Guillermo Rivas (tennis)

Guillermo Rivas (born 9 February 1964) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina.

Guillermo Rivas
Full nameGuillermo Rivas
Country (sports) Argentina
Born (1964-02-09) 9 February 1964 (age 60)
Buenos Aires, Argentina
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$93,919
Singles
Career record10–27
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 116 (20 May 1985)
Doubles
Career record5–14
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 289 (16 April 1990)

Biography

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Born in the Buenos Aires neighbourhood of Béccar, Rivas learned his tennis at Club San Fernando, inspired by Guillermo Vilas's 1977 US Open triumph, when Rivas was 13. He later trained at the Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club and turned professional in 1982.[1]

Rivas was a member of the Argentina Davis Cup squad for ties in Rome in 1983 and Atlanta in 1984, but didn't feature in either.[1]

During his professional career his ranking peaked at 116 in 1985, a year in which he made the round of 16 at the WCT Tournament of Champions in Forest Hills.[2] One of his wins in that tournament was over 10th seed Tim Wilkison, then ranked 36th in the world.[3] In 1985 he also had a win over Thomas Muster, en route to the final of the Parioli Challenger. In the final he saved two match points to defeat Simone Colombo in a last set tiebreak.[4] It was the first of two Challenger tournaments that he won, the other was the 1988 Crans-Montana Challenger. In 1989 he made the quarter-finals of a Grand Prix tournament, the Rio de Janeiro Open, and beat Petr Korda at a Challenger event in Clermont-Ferrand.[5][6]

Between 2006 and 2009 he was vice-captain of the Canadian Davis Cup team, working with Frank Dancevic, Daniel Nestor and Frederic Niemeyer.

Now living in Florida, Rivas runs the Grita Tennis Academy in Palm Beach County. Players produced by the academy include Argentina's Facundo Mena and Bahamas player Philip Wilbert Major.[7] He has also trained Barbados Davis Cup representative Haydn Lewis.[8]

Challenger titles

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Singles: (2)

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No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
1. 1985 Parioli, Italy Clay   Simone Colombo 7–6, 1–6, 7–6
2. 1988 Crans-Montana, Switzerland Clay   Lars-Anders Wahlgren 1–6, 6–3, 6–4

References

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  1. ^ a b "Guillermo Rivas, el experto en tenis que pronosticó la lesión de Del Potro". Los Andes (in Spanish). 14 November 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  2. ^ "Duncan Continues His Advance at Forest Hills". Los Angeles Times. 10 May 1985. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  3. ^ "Unseeded Duncan Upsets No. 5 Kriek, 6-3, 6-3". Los Angeles Times. 9 May 1985. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  4. ^ "Rivas, el primer festejo". La Nación (in Spanish). 23 November 2001. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  5. ^ "Banespa Open". The Indianapolis Star. 16 April 1989. p. 38. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  6. ^ "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Clermont-Ferrand Challenger - 26 June - 02 July 1989". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Grita Tennis in Palm Beach, Fl". gritatennis.com. Archived from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
  8. ^ Marville, Justin (14 November 2010). "Lewis to get BITE at tennis top two". Nation. Retrieved 23 April 2016.
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