Eddie Dibbs (born February 23, 1951) is a retired American tennis player also nicknamed "Fast Eddie". He attained a career-high singles ranking of world No. 5 in July 1978, winning 22 titles and being a runner-up another 20 times.
Dibbs holds the record number of ATP Tour career match wins for a player who never reached a Grand Slam final. He did reach two semifinals, both at Roland Garros, losing to Guillermo Vilas in 1975 and to Adriano Panatta in 1976. His most significant victory was defeating Jimmy Connors, in three sets in London on carpet.
In 1976, only one other American player, Connors, had a better record than Dibbs. In 1977, Dibbs was the 2nd highest ranked American in the tour. In the 1978 season, he ended the year as the leading money winner on the professional tennis tour.
Dibbs was consistently ranked in the top 10 tour rankings for five years from 1975 to 1979. He is also the American tennis player with most singles victories in clay ever in the Open Era and ranks 7th all-time in overall singles victories on clay.
Dibbs is credited with coining the tennis term "bagel" to describe a 6–0 set. Dibbs played doubles with Harold Solomon. They were nicknamed "The Bagel Twins" by Bud Collins. In 1976, they were ranked No. 4 worldwide, and they were among the top ten also in 1974, 1975 and 1976.
A 2011 ranking system created at Northwestern University based on quality of performances and number of victories ranked Dibbs in the top 20 greatest players of all time.
Biography Dibbs was born in Brooklyn, New York to Lebanese parents. His family moved to Miami when he was a youngster where he started playing at a young age. He was a two-time state singles champion for Miami Beach High School and attended the University of Miami for three years before turning professional. At the University of Miami he compiled a 93% winning record and was an NCAA All-American twice. He was inducted in the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 1987.
Career finals Singles: 42 (22 wins / 20 losses) ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin1–0Mar 1973Jackson, USHard (i) Frew McMillan5–7, 6–1, 7–5Win2–0Jun 1973Hamburg, GermanyClay Karl Meiler6–1, 3–6, 7–6, 6–3Win3–0Oct 1973Fort Worth, USHard Brian Gottfried7–5, 6–2, 6–4Win4–0May 1974Hamburg, GermanyClay Hans-Joachim Plötz6–2, 6–2, 6–3Loss4–1Nov 1974Paris Indoor, FranceHard (i) Brian Gottfried3–6, 7–5, 6–8, 0–6Win5–1Oct 1975Tehran, IranClay Iván Molina1–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–4Win6–1Nov 1975London, UKCarpet (i) Jimmy Connors1–6, 6–1, 7–5Win7–1Jan 1976Monterrey WCT, MexicoCarpet Harold Solomon7–6, 6–2Win8–1Feb 1976Barcelona, SpainClay Cliff Drysdale6–1, 6–1Loss8–2Mar 1976Mexico City, MexicoClay Raúl Ramírez6–7, 2–6Win9–2May 1976Hamburg, GermanyClay Manuel Orantes6–4, 4–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–1Loss9–3Jul 1976Cincinnati, USClay Roscoe Tanner6–7, 3–6Loss9–4Oct 1976Madrid, SpainClay Manuel Orantes6–7, 2–6, 1–6Loss9–5Oct 1976Barcelona, SpainClay Manuel Orantes1–6, 6–2, 6–2, 5–7, 4–6Win10–5Oct 1976Paris Indoor, FranceHard (i) Jaime Fillol5–7, 6–4, 6–4, 7–6Win11–5Feb 1977Miami, USClay Raúl Ramírez6–0, 6–3Win12–5Apr 1977London, UKHard (i) Vitas Gerulaitis7–6(7–2), 6–7(5–7), 6–4Loss12–6Apr 1977Charlotte, USClay Corrado Barazzutti6–7, 0–6Loss12–7Aug 1977Louisville, USHard Guillermo Vilas6–1, 0–6, 1–6Loss12–8Aug 1977Boston, USClay Manuel Orantes6–7, 5–7, 4–6Loss12–9Oct 1977Tehran, IranClay Guillermo Vilas2–6, 4–6, 6–1, 1–6Win13–9Nov 1977Oviedo, SpainHard (i) Raúl Ramírez6–4, 6–1Loss13–10Feb 1978St. Louis WCT, USCarpet (i) Sandy Mayer6–7, 4–6Loss13–11Apr 1978Dayton, USCarpet (i) Brian Gottfried6–2, 4–6, 6–7Win14–11Apr 1978Tulsa, USHard (i) Pat DuPré6–7, 6–2, 7–5Loss14–12May 1978WCT Finals, Dallas, USCarpet (i) Vitas Gerulaitis3–6, 2–6, 1–6Win15–12Jul 1978Cincinnati, USClay Raúl Ramírez6–2, 6–3Loss15–13Jul 1978Washington, USClay Jimmy Connors5–7, 5–7Win16–13Aug 1978North Conway, USClay John Alexander6–4, 6–4Win17–13Aug 1978Toronto, CanadaClay José Luis Clerc5–7, 6–4, 6–1Loss17–14Jan 1979Birmingham, USHard Jimmy Connors2–6, 6–3, 5–7Loss17–15Apr 1979Tulsa, USHard (i) Jimmy Connors7–6, 5–7, 1–6Win18–15May 1979Forest Hills, USClay Harold Solomon7–6, 6–1Loss18–16Aug 1979Columbus, USClay Brian Gottfried3–6, 0–6Loss18–17Oct 1979Barcelona, SpainClay Hans Gildemeister4–6, 3–6, 1–6Win19–17Feb 1980Sarasota, USClay Andrés Gómez6–1, 6–1Loss19–18Apr 1980Houston, USClay Ivan Lendl1–6, 3–6Win20–18Jul 1980Boston, USClay Gene Mayer6–2, 6–1Loss20–19Aug 1980North Conway, USClay Jimmy Connors3–6, 7–5, 1–6Win21–19May 1981Forest Hills, USClay Carlos Kirmayr6–3, 6–2Win22–19Nov 1981Quito, EcuadorClay David Carter3–6, 6–0, 7–5Loss22–22May 1982Forest Hills, USClay Ivan Lendl1–6, 1–6
Doubles: 4 (1 win, 3 losses) ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 Feb 1976 Fort Worth WCT, US Carpet Harold Solomon Vitas Gerulaitis Sandy Mayer 4–6, 5–7Win 1–1 Mar 1976 Washington WCT, US Carpet Harold Solomon Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale 6–4, 7–5Loss 1–2 Jul 1976 Cincinnati, US Clay Harold Solomon Stan Smith Erik van Dillen 1–6, 1–6Loss 1–3 Apr 1977 London WCT, UK Hard (i) Mark Cox Ilie Năstase Adriano Panatta 6–7, 7–6, 3–6
Grand Slam singles performance timeline
Tournament1972197319741975197619771978197919801981SR Australian OpenAAAAAAAAAA0 / 0 French OpenA1R4RSFSF2RQFQF3R3R0 / 9 WimbledonAA2RAAAAAAA0 / 1 US Open2R1RAQFQF3R3RQF2RA0 / 8Win–loss1–10–24–29–29–23–26–28–23–22–10 / 18
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