Brad Gilbert
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| Olympic medal record | |||
| Competitor for Image:Flag of the United States.svg United States | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's tennis | |||
| Bronze | 1988 Seoul | Singles | |
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Maccabiah Games | ||
| Gold | 1981 Israel | Men's Doubles |
Brad Gilbert (born August 9 1961, in Oakland, California) is an American tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, and former professional tennis player.
As a player, Gilbert's career-high singles ranking was World No. 4, which he reached in January 1990.
Since retiring from the tour, he has coached several top players including Andre Agassi, Andy Roddick and Andy Murray.
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[edit] Playing career
Gilbert played tennis for Foothill College, a junior college in Los Altos, California, from 1980-82. During this time, he won the California Junior College Singles Championship and the U.S. Amateur Hardcourt Championship. In 1981, Gilbert was a member of the American Junior Davis Cup team. In 1982, he transferred to Pepperdine University, playing for Allen Fox, where he became an All-American and reached the finals of the 1982 NCAA championship.
Gilbert joined the professional tour in 1982, and won his first top-level singles title later that year in Taipei. His first doubles title came in 1985 in Tel Aviv.
Gilbert won a total of 20 top-level singles titles during his career, the biggest being the historic Cincinnati event in 1989. He was also runner-up in a further 20 singles events, including Cincinnati in 1990 (where he lost to future International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Stefan Edberg) and the Paris Indoors in 1987 and 1988.
Gilbert's most successful year on the tour was 1989, during which he won five singles titles, including Cincinnati.
Gilbert's best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was at the 1987 US Open, where he reached the quarterfinals. He was also runner-up at the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in 1990.
Gilbert was ranked among the top-10 players in the U.S. for 9 of his first 10 years on the professional tour. His career win-loss record in singles play was 519-288. His career prize-money totalled US$5,509,060.
Among his upsets of players ranked in the world's top-3 were his defeat of No. 2 Boris Becker 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in Cincinnati in 1989, No. 2 Stefan Edberg 7-6(2), 6-7(1), 6-4 in Los Angeles in 1991, No. 3 Pete Sampras 6-3, 6-4 in London in 1992, and No. 3 Jim Courier 6-4, 6-4 at Memphis in 1994.
[edit] Singles titles (20)
[edit] Runner-ups (20)
[edit] Style of play
Unlike many other professional players of his era, Gilbert did not have a powerful serve, a dangerous forehand or backhand, a flashy volley, or a lightning smash. His best asset was his ability to keep the ball in play. He hit the ball most often at a deliberately slow pace but with accuracy. He kept an open stance and did not make many turns when at the baseline. This enabled him to control the game through oversight and tempo, despite his defensive style. He built his game around destroying his opponent's rhythm. He would force the other player into long rallies by hitting the ball high over the net and deep into his opponent's court. If an opponent employed a slow pace, then Gilbert would attack decisively, often at the net. Although he was easy to get along with outside the court, Gilbert could be (deliberately or not) annoying during a match, often challenging calls or complaining about trivial things. Both his style of play and his mental approach were deliberately contentious.
[edit] Davis Cup
Gilbert compiled a 10-5 record in Davis Cup play from 1986-93, with a 7-1 record on hard courts and carpet.[1]
[edit] Olympics
Gilbert won a bronze medal in the men's singles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.
[edit] Maccabiah Games
In 1981, Gilbert played for the U.S. Maccabiah Games team, and won the doubles title in Israel with partner Jon Levine.
[edit] Halls of Fame
Gilbert is a member of the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame.[2]
He is also a 1999 inductee into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame.[3]
Gilbert was inducted in 2001 into the ITA Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame.[4]
Gilbert was a 2001 inductee into the Marblehead Boosters Hall of Fame.[5]
[edit] Coaching career
Gilbert retired as a player in 1994. Since then, he has been highly successful as a tennis coach. This success has often been associated with the extraordinary tactical abilities exhibited during his own matches.
[edit] Andre Agassi
Gilbert was coach to Andre Agassi for eight years, from 1994 to 2002. During that period, Agassi won six Grand Slam singles titles, making it the joint-most successful coach-player partnership in the Open era (along side Tony Roche's period as coach of Ivan Lendl). Agassi described Gilbert as "the greatest coach of all time."
[edit] Andy Roddick
Gilbert went on to coach Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open under Gilbert's guidance, but they parted ways at the end of 2004. Roddick's form took a noticeable downturn after the break-up, and many believe this is testament to Gilbert's competence as a tennis coach.
[edit] Andy Murray
On July 26, 2006, Gilbert was announced as taking over the coaching duties of British talent Andy Murray. As well as coaching Murray, Gilbert took part, pursuant to a 3-year deal, in other British Lawn Tennis Association programmes, including tennis camps at under-12 and under-14 levels.[6] He also worked with the LTA's network of coaches and its high-performance clubs and academies. On 14 November, 2007, Gilbert parted company with Murray after 16 months working together.
[edit] Alex Bogdanovic
In November 2007 it was announced that Gilbert will work for 20 weeks in 2008 for Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, concentrating mostly on coaching Britain's No. 2, Alex Bogdanovic, and others in his age group. Bogdanovic said he was “unbelievably excited” at the chance of spending time with Gilbert.[7] Roger Draper, the LTA's chief executive, said: "We have set Brad a new challenge of getting Alex into the top 100 and also 'upskilling' our coaches and inspiring the next generation to follow in Andy's footsteps."[8]
[edit] Tennis commentator and writer
Gilbert now serves occasionally as an analyst for ESPN.
He is also the author of the very popular book Winning Ugly, which gives tips on how an average player can defeat a more skilled opponent. His second book, co-authored by James Kaplan and entitled "I've Got Your Back," was published in 2005.
[edit] Personal information
Gilbert resides with his wife and three children in San Rafael, California.
[edit] External links
- The Official Brad Gilbert Site
- ATP Tour profile for Brad Gilbert
- Davis Cup record
- Jews in Sports biode:Brad Gilbert
fr:Brad Gilbert it:Brad Gilbert ja:ブラッド・ギルバート sk:Brad Gilbert
Categories: American tennis coaches | American tennis players | Olympic tennis players of the United States | Tennis players at the 1988 Summer Olympics | Olympic bronze medalists for the United States | Jewish tennis players | Jewish American sportspeople | Pepperdine University alumni | Foothill College alumni | People from Oakland, California | 1961 births | Living people
