Herb Fitzgibbon

Herbert Fitzgibbon (born July 14, 1942)[1] is a former tennis player who was nationally ranked in the 1960s and 1970s.

Herb Fitzgibbon
Country (sports) United States
Born (1942-07-14) July 14, 1942
Garden City, New York, U.S.
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record245-119
Career titles21
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1966)
French Open4R (1968)
Wimbledon3R (1965)
US Open3R (1962, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1971)
Other tournaments
Olympic GamesSF – 3rd (1968, demonstration)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenQF (1966)
Wimbledon2R (1965, 1973)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
Australian Open1R (1966)
Other mixed doubles tournaments
Olympic GamesW (1968, demonstration)

Fitzgibbon played four years of high school tennis for Garden City High School and never lost a match. He played collegiate tennis at Princeton University[2] and was a gold and bronze medalist at the Olympic Games in Mexico City in 1968 when tennis was a demonstration sport.[3]

Fitzgibbon won the singles title at the tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1964 and was a two-time singles runner-up (1965 and 1963) there as well. He also reached the Cincinnati doubles final with Butch Newman in 1965. In 1964, he won the Eastern Clay Court Championships title. In 1964, 1965, and 1966 he won the Long Island Championships. Fitzgibbon won the Eastern Indoor Championships in 1965, 1970,and 1971. In 1968, Fitzgibbon won against 16th-seeded Nikola Pilić in the first round at Wimbledon.[4] The same year he won the La Coruna International in Spain against Juan Gisbert Sr.[5]

Fitzgibbon also was an accomplished platform tennis player, winning national doubles titles in 1974 with John Beck and in 1977 and 1978 with Hank Irvine. In 1974, Fitzgibbon and Beck defeated Keith Jennings and Chauncey Steele III. In 1977, Fitzgibbon and Irvine defeated Gordon Gray and Doug Russell.[6] Fitzgibbon and Irvine also played in the 1980 National Championship final losing to Steve Baird and Rich Maier.

Fitzgibbon authored the book The Complete Racquet Sports Player.

References
  1. "Herb Fitzgibbon". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  2. "Faces In The Crowd". Sports Illustrated. 1962-11-19. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  3. "Mexico 1968 – Medallists". International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 2012-07-08. Retrieved 2012-04-01.
  4. "Pilic upset as rain disrupts Wimbledon schedule". The Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. 1968-06-26. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
  5. "U.S. Netter Wins La Coruna, Spain". Phoenix Arizona Republic. Phoenix, Arizona, United States: Newspaper Archives. 29 July 1968. p. 49. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
  6. "A Roundup Of The Week March 14–20". Sports Illustrated. 1977-03-28. Retrieved 2010-05-20.
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