José Luis Clerc (; born 16 August 1958), also known by the nickname Batata, is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 3 August 1981, following a run of 25 consecutive match wins after Wimbledon.

Tennis career Clerc represented Argentina for the Davis Cup from 1976 to 1989. He and Guillermo Vilas led Argentina to its first Davis Cup final in 1981 to set up a tie against United States in Cincinnati, Ohio. After Vilas lost the first rubber in straight sets to John McEnroe, Clerc defeated Roscoe Tanner in straight sets in the second rubber to level the tie. During the third rubber, partnering Vilas, the pair lost to Fleming/McEnroe in doubles, 9–11 in the fifth and deciding set. Clerc then played McEnroe in the fourth rubber and eventually lost in five sets.

Clerc, with Vilas and Carlos Gattiker won the 1980 World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. Clerc defeated former French Open champion Adriano Panatta in two sets. Argentina eventually beat Italy 3–0 to claim the title.

In 1981, Clerc entered the French Open with an 11-match win streak and defeated Jimmy Connors in the quarterfinals, in five sets, to extend it to 16. The streak ended when Clerc lost in five sets against Ivan Lendl. Later that year, starting after Wimbledon, Clerc won another 28 consecutive matches before losing in the third round of the US Open.

In 1982, Clerc reached the semifinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, losing to 17-year-old Swedish teenager Mats Wilander in four sets. Wilander would go on to beat Vilas in the final in 4 sets to become the youngest winner of a Grand Slam at the time.

Injuries began to plague Clerc since 1984, and his consistency dropped. Clerc never recovered and only played sporadically after 1985.

He received the ATP Sportsmanship Award in 1981, and Argentine Konex Awards in 1980 and 1990.

ATP career finals

Singles: 35 (25 titles, 10 runners-up)

LegendGrand Slam tournaments (0–0)Year-end championships (0–0)Grand Prix Super Series (1–1)Grand Prix / WCT Tour (24–9) Titles by surfaceHard (3–1)Clay (21–9)Grass (0–0)Carpet (1–0)

ResultW/L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1–0 May 1978 Florence, Italy Clay Patrice Dominguez 6–4, 6–2, 6–1Loss 1–1 Jul 1978 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Guillermo Vilas 3–6, 6–7, 4–6Loss 1–2 Jul 1978 South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. Clay Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 3–6Loss 1–3 Aug 1978 Toronto, Canada Clay Eddie Dibbs 7–5, 4–6, 1–6Loss 1–4 Sep 1978 Aix-En-Provence, France Clay Guillermo Vilas 3–6, 0–6, 3–6Win 2–4 Nov 1978 Buenos Aires, Argentina Clay Víctor Pecci 6–4, 6–4Win 3–4 Dec 1978 Santiago de Chile, Chile Clay Víctor Pecci 3–6, 6–3, 6–3Win 4–4 Apr 1979 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Deon Joubert 6–2, 6–1Loss 4–5 Nov 1979 Buenos Aires, Argentina (2) Clay Guillermo Vilas 1–6, 2–6, 2–6Win 5–5 Mar 1980 San José de Costa Rica, Costa Rica Hard Jimmy Connors 4–6, 2–6, retiredLoss 5–6 Jul 1980 Washington D.C., US Clay Brian Gottfried 5–7, 6–4, 4–6Win 6–6 Jul 1980 South Orange, New Jersey, U.S. Clay John McEnroe 6–3, 6–2Win 7–6 Aug 1980 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. Clay Mel Purcell 7–5, 6–3Win 8–6 Sep 1980 Madrid, Spain Clay Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 1–6, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2Win 9–6 Nov 1980 Quito, Ecuador Clay Víctor Pecci 6–4, 1–6, 10–8Win 10–6 Nov 1980 Buenos Aires, Argentina (2) Clay Rolf Gehring 6–7, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3Win 11–6 May 1981 Florence, Italy (2) Clay Raúl Ramírez 6–1, 6–2Win 12–6 May 1981 Italian Open, Rome Clay Víctor Pecci 6–3, 6–4, 6–0Win 13–6 Jul 1981 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. Clay Hans Gildemeister 0–6, 6–2, 6–2Win 14–6 Jul 1981 Washington D.C., US Clay Guillermo Vilas 7–5, 6–2Win 15–6 Jul 1981 North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S. Clay Guillermo Vilas 6–3, 6–2Win 16–6 Aug 1981 Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. (2) Clay Ivan Lendl 4–6, 6–4, 6–2Loss 16–7 Oct 1981 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Ivan Lendl 2–6, 3–6, 0–6Win 17–7 Feb 1982 Richmond WCT, Virginia, U.S. Carpet (i) Fritz Buehning 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3Loss 17–8 Apr 1982 Houston WCT, Texas, US Clay Ivan Lendl 6–3, 6–7, 0–6, 4–1, ret.Win 18–8 Jun 1982 Venice, Italy Clay Peter McNamara 7–6, 6–1Win 19–8 Jul 1982 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Guillermo Vilas 6–1, 6–3, 6–2Win 20–8 Jul 1982 Zell am See WCT, Austria Clay Heinz Günthardt 6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1Win 21–8 Nov 1982 São Paulo, Brazil Clay (i) Marcos Hocevar 6–2, 6–7, 6–3Win 22–8 Jan 1983 Guarujá, Brazil Hard Mats Wilander 3–6, 7–5, 6–1Win 23–8 Jul 1983 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (2) Clay Jimmy Arias 6–3, 6–1Win 24–8 Jul 1983 Washington D.C., U.S. (2) Clay Jimmy Arias 6–3, 3–6, 6–0Win 25–8 Jul 1983 North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S. (2) Clay Andrés Gómez 6–3, 6–1Loss 25–9 Sep 1983 Palermo, Italy Clay Jimmy Arias 2–6, 6–2, 0–6Loss 25–10 Jul 1984 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (3) Clay Aaron Krickstein 6–7, 6–3, 4–6

Performance timeline

Singles Tournament19771978197919801981198219831984198519861987198819891990SRW–LGrand Slam tournamentsAustralian OpenAA1RA2RAAAAANHAAAA0 / 21–2French OpenA2R2R2RSFSF2R2R3RAAA1RA0 / 917–9WimbledonA1R4R3R3RA1RAAAAAAA0 / 57–5US OpenA3R4R1R4R1R1RA1RAAAAA0 / 78–7Win–loss0–03–47–34–410–35–21–31–12–20–00–00–00–10–00 / 2333–23Year-end championshipMastersDid not qualifyRRRRQF1RDid not qualify0 / 42–6Career statisticsFinals0727765100000035Titles0316654000000025Overall win–loss1–350–1756–2273–2358–1465–2231–1516–1424–140–00–00–01–40–0375–148Win %25%75%72%76%81%75%67%53%63%–––20%–71.70%Year-end ranking278151785683328––514

Notable rivalries

Clerc vs. Vilas Clerc and Guillermo Vilas played each other 14 times in their careers, with Vilas leading 10–4. Vilas being a dominant force on clay for much of the second half of 1970s, Clerc was considered a rising star on clay during that time. All of their 14 meetings came after the quarterfinal stages (with one exception, which was at the Masters Grand Prix) and included eight finals. Vilas won their first six encounters before 1980, including four finals. However, since 1980, they had a tied record of 4–4, with Clerc winning all four of the finals.

Personal life Clerc married Annelie Czerner in 1980, and they have two sons and a daughter: Juan Pablo Clerc (born 23 September 1981), Dominique Clerc (born 12 January 1984), and Nicolás Clerc (born 19 October 1990). In 2005, they divorced, Clerc married with Gisela Medrano in 2008, with whom they have a daughter named Sophie (born 7 April 2011).

Clerc runs a tennis school in Argentina, participates in senior tournaments, and regularly serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN Latin America and ESPN Deportes.

References

External links

Clerc's Konex Awards (Spanish) 1980 Argentina's World Team Cup Interview Algodon Wine Estates website