Damien Roberts

Damien Roberts (born 26 January 1978) is a South African former professional tennis player.

Damien Roberts
Full nameDamien Roberts
Country (sports) South Africa
Born (1978-01-26) 26 January 1978
Prize money$56,811
Singles
Career record0–0
Highest rankingNo. 273 (2 August 1999)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenQ1 (1999)
WimbledonQ1 (1998, 1999)
US OpenQ1 (1998, 1999)
Doubles
Career record0–2
Highest rankingNo. 152 (18 September 2000)
Grand Slam doubles results
Wimbledon1R (1999)
US OpenQ1 (1998)

Biography

Roberts went to Kearsney College until 1994, when he moved to the United States to train at the John Newcombe Tennis Academy in Texas.[1][2] He attended New Braunfels High School.[2]

As a junior, he was ranked as high as 11 in the world in doubles and was a finalist in the 1996 Wimbledon Championships with countryman Wesley Whitehouse.[3]

From 1996 to 2001, Roberts competed professionally on the international tennis circuit, mostly in ATP Challenger tournaments. He won a total of five Challenger titles during his career, all in doubles.

Most notably he competed in the main draw of the 1999 Wimbledon Championships. He was eliminated in the opening round of qualifying in the singles and only narrowly missed qualification in the men's doubles, he and partner Amir Hadad lost the final qualifier in five sets.[4] However the pair received a lucky loser entry into the main draw, where they lost in the first round to South Africans David Adams and John-Laffnie de Jager.[5]

He appeared in the main draw of one ATP Tour event, the doubles at the 2001 Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart. Partnering Marcus Hilpert, they lost to Julian Knowle and Lorenzo Manta in the first round.[6]

For many years after retiring he worked at the Lawn Tennis Association in England as the head of physical training and a national tennis coach.[7] Due to his role with the Great Britain Fed Cup team and as national women's coach, he was also involved the development of Laura Robson and Heather Watson.[8] He is now the Director of Performance Tennis at TennisGear in Brisbane, Australia.[8]

Challenger titles

Doubles: (5)
No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
1. 1998 Gramado, Brazil Hard South Africa Jeff Coetzee Brazil Francisco Costa
Japan Gouichi Motomura		 7–5, 6–3
2. 1999 Singapore Hard South Africa Jeff Coetzee Uzbekistan Oleg Ogorodov
Israel Eyal Ran		 7–5, 6–3
3. 2000 Bristol, Great Britain Grass Australia Jordan Kerr Israel Noam Behr
Israel Eyal Erlich		 6–3, 1–6, 6–3
4. 2000 Bressanone, Italy Clay Australia Jordan Kerr Argentina Diego del Río
Argentina Marcelo Charpentier		 7–63, 7–5
5. 2000 Manerbio, Italy Clay Australia Jordan Kerr Portugal Bernardo Mota
Slovakia Ladislav Švarc		 7–61, 6–4

References
  1. "Notable Alumni". kearsney.com. Archived from the original on 17 September 2016. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  2. "Wimbledon on the Horizon". New Braunfels Herald-Zeitung. 9 June 1995. p. 5. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  3. "ITF Tennis – Juniors – Player Profile – Roberts, Damien (RSA)". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  4. "ITF Tennis – Pro Circuit – Wimbledon – 21 June – 04 July 1999". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  5. Bricker, Charles (24 June 1999). "Highlights". Sun-Sentinel. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  6. "ITF Tennis – Pro Circuit – Stuttgart Outdoor – 16 July – 22 July 2001". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  7. Gordon, Bryony (6 June 2005). "Getting into the fitness racket". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
  8. "Tennis Gear Squad Coaching". Morningside Tennis Centre Brisbane. Retrieved 12 February 2016.
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