Bernard Mitton
| Country (sports) |  South Africa |
|---|---|
| Residence | Irvine, California, U.S. |
| Born | (1954-09-11)11 September 1954 Vryburg, South Africa |
| Died | 5 May 2017(2017-05-05) (aged 62) |
| Height | 1.87 m (6 ft 1 1⁄2 in) |
| Turned pro | 1973 |
| Retired | 1984 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 199–218 |
| Career titles | 2 |
| Highest ranking | No. 54 (15 December 1975) |
| Grand Slam Singles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1978, 1982) |
| French Open | 3R (1977) |
| Wimbledon | 4R (1973, 1976) |
| US Open | 4R (1980) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 210–191 |
| Career titles | 9 |
| Highest ranking | No. 20 (25 June 1984) |
Bernard Mitton (9 November 1954 – 5 May 2017[1]) was a South African professional tennis player.
Mitton reached his highest world singles ranking of 51 on 15 December 1975, and his highest doubles ranking of 20 on 25 June 1984. His career record in singles in the ATP tour was 199–218, winning two titles - at Newport, Rhode Island in 1978 and San Jose, California in 1979. He was the runner-up in three other tournaments: San Jose (1978), Adelaide (1979) and Johannesburg (1981).
His doubles record was 210–191, and he won nine titles: Auckland (1979); Stowe, Vermont and Cologne (1980); Richmond WCT (1981); Johannesburg (1981); Tampa (1981); Columbus, Ohio (1982); Ferrara (1983); and La Quinta, California (1984). He was the runner-up in eight tournaments: Sarasota, Florida (1978); North Conway, New Hampshire (1978); Rotterdam (1979); Maui, Hawaii (1982) Ancona (1982); Toulouse (1983); Florence (1984), and Queen's Club (1984).
Mitton had career wins over John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Arthur Ashe in singles. Although he failed to reach the quarterfinals in any Grand Slam tournament, he reached the fourth round on three occasions. In his first Grand Slam tournament in 1973, he reached the fourth round of Wimbledon before losing to Connors 6–3, 6–3, 6–2. In 1976, he again reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, defeating former champion John Newcombe in the third round (3–6, 6–3, 9–7, 9–7) before falling to Raúl Ramírez (9–7, 3–6, 6–1, 6–1). Finally, he reached the fourth round at the 1980 US Open, defeating José Luis Clerc in the first round (6–3, 6–2, 4–6, 2–6, 7–5) before finally losing to Connors (7–6, 6–4, 6–4).
Mitton retired from the tour in 1984 and joined the Newport Beach Tennis Club as director of tennis. From 2000–2003, he was at Rancho San Clemente. He taught until his death at The Racket Club of Irvine, California. He has three children: Natalie, Barend and Olivia.
Contents
1 Career finals
1.1 Singles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
1.2 Doubles (9 titles, 3 runner-ups)
2 References
3 External links
Career finals
Legend (Singles) |
| Grand Slam |
| Tennis Masters Cup |
| ATP Masters Series |
| ATP Tour |
| Challengers |
| Futures |
Singles (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0–1 | Apr 1978 | San Jose, U.S. | Garpet |  Arthur Ashe | 7–6, 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | Jul 1978 | Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. | Grass |  John James | 6–1, 3–6, 7–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | Mar 1979 | San Jose, Costa Rica | Hard | Tom Gorman | 6–4, 6–1, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–2 | Dec 1979 | Adelaide, Australia | Grass | Kim Warwick | 5–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 2–3 | Apr 1981 | Johannesburg, Australia | Hard | Kevin Curren | 4–6, 4–6 |
Doubles (9 titles, 3 runner-ups)
| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1–0 | Jan 1979 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Kim Warwick |  Andrew Jarrett Jonathan Smith | 6–3, 2–6, 6–3 |
| Win | 2–0 | Aug 1980 | Stowe, US | Hard | Bob Lutz |  Ilie Năstase Ferdi Taygan | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 3–0 | Oct 1980 | Cologne, West Germany | Hard | Andrew Pattison |  Jan Kodeš Tomáš Šmíd | 6–4, 6–1 |
| Win | 4–0 | Feb 1981 | Richmond, U.S. | Hard | Tim Gullikson | Brian Gottfried  Raúl Ramírez | 3–6, 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 5–0 | Mar 1981 | Tampa, U.S. | Hard | Butch Walts | David Carter Paul Kronk | 6–3, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 6–0 | Apr 1981 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Ray Moore |  Shlomo Glickstein David Schneider | 7–5, 3–6, 6–1 |
| Win | 7–0 | Aug 1981 | Columbus, U.S. | Hard | Tim Gullikson | Victor Amaya Hank Pfister | 4–6, 6–1, 6–4 |
| Win | 8–0 | Nov 1983 | Ferrara, Italy | Carpet | Butch Walts | Stanislav Birner  Stefan Simonsson | 7–6, 0–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 8–1 | Nov 1983 | Toulouse, France | Hard (i) | Butch Walts |  Heinz Günthardt Pavel Složil | 7–5, 5–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 9–1 | Feb 1984 | La Quinta, U.S. | Hard | Butch Walts | Scott Davis Ferdi Taygan | 5–7, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 9–2 | May 1984 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Butch Walts | Mark Dickson Chip Hooper | 6–7, 6–4, 5–7 |
| Loss | 9–3 | Jun 1984 | London/Queen's Club, England | Grass | Butch Walts | Pat Cash Paul McNamee | 4–6, 3–6 |
References
^ "Remembering Bernie Mitton, Former Top 50 Player". www.atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP). 9 May 2017..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
External links
Bernard Mitton at the Association of Tennis Professionals
Bernard Mitton at the International Tennis Federation
