Pierre Darmon

Pierre Darmon (born 14 January 1934) is a French former tennis player.

Pierre Darmon
Country (sports) France
Born (1934-01-14) 14 January 1934
Tunis, Tunisia
Turned pro1950 (amateur tour)
Retired1968
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 8 (1963, World's Top 10)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian OpenQF (1965)
French OpenF (1963)
Wimbledon4R (1958, 1960, 1962, 1966)
US Open4R (1963)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
WimbledonF (1963)
Other doubles tournaments
Olympic GamesSF – 3rd (1968, demonstration)

He was ranked No.8 in the world in 1963, and also reached the top ten in 1958 and 1964.[1][2]

Early life

Darmon was born in Tunis, Tunisia, and is Jewish.[3] He moved to France at 17 years of age.[3]

Tennis career

Darmon was French national junior champion in 1950. He was France's top-ranked tennis player from 1957 to 1969, and won the national title nine times in that period.[1][4] He also won the French national doubles championship in 1957 (with Paul Rémy), 1958 (with Robert Haillet), 1961 (with Gérard Pilet), and 1966 (with François Jauffret).

In 1963, Darmon was the runner-up in singles at the French Open, where he beat Manuel Santana in five sets in the semi-finals before losing to Roy Emerson in the final in four sets.[5][6] Also in 1963, he reached the finals at Wimbledon in doubles, along with partner Jean Claude Barclay.[1]

He was international veterans mixed doubles champion with his wife Rosie Darmon in 1961, and in 1968 and 1975 with Gail Chanfreau.

Davis Cup

Darmon was a member of France's Davis Cup Team from 1956–67, winning 44 of the 68 matches in which he participated.[1] Darmon holds France's record for the most wins and most singles victories. He played in 34 Davis Cup ties for France, second only to compatriot François Jauffret who played one more. He holds the record for most singles victories by a French Davis Cup player, having had a record of 44-17.[4]

Honors

In 1997 he was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[7] In 2002 he received the Davis Cup Award of Excellence.[8] In 2019 the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Tennis Federation presented Darmon with The Golden Achievement Award.[4]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1963French ChampionshipsClay Roy Emerson6–3, 1–6, 4–6, 4–6

Doubles (1 runner-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss1963Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrass Jean-Claude Barclay Antonio Palafox
Rafael Osuna		6–4, 2–6, 2–6, 2–6

Hall of Fame and Award

Darmon, who is Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1997.[1]

See also

References
  1. "Pierre Darmon". International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  2. "Pierre Darmon". Jews in Sports. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  3. "Pierre Darmon – The Frenchman Who Helped Tennis Grow Into The Open Era".
  4. "International Tennis Hall of Fame". www.tennisfame.com.
  5. Collins, Bud (2016). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (3rd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. p. 414. ISBN 978-1-937559-38-0.
  6. "Emerson On Way To Slam". The Canberra Times. 28 May 1963. p. 24 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "Pierre Darmon". www.jewishsports.net.
  8. "The Davis Cup Award of Excellence". www.tennisfame.com. International Tennis Hall of Fame.
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