Bernard Mignot

Bernard Mignot (born 3 December 1948) is a former professional tennis player from Belgium.

Bernard Mignot
Full nameBernard Mignot
Country (sports) Belgium
Born (1948-12-03) 3 December 1948
Verviers, Belgium
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record36–48
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 73 (23 August 1973)
Grand Slam singles results
French Open4R (1976)
Wimbledon2R (1973)
US Open1R (1975)
Doubles
Career record13–26
Career titles0
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open3R (1972)
Wimbledon2R (1972)

Biography

Mignot was the first Belgian to win a Grand Prix or ATP title and the only one to do so for over 20-years.[1] He defeated Jiří Hřebec in the final at Düsseldorf in 1974.[1] A year earlier he had countryman Patrick Hombergen were runners-up in the doubles at Valencia, Spain.

He famously made the fourth round of the 1976 French Open, despite entering the draw as a last minute lucky loser.[2] After losing in the final stage of the qualifiers, he had given up getting an opportunity to play in the tournament so spent the second day of the opening round touring Paris and visiting the cinema.[3] When he arrived at Roland Garros, to watch his friends in action, he heard his name called out, "Bernard Mignot Last Call".[4] New Zealand player Brian Fairlie had come down with food poisoning, so Mignot discovered that he was immediately required to go and play Fairlie's opponent, former quarter-finalist Paolo Bertolucci.[4] Although his preparation had consisted of lunch at a pizza restaurant, Mignot was able to win in straight sets. He then beat José Edison Mandarino in a second round match which went to five sets and next faced Juan Gisbert, who had earlier accounted for 12th seed John Newcombe. In another five-set match, Mignot was victorious, to move into the fourth round. During the tournament, France was experiencing a heat wave and Mignot coped better with the conditions, as in both of his matches which went the distance he won the fifth set 6–0.[4] His run ended with a straight sets loss to eventual semi-finalist Raúl Ramírez.

In Davis Cup competition for Belgium he had wins over Željko Franulović and Tom Okker.[5] He later served as Belgium's Davis Cup captain for many years.[6][7]

Grand Prix career finals

Singles: 1 (1–0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1974 Düsseldorf, West Germany Clay Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec 6–1, 6–0, 0–6, 6–4

Doubles: 1 (0–1)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 1973 Valencia, Spain Clay Belgium Patrick Hombergen United States Mike Estep
Romania Ion Țiriac		 4–6, 6–1, 8–10

See also

References
  1. "De tien Belgische titels op het ATP-circuit". Het Laatste Nieuws (in Dutch). 2 March 2008. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  2. "Bernard Mignot, le miraculé de 1976". RTBF (in French). 2 June 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  3. Pichené, Julien. "Top 10 Stories and Disappointments from the French Open Qualifiers…". We Are Tennis. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  4. "L'été dernier devant 3 personnes". L'Avenir (in French). 4 June 2012. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  5. "Kodes hurries Australia out of Davis Cup". Sydney Morning Herald. 29 September 1975. p. 15. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  6. "No hope of a win say the Belgians". The Canberra Times. ACT: National Library of Australia. 1 February 1991. p. 26. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
  7. Blaivie, Christophe (30 September 2002). "Bernard Mignot, un gentleman". La Libre (in French). Retrieved 27 December 2015.
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