑ "Berger, Jay". Jews in Sports. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
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