James Arias (born August 16, 1964) is a retired tennis touring professional player from the United States.
Biography Arias was born in Grand Island, New York on August 16, 1964. His father, Antonio Arias, was born in Spain and emigrated to Cuba during after the Spanish Civil War, and played football for the Cuba national team. Arias' father was an engineer who analyzed his forehand, and revolutionized it by creating the full-whip forehand - it kept racket speed up by preventing Jimmy from slowing down as he hit the ball.
A baseliner, Arias turned pro at age 16 in 1980. His peak year was 1983, when as a 19-year-old he finished the year ranked World No. 6, having reached the U.S. Open semi-finals by defeating Jonathan Canter, Tom Gullikson, Gianni Ocleppo, Joakim Nyström and Yannick Noah, and then lost to Ivan Lendl. He also won the Italian Open and three other tour grand prix events.
He reached his career high ranking of World No. 5 in April 1984. He retired from the tour in 1994, having amassed a 286–223 singles playing record and over $1,800,000 in prize money.
With former World No. 2 tennis player, Andrea Jaeger, he won the 1981 French Open Mixed Doubles Championship.
Broadcast work Arias serves as a commentator for ESPN International and Tennis Channel. Arias served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics.Ray Frager (July 16, 2008) Medium Well: Your NBC Olympics lineup. Baltimore Sun. In Canada, he has worked as an analyst for Rogers Sportsnet and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the broadcasts of the Rogers Cup.
Grand Slam finals
Mixed doubles (1 title) ResultYearChampionship SurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreWin 1981 French Open Clay Andrea Jaeger Betty Stöve Fred McNair 7–6, 6–4
Career finals
Singles (5 titles, 11 runner-ups) Titles by surface Hard (0) Grass (0) Clay (5) Carpet (0)
ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 Jul 1982 Washington, D.C., U.S. Clay Ivan Lendl 3–6, 3–6Loss 0–2 Aug 1982 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay José Higueras 5–7, 7–5, 3–6Win 1–2 Oct 1982 Tokyo, Japan Clay Dominique Bedel 6–2, 2–6, 6–4Win 2–2 May 1983 Florence, Italy Clay Francesco Cancellotti 6–4, 6–3Win 3–2 May 1983 Rome, Italy Clay José Higueras 6–2, 6–7(3–7), 6–1, 6–4Win 4–2 Aug 1983 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay Andrés Gómez 6–4, 2–6, 6–4Loss 4–3 Jul 1983 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Clay José Luis Clerc 3–6, 1–6Loss 4–4 Jul 1983 Washington D.C., U.S. Clay José Luis Clerc 3–6, 6–3, 0–6Win 5–4 Sep 1983 Palermo, Italy Clay José Luis Clerc 6–2, 2–6, 6–0Loss 5–5 May 1985 Las Vegas, U.S. Hard Johan Kriek 6–4, 3–6, 4–6, 2–6Loss 5–6 May 1985 Florence, Italy Clay Sergio Casal 6–3, 3–6, 2–6Loss 5–7 Oct 1985 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard Scott Davis 1–6, 6–7(3–7)Loss 5–8 Apr 1987 Monte Carlo Open, Monaco Clay Mats Wilander 6–4, 5–7, 1–6, 3–6Loss 5–9 May 1988 Charleston, U.S. Clay Andre Agassi 2–6, 2–6Loss 5–10 Jan 1990 Adelaide, Australia Hard Thomas Muster 6–3, 2–6, 5–7Loss 5–11 May 1991 Charlotte, U.S. Clay Jaime Yzaga 3–6, 5–7
References
External links
Induction into the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame page
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