Steven Downs
Full nameSteven Downs
Country (sports) New Zealand
Born (1975-09-08) 8 September 1975
Auckland, New Zealand
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Turned pro1994
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$50,607
Singles
Career record4–8
Career titles0
0 Challenger, 0 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 279 (10 July 1995)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ2 (1996, 1997)
French OpenQ2 (1995)
WimbledonQ1 (1997)
US OpenQ2 (1995, 1996)
Doubles
Career record0–4
Career titles0
0 Challenger, 0 Futures
Highest rankingNo. 201 (10 April 1995)
Last updated on: 12 May 2022.

Steven Downs (born 8 September 1975) is a former professional tennis player from New Zealand.

Biography

Downs was a leading international junior, who was the world number one doubles player in 1993 and designated ITF World Champion. He reached a final at all four Grand Slam tournaments in 1993. With partner James Greenhalgh, he won two boys' doubles titles, the French Open and Wimbledon Championships.[1] Downs, who played cricket for Auckland up to the Under 14s, made the singles final at the Australian Open and was runner-up to Marcelo Ríos at the US Open, for a year-end number five ranking.[2]

Following his junior success in 1993, Downs turned professional and in 1994 made his first ATP Tour tournament in Auckland. Every year from 1994 to 1997 he featured in the main draw of the Auckland Open. In 1995 he made the round of 16, with a win over the world's 45th-ranked player, Fabrice Santoro.[3]

During his career he participated in three ties for the New Zealand Davis Cup team. In 1995 he made his debut in a tie against Chinese Taipei in Wellington and won both of his singles matches, in a 5–0 whitewash.[4] He was called up again when New Zealand played a World Group qualifier that year in Hamilton, against Switzerland. His first singles match was the opening rubber of the tie, a loss to Marc Rosset.[5] When he and Alistair Hunt lost in the doubles, the tie was lost, although he did win a reverse singles rubber over Jakob Hlasek.[6] In 1996, he played two more singles matches, in a tie against South Korea in Seoul, for losses to Lee Hyung-taik and Yoon Yong-il, but New Zealand still prevailed.[7]

His last ATP Tour appearance in singles came at the 1996 Infiniti Open in Los Angeles, where he lost in the first round to Stefan Edberg.[8] He was runner-up at a Perth Challenger event in 1996.[9] At his peak, Downs was the second-ranked player in New Zealand, behind Brett Steven.[2] A combination of factors, including an elbow injury, brought about an early retirement from professional tennis after the 1997 season.[2][10]

Junior Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (2 runners-up)

Result Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss1993Australian OpenHardUnited Kingdom James Baily3–6, 2–6
Loss1993US OpenHardChile Marcelo Ríos6–7, 3–6

Doubles: 2 (2 titles)

Result Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1993French OpenClayNew Zealand James GreenhalghSouth Africa Neville Godwin
South Africa Gareth Williams		6–1, 6–1
Win1993WimbledonGrassNew Zealand James GreenhalghSouth Africa Neville Godwin
South Africa Gareth Williams		6–7, 7–6, 7–5

ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–1)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Dec 1996 Perth, Australia Challenger Hard Australia Richard Fromberg 0–6, 3–6

Doubles: 1 (0–1)

Legend
ATP Challenger (0–1)
ITF Futures (0–0)
Finals by surface
Hard (0–1)
Clay (0–0)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (0–0)
Result W–L Date Tournament Tier Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Aug 1995 Bronx, United States Challenger Hard New Zealand James Greenhalgh Australia James Holmes
United Kingdom Ross Matheson		 3–6, 7–5, 3–6

See also

References

  1. ↑ Tiffen, Rachel (11 November 2010). "'L&P syndrome' hampering Kiwi tennis talent". Newshub. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 "Competitive spirit still drives Downs". The Marlborough Express. Stuff.co.nz. 23 January 2009. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  3. ↑ "Capriati Withdraws From Australian Open". Los Angeles Times. 11 January 1995. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  4. ↑ "Asia-Oceania Zone". Asbury Park Press. 6 February 1995. p. 30. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  5. ↑ "US, Germany lead Davis Cup ties". The Canberra Times. 24 September 1995. p. 12. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Woodies pushed to edge of disaster". The Canberra Times. 25 September 1995. p. 24. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  7. ↑ "Davis Cup – Tie – Details". Official Davis Cup website. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "Krajicek Advances At Infiniti". The Moscow Times. 1 August 1996. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Perth Challenger - 09 December - 15 December 1996". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
  10. ↑ "Tennis: Downs shows loss to NZ tennis". The New Zealand Herald. 30 June 2000. Retrieved 13 April 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.