Andrés Gimeno Tolaguera (3 August 1937 – 9 October 2019) was a Spanish tennis player. His greatest achievement came in 1972, when he won the French Open and became the oldest first-time major champion in the Open Era at 34 years of age.
Early years Andrés came from a family which loved tennis, and his father Esteban supported his efforts to play the game. Esteban had been a good tennis player and he became Andres' coach. They practiced at Real Club de Tenis Barcelona. At an early age Andres started to become a really good tennis player, winning some important tournaments in his region. At age sixteen, he won the U-18 Championship of Spain. In 1954, he won the Championship of Spain in the doubles category playing with Juan Manuel Couder. At the same time, he stopped studying to focus on his tennis career.
He was not only a successful tennis player in Spain, but also represented his country throughout Europe. He played in the Galea's Cup, the European Championship U21, and won it in 1956 and 1957. He was the runner-up in 1958. After that, he decided to go to Australia to play with the man who was considered the best tennis coach in the world, Harry Hopman. He improved his tennis level and soon, he had two important victories in the championships in Perth and in Sydney.
Tennis career Gimeno went back to Spain in 1960 where he then had his best year as an amateur, winning the titles in Barcelona, Caracas, Monte Carlo, and at Queen's Club. In Barcelona, he became the first Spanish player to win the Torneo Conde de Godó, beating the Italian player Giuseppe Merlo. That same year he reached the doubles final of the French Open too, losing to an Australian duo. After that year, he joined the professional group World Championship Tennis, where Jack Kramer offered him $50,000 for three years, and more money for each victory. The group consisted of some of the best tennis players in history such as Rod Laver, Pancho Gonzales and Ken Rosewall.
Gimeno won the Pörtschach pro tournament in August 1963 beating Rosewall and Frank Sedgman. He also won the Genoa Pro in September 1963 beating Laver and Rosewall. Gimeno won the College Park Pro Championships in May 1964 beating Lew Hoad in the final.The History of Professional Tennis, Joe McCauley (2003 reprint), p. 231 He won tournaments in Noordwijk and Munich in August and September 1964 beating Laver and Rosewall in both events.The History of Professional Tennis, Joe McCauley (2003 reprint), p. 233-234 Gimeno won the Milan Pro in September 1965 over Laver and Rosewall and beat Laver in the final of the pro event at Port Elizabeth in October 1965.The History of Professional Tennis, Joe McCauley (2003 reprint), p. 238-239 Gimeno won the US Pro hardcourt event at St. Louis in June 1966 beating Laver in the final. He won the World pro championships in Oklahoma City in July 1966 beating Laver and Rosewall. He also won the Geneva and Barcelona pro tournaments in September 1966 (both over Laver). He won the Cincinnati Pro in July 1967 beating Laver and Rosewall. In September 1967, Gimeno won the Border Pro at Selborne (over Rosewall and Fred Stolle) and the Eastern Province Pro at Port Elizabeth (over Laver and Rosewall).The History of Professional Tennis, Joe McCauley (2003 reprint), p. 248-249
Gimeno's greatest Grand Slam success as a singles player came after the Open era started in 1968 and professionals were allowed to participate in the Grand Slams. At the first ever such tournament featuring professionals, the 1968 French Open, Gimeno reached the semifinals. The following year, he reached the final of the Australian Open, where he lost to Rod Laver in three sets. Gimeno won events in Barcelona, Cologne, and New York in 1969, Dallas in 1970, and Hamburg in 1971. He also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon in 1970.
Gimeno's best year was in 1972, when he was a finalist in Brussels and Paris, and won in Los Angeles, Eastbourne, Gstaad, and at the French Open—his first and only Grand Slam championship. He held the record for the oldest male player to win the French Open (at the age of 34) until 2022, and remains the oldest first-time Grand Slam champion. In the final, he beat the French player Patrick Proisy in four sets. In 1973, he reached the final of the Dutch Open in Hilversum, where Tom Okker beat him in five sets.
Gimeno was an active Davis Cup player, recording an 18–5 singles record and 5–5 doubles record. His debut was in the match that Spain played against Egypt with one of the most important players in Spain, Manuel Santana. He could not play the competition while he was a part of the professional group, but he participated as coach in 1966. In 1973, he injured his meniscus and decided to quit playing tennis. He became the tennis coach in the RFET, Tennis' Spanish Federation and then in the Suisse Federation.
After retiring from tennis After his professional career, he decided to join the tennis circuit for retired players called Legends Championship. He also founded a tennis club in 1974 called "Club de Tenis Andres Gimeno" in Castelldefels, Barcelona.
He was elected to the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, becoming the fourth Spanish tennis player in it, after Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Manuel Alonso and Manuel Santana.
Personal life Gimeno married Cristina Corolla in 1962 and together they had three children: Alejo Gimeno, Andrés Gimeno Jr. and Cristina Gimeno. In 2011, Gimeno lost all his money, and some of the best Spanish tennis players such as Rafael Nadal, Tommy Robredo, Feliciano López and David Ferrer played an exhibition tennis tournament in Palau Blaugrana to raise funds for him.
Death Gimeno died following a long illness, on 9 October 2019, at the age of 82.
Grand Slam finals Singles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up) ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 1969Australian Open Grass Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6, 5–7Win 1972French Open Clay Patrick Proisy 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1
Doubles: 2 (2 runner-ups) ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1960 French Championships Clay José Luis Arilla Roy Emerson Neale Fraser 2–6, 10–8, 5–7, 4–6Loss 1968 US Open Grass Arthur Ashe Bob Lutz Stan Smith 9–11, 1–6, 5–7
Stats per ATP website bio
Open Era career finals Legend Grand Slam (1) Tennis Masters Cup (0) ATP Tour (10)
Singles (11 wins, 13 losses) ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1–0 Mar 1968 Bogotá NTL, Colombia Clay (i) Fred Stolle 11–13, 6–3, 6–4 Loss 1–1 Apr 1968 Paris NTL, France Hard (i) Ken Rosewall 3–6, 4–6Win 2–1 Aug 1968 Binghamton NTL, US Hard Fred Stolle 6–4, 6–1Loss 2–2 Aug 1968 Fort Worth NTL, US Hard Ken Rosewall 4–6, 3–6Loss 2–3 Oct 1968 Corpus Christi NTL, US Hard Rod Laver 2–6, 4–6Loss 2–4 Oct 1968 São Paulo NTL-2, Brazil Clay (i) Rod Laver 2–6, 6–2, 3–6Loss 2–5 Oct 1968 La Paz NTL, Bolivia Clay Rod Laver 4–6, 6–3, 5–7Loss 2–6 Oct 1968 Lima NTL, Peru Clay Fred Stolle 6–2, 2–6, 3–6Loss 2–7 Jan 1969Australian Open, Australia Grass Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6, 5–7Win 3–7 Mar 1969 New York-1, US Carpet (i) Arthur Ashe 6–1, 6–2, 3–6, 6–8, 9–7Loss 3–8 May 1969 Amsterdam, Netherlands Clay Tom Okker 4–6, 3–6Win 4–8 Oct 1969 Cologne, Germany Hard (i) Roy Emerson 6–3, 19–17Win 5–8 Nov 1969 Barcelona-2, Spain Clay Rod Laver 10–8, 2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–1Loss 5–9 Feb 1970 Hollywood, Florida, US Clay Ken Rosewall 6–3, 2–6, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6Win 6–9 Apr 1970 Dallas, US Carpet (i) Roy Emerson 6–2, 6–3, 6–2Loss 6–10 Jun 1970 Casablanca, Morocco Clay John Newcombe 4–6, 4–6, 4–6Win 7–10 May 1971 Hamburg Open, Germany Clay Péter Szőke 6–3, 6–2, 6–2Win 8–10 Feb 1972 Los Angeles, US Hard (i) Pierre Barthès 6–3, 2–6, 6–3Loss 8–11 May 1972 Brussels, Belgium Clay Manuel Orantes 4–6, 1–6, 6–2, 5–7Win 9–11 May 1972French Open, Paris Clay Patrick Proisy 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 6–1Win 10–11 Jun 1972 Eastbourne, England Grass Pierre Barthès 7–5, 6–3Win 11–11 Jul 1972 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Adriano Panatta 7–5, 9–8, 6–4Loss 11–12 Oct 1972 Paris, France Hard (i) Stan Smith 2–6, 2–6, 5–7Loss 11–13 Jul 1973 Hilversum, Netherlands Clay Tom Okker 6–2, 4–6, 4–6, 7–6, 3–6
Source: ATP
Performance timeline
Tournament Amateur Pro Open Era Win % 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961–67 1968 1969 197019711972 1973 Grand Slam tournaments Australian Championships/Open A A A QF A banned F A 2R A A 0 / 3 6–3 66.67 French Championships/Open 1R 3R 4R A QF banned SF QF A A W 2R 1 / 8 23–7 76.67 Wimbledon 3R 1R 2R 3R 2R banned 3R 4R SF 1R 2R A 0 / 10 17–10 62.96 US National Championships/Open A A A A A banned 1R 4R 1R A 4R A 0 / 4 6–4 60.00 Win–loss 2–2 2–2 4–2 4–2 4–2 n/a 7–3 14–4 5–2 0–2 10–2 1–1 1 / 25 52–24 68.42 Year-end championships The Masters Not held A A RR A 0 / 1 0–3 0.00 Win–loss – – – 0–3 – 0 / 1 0–3 0.00
Professional Grand Slams Tournament 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 Win % US Pro Championships A SF A A SF A SF F 0 / 4 4–4 50.00 French Pro Championship QF QF F 1R SF QF SF F 0 / 8 10–8 55.55 Wembley Championships QF QF QF QF QF F QF SF 0 / 8 8–8 50.00 Win–loss 2–2 2–3 4–2 1–2 2–3 2–2 2–3 7–3 0 / 20 22–20 52.38 Source:
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