Tim Wilkison

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Tim Wilkison
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceCharlotte, North Carolina
Born (1959-11-23) November 23, 1959 (age 64)
Shelby, North Carolina
Height5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Turned pro1979
Retired1993
PlaysLeft-handed
Prize money$1,289,085
Singles
Career record291–296
Career titles6
Highest rankingNo. 23 (September 29, 1986)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open4R (1985, 1987)
French Open2R (1990)
Wimbledon3R (1979, 1981)
US OpenQF (1986)
Doubles
Career record263-257
Career titles10
Highest rankingNo. 21 (July 31, 1989)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenSF (1979)
French Open3R (1985)
WimbledonSF (1979)
US OpenQF (1979)

Tim Wilkison (born November 23, 1959) is a former professional tennis player from the United States.

Tennis career[edit]

Wilkison was the No. 1 ranked junior in the United States and played on the tour for over 25 years. He prepped at McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tennessee[1] before turning pro immediately after high school.[2] The left-hander won six singles titles, ten doubles championships, and reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 23 in September 1986. Wilkison is perhaps best known for his diving volleys at Wimbledon that earned him the nickname "Dr. Dirt".

In his playing career, Wilkison had victories over Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Roscoe Tanner, Guillermo Vilas, Yannick Noah, Boris Becker, Jim Courier, John McEnroe, Andre Agassi, and Pete Sampras.

His best Grand Slam singles result came at the 1986 US Open, where he reached the quarterfinals by defeating Horst Skoff, Paul McNamee, Yannick Noah and Andrei Chesnokov, before losing to Stefan Edberg in straight sets. Wilkison has stated that his preferred surface is clay.

His eldest son, MacLane, now plays at UNC.

Career finals[edit]

Singles: 15 (6 titles, 9 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W-L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 1977 Auckland, New Zealand Grass India Vijay Amritraj 6–7, 7–5, 1–6, 2–6
Win 1–1 1978 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass Australia Kim Warwick 6–3, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 6–2
Win 2–1 1979 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Austria Peter Feigl 6–3, 4–6, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
Loss 2–2 1980 Auckland, New Zealand Hard United States John Sadri 4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Loss 2–3 1980 Maui, U.S. Hard United States Eliot Teltscher 6–7, 3–6
Loss 2–4 1981 Auckland, New Zealand Hard United States Bill Scanlon 7–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7, 0–6
Win 3–4 1981 Sydney Outdoor, Australia Grass New Zealand Chris Lewis 6–4, 7–6, 6–3
Win 4–4 1982 Auckland, New Zealand Hard New Zealand Russell Simpson 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss 4–5 1984 North Conway, U.S. Clay Sweden Joakim Nyström 2–6, 5–7
Loss 4–6 1984 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Sweden Joakim Nyström 3–6, 6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Win 5–6 1984 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil 6–1, 6–1, 6–2
Win 6–6 1985 Nancy, France Carpet (i) Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Živojinović 4–6, 7–6, 9–7
Loss 6–7 1986 Atlanta, U.S. Carpet (i) United States Kevin Curren 6–7, 6–7
Loss 6–8 1986 Newport, U.S. Grass United States Bill Scanlon 5–7, 4–6
Loss 6–9 1987 Bristol, England Grass New Zealand Kelly Evernden 4–6, 6–7

Doubles: 24 (10 titles, 14 runner-ups)[edit]

Result W-L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1979 North Conway, U.S. Clay United States John Sadri Romania Ion Țiriac
Argentina Guillermo Vilas
4–6, 6–7
Loss 0–2 1980 Auckland, New Zealand Hard United States John Sadri Austria Peter Feigl
Australia Rod Frawley
2–6, 5–7
Win 1–2 1980 Manchester, England Grass United States John Sadri United States Dennis Ralston
United States Roscoe Tanner
6–7, 7–5, 6–2
Loss 1–3 1980 Melbourne Indoor, Australia Carpet (i) United States John Sadri United States Fritz Buehning
United States Ferdi Taygan
1–6, 2–6
Win 2–3 1981 Auckland, New Zealand Hard United States Ferdi Taygan United States Tony Graham
United States Bill Scanlon
7–5, 6–1
Win 3–3 1981 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) United States Steve Denton United States Sammy Giammalva Jr.
United States Fred McNair
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss 3–4 1982 Taipei, Taiwan Carpet (i) United States Fred McNair United States Larry Stefanki
United States Robert Van't Hof
3–6, 6–7
Loss 3–5 1984 Bari, Italy Clay United States Marcel Freeman Czechoslovakia Stanislav Birner
Belgium Libor Pimek
6–2, 6–7, 4–6
Loss 3–6 1984 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Sweden Stefan Edberg Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil
Czechoslovakia Tomáš Šmíd
6–7, 2–6
Win 4–6 1984 Treviso, Italy Clay Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil Sweden Jan Gunnarsson
United States Sherwood Stewart
7–5, 6–3
Loss 4–7 1984 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Czechoslovakia Pavel Složil Sweden Jan Gunnarsson
Denmark Michael Mortensen
4–6, 2–6
Loss 4–8 1985 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) United States Mark Dickson United States Tim Gullikson
United States Tom Gullikson
6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win 5–8 1986 Newport, U.S. Grass India Vijay Amritraj South Africa Eddie Edwards
Paraguay Francisco González
4–6, 7–5, 7–6
Loss 5–9 1987 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Brad Gilbert United States Kevin Curren
United States David Pate
3–6, 4–6
Win 6–9 1987 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) United States Mel Purcell Spain Emilio Sánchez
Spain Javier Sánchez
6–3, 7–5
Loss 6–10 1988 Toronto, Canada Hard United Kingdom Andrew Castle United States Ken Flach
United States Robert Seguso
6–7, 3–6
Win 7–10 1988 Rye Brook, U.S. Hard United Kingdom Andrew Castle United Kingdom Jeremy Bates
Denmark Michael Mortensen
4–6, 7–5, 7–6
Loss 7–11 1988 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Scott Davis United States John McEnroe
Australia Mark Woodforde
4–6, 6–7
Win 8–11 1988 Scottsdale, U.S. Hard United States Scott Davis United States Rick Leach
United States Jim Pugh
6–4, 7–6
Loss 8–12 1988 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard (i) South Africa Gary Muller United States Kevin Curren
United States David Pate
6–7, 4–6
Loss 8–13 1989 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) United States Scott Davis United States Paul Annacone
South Africa Christo van Rensburg
6–7, 7–6, 1–6
Loss 8–14 1989 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Carpet United States Patrick McEnroe Mexico Jorge Lozano
United States Todd Witsken
6–2, 4–6, 4–6
Win 9–14 1989 Bristol, England Grass United States Paul Chamberlain United States Mike De Palmer
United States Gary Donnelly
7–6, 6–4
Win 10–14 1989 Livingston, U.S. Hard United States Tim Pawsat New Zealand Kelly Evernden
United States Sammy Giammalva Jr.
7–5, 6–3

External links[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Chattanooga-area national championship teams still savor the success | Chattanooga Times Free Press". June 25, 2022.
  2. ^ "Tennis Ace Tim Wilkison Shares Coaching and Competitive Insights". June 25, 2020.