Guillermo Pérez Roldán
Quick Facts
Biography
Guillermo Pérez Roldán (born 20 October 1969) is a former professional tennis player from Argentina.
Pérez Roldán was known particularly as a strong clay court player. He turned professional in 1986. Between 1987 and 1993, he won nine top-level singles titles. His best Grand Slam performance came at the 1988 French Open, where he reached the quarter-finals, beating Stefan Edberg on the way, before being knocked out by Andre Agassi.
Tennis career
Juniors
Pérez Roldán had an excellent junior career, winning the French Open Boys' Singles championship on his favored red clay in both 1986 and 1987 – since the open era, he is the only individual to have captured the Boys' Singles championship at the French Open more than once.
Junior Grand Slam results:
Australian Open: -
French Open: W (1986, 1987)
Wimbledon: 2R (1985)
US Open: 3R (1985)
Pro tour
He burst onto the scene as a teenager in 1988 by reaching the final of the Italian Open, where he battled Ivan Lendl in five grueling sets. Later that year, at the US Open, John McEnroe famously expressed outrage at being seeded significantly lower than Pérez Roldán, who had not yet won a match on hard courts. However, Pérez Roldán silenced critics by progressing further in the tournament than McEnroe, beating Alberto Mancini, Tore Meinecke, Patrik Kühnen and Stefan Edberg before losing to Andre Agassi. He was named Rolex Rookie of the Year in 1988, influenced no doubt by his run to the finals of the Italian Open and the quarter-finals of the French Open that year.
Pérez Roldán is currently tied for tenth on the list of most titles won by a teenager in the Open Era (five).
His career-high singles ranking was World No. 13 (in 1988), and his career prize-money earnings totalled $1,686,341. In the early 1990s, his career was hamstrung by injuries, and he finally retired from the professional tour in 1996.
Singles finals
Legend |
Grand Slam (0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
Championship Series (0) |
ATP Tour (9) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Winner | 1. | 4 May 1987 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Marián Vajda | 6–3, 7–6 |
Winner | 2. | 15 June 1987 | Athens, Greece | Clay | Tore Meinecke | 6–2, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 1. | 27 July 1987 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | Miloslav Mečíř | 4–6, 6–1, 3–6, 2–6 |
Winner | 3. | 16 November 1987 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Jay Berger | 3–2 ret. |
Winner | 4. | 2 May 1988 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Jonas Svensson | 7–5, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 2. | 9 May 1988 | Rome, Italy | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 6–2, 4–6, 2–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 3. | 25 July 1988 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | Emilio Sánchez | 3–6, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 4. | 8 August 1988 | Prague, Czechoslovakia | Clay | Thomas Muster | 4–6, 7–5, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 5. | 7 November 1988 | Buenos Aires, Argentina | Clay | Javier Sánchez | 2–6, 4–6 |
Runner-up | 6. | 11 September 1989 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Marc Rosset | 4–6, 5–7 |
Winner | 5. | 25 September 1989 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Paolo Canè | 6–1, 6–4 |
Runner-up | 7. | 5 March 1990 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Thomas Muster | 1–6, 7–6(6), 2–6 |
Runner-up | 8. | 9 April 1990 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Andrés Gómez | 0–6, 6–7(1), 6–3, 6–0, 2–6 |
Runner-up | 9. | 16 July 1990 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay | Goran Ivanišević | 7–6(2), 1–6, 4–6, 6–7(5) |
Winner | 6. | 20 August 1990 | San Marino | Clay | Omar Camporese | 6–3, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 10. | 29 April 1991 | Munich, Germany | Clay | Magnus Gustafsson | 6–3, 3–6, 3–4, ret. |
Winner | 7. | 29 July 1991 | San Marino | Clay | Frédéric Fontang | 6–3, 6–1 |
Winner | 8. | 16 March 1992 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Germán López | 2–6, 7–5, 6–3 |
Runner-up | 11. | 15 June 1992 | Genova, Italy | Clay | Andrei Medvedev | 3–6, 4–6 |
Winner | 9. | 15 March 1993 | Casablanca, Morocco | Clay | Younes El Aynaoui | 6–4, 6–3 |
Doubles finals
Legend |
Grand Slam (0) |
Tennis Masters Cup (0) |
ATP Masters Series (0) |
ATP Tour (3) |
Outcome | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Runner-up | 1. | 25 July 1988 | Hilversum, Netherlands | Clay | Magnus Gustafsson | Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez Vicario | 6–7, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 19 September 1988 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Gustavo Luza | Mansour Bahrami Tomáš Šmíd | 4–6, 3–6 |
Runner-up | 2. | 11 September 1989 | Geneva, Switzerland | Clay | Mansour Bahrami | Andrés Gómez Alberto Mancini | 3–6, 5–7 |