Published 14:34 IST, October 10th 2019
Andres Gimeno, oldest grand slam winner in the Open Era, dies at 82
Andres Gimeno, the oldest grand slam winner in the Open era, dies at 82, informed Spanish Tennis Federation on October 9. Tennis players express condolences.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Spanish Tennis Federation announced on October 9 that the oldest first-time grand slam champion of the open era, Andres Gimeno has passed away at the age of 82. Gimeno's top achievements include reaching the Australian Open final in 1969, semi-finals in Wimbledon in 1970 and winning Roland Gaross at the age of 34 in 1972. The Spanish Tennis Federation read in a statement on Wednesday that Gimeno was one of the iconic figures of Spanish tennis. The Federation cited prolonged illness as the reason behind the veteran tennis star's death.
'Royal Spanish Tennis Federation expressed condolence to Andres Gimeno's family and relatives on their loss,' read the statement.
Gimeno's splendid career in tennis
Andres Gimeno has 44 titles to his fame. The tennis star represented Spain at the Davis Cup from 1958 to 1960 and 1972 to 1973. He won the World Championship in 1966, beating Rod Laver in five sets and the same tournament in doubles. His other titles include Netherlands Open, the Madison Square Garden's Championship in 1969, the Dakar and Hamburg in 1971 during the period. Earlier, the tennis champion was ranked world No. 6 for 1961 by L'Équipe, and world No. 4 for 1964 by Joe McCauley. For his incredible career in tennis, he was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009.
Tennis stars and organisation pay tribute
Tennis star Rafael Nadal, who now stands at the second rank in the world, took to Twitter to pay tribute to the veteran player. The 12-time Roland Garros champion wrote on Twitter that Gimeno had been a pioneer for the sport in Spain. He further said that news has saddened him. Former Australian tennis player, Rod Laver who was beaten down by Gimeno in World Championships in 1966 also called Andres a great athlete and conveyed condolences to his family. Moreover, various tennis organisations also mourned the loss on their respective Twitter handles.
Updated 15:26 IST, October 10th 2019