Vitas Gerulaitis
Gerulaitis in 1978
Full nameVytautas Kevin Gerulaitis
Born(1954-07-26)July 26, 1954
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 17, 1994(1994-09-17) (aged 40)
Southampton, New York, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro1971
Retired1986
PlaysRight-handed
(one-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$2,778,748
Singles
Career record535–232 (69.8%)
Career titles26
Highest rankingNo. 3 (February 27, 1978)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1977Dec)
French OpenF (1980)
WimbledonSF (1977, 1978)
US OpenF (1979)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsF (1979, 1981)
WCT FinalsW (1978)
Doubles
Career record164–123
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 43 (May 20, 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1983)
French OpenQF (1980)
WimbledonW (1975)
US Open3R (1972)

Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles title at the latter of the two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977 (December;[1] Roscoe Tanner won earlier in January). He won two Italian Opens (1977, 1979), and the WCT Finals in Dallas in 1978.

Early life

Born to Lithuanian immigrant parents in Brooklyn, New York, Gerulaitis grew up in Howard Beach, Queens,[2] attended Archbishop Molloy High School in Queens, and graduated in 1971. He attended Columbia College of Columbia University with the class of 1975 for one year, then dropped out to pursue tennis full-time.[3]

Gerulaitis was nicknamed "The Lithuanian Lion".[4] His younger sister Ruta was also a professional tennis player; both siblings' native language was Lithuanian.[5]

Career highlights

Gerulaitis led the Pittsburgh Triangles to the World TeamTennis championship title at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena in 1975. Gerulaitis played for the Triangles from 1974 until 1976. He also played for the league's Indiana Loves franchise in 1977.

Gerulaitis was coached by Fred Stolle from 1977 until 1983.

He also won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1975. He was a singles semifinalist at Wimbledon in both 1977 and 1978. In 1977 he lost a Wimbledon semifinal to his close friend and practice partner, Björn Borg, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6, a match later considered one of the greatest of the decade.[6]

In December 1977, Gerulaitis won the most significant title of his career at the Australian Open, when he defeated John Lloyd in the men's singles final in five sets on New Year's Eve.[1]

In 1978, Gerulaitis won the year-end championship WCT Finals for the World Championship Tennis tour, beating Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 6–2, 6–1. By 1978, he was the third-ranked men's singles player in the world.

Gerulaitis advanced to the men's singles finals at the US Open in 1979, but lost in straight sets to fellow New Yorker John McEnroe. He was a member of the U.S. team which won the Davis Cup in 1979 and won two singles "rubbers" in the final, as the U.S. swept Italy 5–0.

Gerulaitis reached his third Grand Slam singles final at the French Open in 1980, but lost in straight sets to defending champion Borg.

In February 1981, Gerulaitis won the star-laden Toronto Indoor invitational tournament, defeating Jimmy Connors in the semifinal and McEnroe in four sets the final.[7]

During his career, Gerulaitis won 25 top-level singles titles and eight doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 3 which he reached on February 27, 1978.

Gerulaitis was known for his exceptionally quick hands at the net and his outstanding court coverage.[8] In 1985, Gerulaitis teamed with Bobby Riggs to launch a challenge to female players after the famous Battle of the Sexes. The stunt, however, was short-lived when Gerulaitis and Riggs lost a doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.[9]

He retired from the professional tour in 1986, and was a regular tennis commentator on the USA network between 1988 and 1994.

Gerulaitis coached Pete Sampras during the 1994 Italian Open in Rome, when Sampras' coach, Tim Gullikson, was on a family vacation. Sampras won the title by defeating Boris Becker in the final in straight sets.

Death

On September 17, 1994, while visiting a friend's home in Southampton, New York, an improperly installed propane heater for the swimming pool caused carbon monoxide gas to seep into the guesthouse where Gerulaitis was sleeping, causing his death by carbon monoxide poisoning. He failed to show up for a dinner at 7 p.m. that Saturday evening and his body was found the following day by a maid who went to the guesthouse.[10][11][12] Gerulaitis' remains were interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.

Criminal charges of negligent homicide were later brought against the pool mechanic and the company he worked for. Both he and the company were acquitted in October 1996. Jurors heard testimony that a technician from the heater manufacturer had made adjustments several days before Gerulaitis' death and that even if an exhaust pipe had been longer, carbon monoxide (colorless and odorless) would have still been drawn into the air-conditioning vent because it is denser than air at low temperatures. Arthur M. Luxenberg, a lawyer for the Gerulaitis family, stated that Gerulaitis' mother and sister believed the verdict to be fair, and he went on to state that the testimony at the trial "confirmed to us what we always knew: that there were a lot of other people involved in this matter."[13]

The Gerulaitis family reached a confidential settlement with some of the defendants in their civil case by 2002.[14][15]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Win1977Australian Open (Dec.)GrassUnited Kingdom John Lloyd6–3, 7–6(7–4), 5–7, 3–6, 6–2
Loss1979US OpenHardUnited States John McEnroe5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Loss1980French OpenClaySweden Björn Borg4–6, 1–6, 2–6

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament1971197219731974197519761977197819791980198119821983198419851986SRW – L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open (Jan) A A A A A A A Not Held 0 / 0 0–0
French Open A A A A A A A A SF F 1R QF 1R 2R 1R A 0 / 7 16–7
Wimbledon A A A 1R 1R QF SF SF 1R 4R 4R QF 2R 4R 3R A 0 / 12 30–12
US Open 1R 2R 1R 2R 2R 4R 4R SF F 2R SF 1R 3R 4R 3R A 0 / 15 33–15
Australian Open (Dec) Not Held W A A 1R A A 2R 2R A NH 1 / 4 6–3
Win – Loss 0–1 1–1 0–1 1–2 1–2 7–2 14–2 10–2 11–3 10–4 8–3 8–3 3–4 7–4 4–3 0–0 1/38 85–37
Year-end championships
Masters Grand Prix A A A A A A A A F A F R16 A R16 A A 0 / 4 6–6
WCT Finals A A A A A A SF W SF A A A SF QF A A 1 / 5 7–4
Win – Loss 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–1 2–0 4–3 0–0 3–2 0–1 2–1 1–2 0–0 0–0 1 / 9 13–10
Career statistics
Tournaments played 9 20 15 19 20 18 22 22 19 20 21 22 15 2 244
Titles – Finals 0–0 1–2 2–7 0–3 5–9 3–5 3–6 3–6 1–4 5–7 1–2 1–3 0–0 0–0 25–54
Overall Win – Loss 7–9 33–19 38–13 31–19 60–16 46–15 64–20 52–19 43–19 61–15 32–20 34–20 12–15 0–2 510–221
Win % 44% 63% 75% 62% 79% 75% 76% 73% 69% 80% 62% 63% 44% 0% 70%
Year-end ranking 131 47 15 18 4 5 4 9 9 5 20 17 81 799

Career finals

Singles: 56 (26 titles, 30 runner-ups)

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Mar 1974 Salt Lake City, US Hard (i) United States Jimmy Connors 6–4, 6–7, 3–6
Win 1. Nov 1974 Vienna, Austria Hard (i) Rhodesia Andrew Pattison 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 2. Jan 1975 Philadelphia WCT, US Carpet United States Marty Riessen 6–7(1–7), 7–5, 2–6, 7–6(7–0), 3–6
Loss 3. Feb 1975 Roanoke, US Hard (i) United Kingdom Roger Taylor 6–7, 6–7
Loss 4. Feb 1975 Salisbury, US Carpet United States Jimmy Connors 7–5, 5–7, 1–6, 6–3, 0–6
Win 2. Mar 1975 New York City, US Carpet United States Jimmy Connors walkover
Loss 5. Mar 1975 Orlando WCT, US Hard Australia Rod Laver 3–6, 4–6
Win 3. Apr 1975 St. Louis, US Clay United States Roscoe Tanner 2–6, 6–2, 6–3
Loss 6. Sep 1975 Bermuda Clay United States Jimmy Connors 1–6, 4–6
Loss 7. Jan 1976 Indianapolis WCT, US Carpet United States Arthur Ashe 2–6, 7–6(8–6), 4–6
Loss 8. Feb 1976 Toronto Indoor WCT, Canada Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 6–2, 3–6, 1–6
Loss 9. Apr 1976 Charlotte WCT, US Carpet Australia Tony Roche 3–6, 6–3, 1–6
Loss 10. Feb 1977 Richmond WCT, US Carpet Netherlands Tom Okker 6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Win 4. Feb 1977 Ocean City, US Hard United States Robert Lutz 3–6, 6–1, 6–2
Loss 11. Mar 1977 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet Poland Wojciech Fibak 4–6, 3–6
Loss 12. Apr 1977 London WCT, UK Hard (i) United States Eddie Dibbs 6–7(2–7), 7–6(7–5), 4–6
Loss 13. Apr 1977 Houston WCT, US Hard Italy Adriano Panatta 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–3), 1–6
Win 5. May 1977 Rome, Italy Clay Italy Tonino Zugarelli 6–2, 7–6(7–2), 3–6, 7–6(7–5)
Win 6. Oct 1977 Brisbane, Australia Grass Australia Tony Roche 6–7, 6–1, 6–1, 7–5
Win 7. Oct 1977 Perth, Australia Hard Australia Geoff Masters 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Win 8. Dec 1977 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass United Kingdom John Lloyd 6–3, 7–6(7–1), 5–7, 3–6, 6–2
Win 9. Fev 1978 Richmond WCT, US Carpet Australia John Newcombe 6–3, 6–4
Loss 14. Mar 1978 Las Vegas, US Hard Sweden Björn Borg 5–6(5–7), 6–5(7–5), 4–6, 5–6(4–7)
Loss 15. Apr 1978 Milan WCT, Italy Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 3–6, 3–6
Win 10. May 1978 WCT Finals, US Carpet United States Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 6–2, 6–1
Win 11. Jul 1978 Forest Hills, US – WCT Invitational Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 6–2, 6–0
Win 12. Feb 1979 Arkansas, Little Rock US Carpet (i) United States Butch Walts 6–2, 6–2
Loss 16. Feb 1979 Dorado Beach, Puerto Rico Hard United States Jimmy Connors 5–6, 0–6, 4–6
Loss 17. Apr 1979 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Sweden Björn Borg 2–6, 1–6, 3–6
Win 13. May 1979 Rome, Italy Clay Argentina Guillermo Vilas 6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–0), 6–7(5–7), 6–4, 6–2
Win 14. Jul 1979 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil 6–2, 6–2, 6–4
Loss 18. Sep 1979 US Open, New York Hard United States John McEnroe 5–7, 3–6, 3–6
Win 15. Oct 1979 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Argentina Guillermo Vilas 4–6, 6–3, 6–1, 7–6
Loss 19. Jan 1980 Masters, New York Carpet Sweden Björn Borg 2–6, 2–6
Loss 20. Feb 1980 Pepsi Grand Slam, Boca Raton Clay Sweden Björn Borg 1–6, 7–5, 1–6
Win 16. May 1980 WCT Tournament of Champions, US Clay United States John McEnroe 2–6, 6–2, 6–0
Loss 21. Jun 1980 French Open, Paris Clay Sweden Björn Borg 4–6, 1–6, 2–6
Win 17. Jul 1980 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Poland Wojciech Fibak 6–2, 7–5, 6–2
Loss 22. Oct 1980 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) United States John McEnroe 3–6, 4–6
Win 18. Oct 1980 Melbourne Indoor, Australia Carpet Australia Peter McNamara 7–5, 6–3
Loss 23. Jan 1981 Monterrey WCT, Mexico Carpet South Africa Johan Kriek 6–7, 6–3, 6–7
Loss 24. Oct 1981 Melbourne Indoor, Australia Carpet Australia Peter McNamara 6–4, 1–6, 5–5 retired
Win 19. Nov 1981 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Jeff Borowiak 6–4, 7–6, 6–1
Loss 25. Jan 1982 Masters, New York Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 6–7(6–8), 2–6, 4–6
Loss 26. Feb 1982 Genova WCT, Italy Carpet Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6, 4–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win 20. Mar 1982 Brussels, Belgium Hard (i) Sweden Mats Wilander 4–6, 7–6, 6–2
Loss 27. Apr 1982 Zürich WCT, Switzerland Carpet United States Bill Scanlon 5–7, 6–7, 6–1, 6–0, 4–6
Win 21. May 1982 Florence, Italy Clay Sweden Stefan Simonsson 4–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win 22. Aug 1982 Toronto, Canada Hard Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 4–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win 23. Oct 1982 Melbourne Indoor, Australia Carpet United States Eliot Teltscher 2–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win 24. Nov 1982 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Argentina Guillermo Vilas 7–6, 6–2, 4–6, 7–6
Loss 28. May 1983 Forest Hills WCT, US Clay United States John McEnroe 3–6, 5–7
Win 25. Oct 1983 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Poland Wojciech Fibak 4–6, 6–1, 7–5, 5–5 retired
Loss 29. Aug 1984 Toronto, Canada Hard United States John McEnroe 0–6, 3–6
Win 26. Nov 1984 Treviso, Italy Carpet France Tarik Benhabiles 6–1, 6–1
Loss 30. Nov 1984 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard United States Eliot Teltscher 3–6, 1–6, 6–7

Doubles: 21 (9–12)

Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. Jan 1974 Roanoke, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer New Zealand Ian Crookenden
New Zealand Jeff Simpson		 7–6, 6–1
Loss 1. Feb 1974 Little Rock, US Carpet South Africa Bob Hewitt West Germany Jürgen Fassbender
West Germany Karl Meiler		 0–6, 2–6
Win 2. Mar 1974 Salt Lake City, US Indoors United States Jimmy Connors Colombia Iván Molina
Colombia Jairo Velasco Sr.		 2–6, 7–6, 7–5
Loss 2. Nov 1974 Oslo, Norway Indoor United States Jeff Borowiak West Germany Karl Meiler
Pakistan Haroon Rahim		 3–6, 2–6
Win 3. Feb 1975 Roanoke, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer Spain Juan Gisbert
Romania Ion Țiriac		 7–6, 1–6, 6–3
Win 4. Jul 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass United States Sandy Mayer United Kingdom Colin Dowdeswell
Australia Allan Stone		 7–5, 8–6, 6–4
Loss 3. Jan 1976 Indianapolis WCT, US Carpet United States Tom Gorman United States Robert Lutz
United States Stan Smith		 2–6, 4–6
Win 5. Feb 1976 Boca Raton, US Clay United States Clark Graebner United States Bruce Manson
United States Butch Walts		 6–2, 6–4
Win 6. Feb 1976 Fort Worth WCT, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer United States Eddie Dibbs
United States Harold Solomon		 6–4, 7–5
Loss 4. Apr 1976 Charlotte WCT, US Clay United States Gene Mayer Australia John Newcombe
Australia Tony Roche		 3–6, 5–7
Loss 5. Aug 1976 South Orange, US Clay Romania Ilie Năstase United States Fred McNair
United States Marty Riessen		 5–7, 6–4, 2–6
Loss 6. May 1977 Masters Doubles WCT, New York Carpet Italy Adriano Panatta India Vijay Amritraj
United States Dick Stockton		 6–7, 6–7, 6–4, 3–6
Win 7. Oct 1977 Brisbane, Australia Grass United States Bill Scanlon Australia Mal Anderson
Australia Ken Rosewall		 7–6, 6–4
Win 8. Jan 1978 Birmingham WCT, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer South Africa Frew McMillan
United States Dick Stockton		 3–6, 6–1, 7–6
Loss 7. Jan 1978 Philadelphia WCT, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan		 4–6, 4–6
Loss 8. Feb 1978 Richmond WCT, US Carpet United States Sandy Mayer South Africa Bob Hewitt
South Africa Frew McMillan		 3–6, 5–7
Win 9. Feb 1979 Arkansas, U.S. Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Vladimír Zedník Australia Phil Dent
Australia Colin Dibley		 5–7, 6–3, 7–5
Loss 9. Apr 1980 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay United States John McEnroe Italy Paolo Bertolucci
Italy Adriano Panatta		 2–6, 7–5, 3–6
Loss 10. Dec 1980 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass United States Brian Gottfried Australia Peter McNamara
Australia Paul McNamee		 2–6, 4–6
Loss 11. Apr 1981 Frankfurt, Germany Carpet United States John McEnroe United States Brian Teacher
United States Butch Walts		 5–7, 7–6, 5–7
Loss 12. Mar 1985 Rotterdam, Netherlands Carpet Australia Paul McNamee Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd		 4–6, 4–6

Commemoration

The Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Tennis Centre was opened in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.[16] Also, a street in Vilnius is named after him. The song An Outbreak of Vitas Gerulaitis by Birkenhead band Half Man Half Biscuit, from their 1991 album McIntyre, Treadmore and Davitt also references the player, albeit obliquely.

Quote

"And let that be a lesson to you all. Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row."[17]

– after defeating Jimmy Connors at the January 1980 Masters.

References

  1. 1 2 "Painful victory for Gerulaitis". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 1, 1978. p. D2.
  2. ↑ Sports of The Times; 'We've Lost Another of Our Kids', The New York Times, September 20, 1994. Accessed November 3, 2007.
  3. ↑ Sachare, Alex. "Roar, Lion Roar: Spectator Heralds Columbia's Greatest Athletes". Columbia College Today. Retrieved September 1, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Read 'em and Leap". People. November 19, 1979. Retrieved May 14, 2008.
  5. ↑ Araton, Harvey (March 4, 2010). "In the court of the ultimate tennis playboy". The Independent. Retrieved November 12, 2018.
  6. ↑ "Classic Matches: Borg v Gerulaitis". BBC Sport.
  7. ↑ "Gerulaitis has ringside seat for McEnroe's net tantrums". Calgary Herald. Canadian Press. February 9, 1981. p. D7.
  8. ↑ Finn, Robin (September 20, 1994). "Tennis Greats Call Gerulaitis A Friend First". The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2008.
  9. ↑ Penner, Mike (August 24, 1985). "Navratilova, Shriver Swat Down Chauvinists". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 17, 2023.
  10. ↑ "Gerulaitis, ex-tennis great, dies". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. September 19, 1994. p. 2B.
  11. ↑ "Carbon monoxide killed Gerulaitis, investigators say". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. September 20, 1994. p. 2D.
  12. ↑ Gerulaitis died of Carbon monoxide poisoning, Philly.com, September 20, 1994.
  13. ↑ Rather, John (October 5, 1996). "Acquittal In Death Of Gerulaitis". The New York Times. Retrieved October 3, 2018.
  14. ↑ Fried, Joseph P. (June 16, 2002). "Following Up". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Gerulaitis v. Recreational Concepts". casetext.com. July 1, 2002. Retrieved March 1, 2021.
  16. ↑ "GB's trip into the unknown". BBC News. September 23, 2009.
  17. ↑ "Roger Federer Unbuttoned". International Herald Tribune. July 9, 2009 – via The New York Times.

Video

  • Wimbledon Classic Match: Gerulaitis vs Borg Standing Room Only, DVD Release Date: October 31, 2006, Run Time: 180 minutes, ASIN B000ICLR8O.
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