Quick Facts
Biography
William Neil Scanlon (born November 13, 1956) is a former tennis player from the United States, who won seven singles and two doubles titles during his 13-year professional career. The right-hander reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 9 in January 1984.He is also known for upsetting top-seeded John McEnroe in the fourth round at the 1983 US Open.
Career
After winning the NCAA Singles championships in 1976 as a sophomore for Trinity University (upsetting UCLA's Peter Fleming), Scanlon turned pro and, in his first Grand Prix event, defeated world #7 Harold Solomon to reach the quarter-finals.His first ever ATP singles ranking was No. 154.Later that summer, Scanlon defeated world no. 4 Adriano Panatta at the US Open and, with two wins over former world #1 Ilie Năstase in early 1977, climbed the rankings to No. 23 by March 1977.
After a frustrating season in 1978, Scanlon rebounded in his final tournament of the year to take the title in Maui with wins over John McEnroe, Harold Solomon and Peter Fleming.In 1979 he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon (losing to Jimmy Connors) before successfully defending his title in Maui, again beating Fleming in the final.
Scanlon peaked in 1983 when he reached the semi-finals of the US Open.He defeated Henrik Sundström, Chris Lewis, Pat Cash, John McEnroe and Mark Dickson before losing to Jimmy Connors.
In 1985 Scanlon underwent two knee surgeries, missing most of the season.He continued to compete through 1989, winning only one more singles title, the Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.
During his career, Scanlon would log wins over eight players who had been or would be ranked #1 in the world, including Stan Smith, Ilie Năstase (twice), Björn Borg, John McEnroe (three times), Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, and Andre Agassi. Other notable victories over top players include wins over Guillermo Vilas (career high No. 2) and Vitas Gerulaitis (career high #3), as well as Adriano Panatta (career high No. 4), Pat Cash (career high No. 4), and Harold Solomon (career high No. 5).
Golden set
Scanlon achieved a golden set against Marcos Hocevar of Brazil in the first round of the WCT Gold Coast Classic at Delray Beach, Florida on February 22, 1983. Scanlon won the match, 6–2, 6–0. A golden set is a player winning a set without losing a single point. The feat is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. Only Tine Scheuer-Larsen, Yaroslava Shvedova, and Julian Reister have since repeated the feat.
Activities and distinctions
Scanlon has been named to the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame and the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame.His Golden Set achievement is represented in the International Tennis Hall of Fame.He served on the ATP Board of Directors during his professional career and also founded the Dallas Youth Foundation in 1984 to provide sports activities to Dallas area youth featuring professional tennis players, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and Olympic athletes.He has also served on the board of the Southern California Tennis Association and the USTA Davis Cup committee.He was chairman of the Carl Reiner Celebrity Pro-Am and was co-founder of the Beverly Hills Invitational Charity Event.
Post-tennis career
Scanlon has been a professional investment advisor since 1992.He is founder and principal of Advantage Capital Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor in Los Angeles, California.He was formerly the senior partner of The Scanlon Group, a top wealth management team at UBS Financial in Los Angeles.
Author
In 2014, Scanlon authored "Zen Tennis - Playing in the Zone" with co-author Dr. Joe Parent.Parent is a renowned PGA Tour mental game coach, and author of "Zen Golf". Scanlon also authored the book Bad News for McEnroe: Blood, Sweat, and Backhands with John, Jimmy, Ilie, Ivan, Bjorn, and Vitas in 2004 as a tribute to the era during which he participated on the ATP International Tour.The book focuses on the high-profile personalities of the sport during that era, their rivalries, their celebrity, and the growth of the sport's popularity.
Personal life
Scanlon and his wife, Stephanie, live in Bel Air, California and Park City, Utah.
Career finals
Singles: 14 (6 titles, 8 runners-up)
| Legend |
| Legend |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Grand Prix (5) |
| WCT (2) |
| Grand Slam (0) |
| Grand Prix (5) |
| WCT (2) |
| Result | No. | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1. | Jan 1977 | Birmingham WCT, Birmingham, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Jimmy Connors | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 2. | Apr 1977 | Jackson Mississippi, US | Carpet (i) | Brian Teacher | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 1. | Oct 1978 | Maui, Hawaii, US | Hard | Peter Fleming | 6–2, 6–0 |
| Win | 2. | Oct 1979 | Maui, Hawaii, US | Hard | Peter Fleming | 6–1, 6–1 |
| Win | 3. | Jan 1981 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Tim Wilkison | 6–7, 6–3, 3–6, 7–6, 6–0 |
| Win | 4. | Nov 1981 | Bangkok, Thailand | Carpet (i) | Mats Wilander | 6–2, 6–3 |
| Win | 5. | Mar 1982 | Zurich WCT, Zurich, Switzerland | Carpet (i) | Vitas Gerulaitis | 7–5, 7–6, 1–6, 0–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 3. | Oct 1982 | Vienna, Austria | Hard (i) | Brian Gottfried | 1–6, 4–6, 0–6 |
| Loss | 4. | Oct 1982 | Paris Indoor, Paris France | Carpet (i) | Wojtek Fibak | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 5. | Nov 1982 | Chicago-2 WCT, Chicago, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Wojtek Fibak | 2–6, 6–2, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 6. | Dec 1982 | Hartford WCT, Hartford, U.S. | Carpet (i) | Ivan Lendl | 2–6, 4–6, 5–7 |
| Loss | 7. | Aug 1983 | Vienna, Austria | Hard | Brian Teacher | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 6. | Jul 1986 | Newport, U.S. | Grass | Tim Wilkison | 7–5, 6–4 |
| Loss | 8. | Dec 1986 | Adelaide, Australia | Grass | Wally Masur | 4–6, 6–7 |
Doubles: 8 (6 titles, 2 runner-ups)
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1977 | Birmingham WCT, Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. | Carpet | Billy Martin | Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1977 | Monterrey WCT, Monterrey, Mexico | Carpet | Billy Martin | Ross Case Wojtek Fibak | 6–3, 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 1977 | Brisbane, Australia | Grass | Vitas Gerulaitis | Mal Anderson Ken Rosewall | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1980 | Rotterdam, Netherlands | Carpet | Brian Teacher | Vijay Amritraj Stan Smith | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1980 | Wembley, England | Carpet | Eliot Teltscher | Peter Fleming John McEnroe | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Loss | 1981 | Auckland, New Zealand | Hard | Tony Graham | Ferdi Taygan Tim Wilkison | 5–7, 1–6 |
| Win | 1987 | Auckland, New Zealand | Grass | Ivan Lendl | Peter Doohan Laurie Warder | 6–7, 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1988 | Bossonnens, Switzerland | Hard | Bret Garnett | Hugo Núñez Branislav Stankovič | 4–6, 6–7 |
Records
- These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.
| Tournament | Year | Record accomplished | Player tied |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delray Beach WCT | 1983 | Achieved a Golden Set | Stefano Napolitano Julian Reister |