José Luis Clerc
Country (sports) Argentina
ResidenceMiami, United States
Born (1958-08-16) 16 August 1958
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1977
Retired1986 (from full-time playing)
1995 (last match)
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record378–152 (71.32%)
Career titles25 (listed by ATP)
Highest rankingNo. 4 (3 August 1981)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1980)
French OpenSF (1981, 1982)
Wimbledon4R (1979)
US Open4R (1979, 1981)
Other tournaments
Tour FinalsQF (1982)
WCT FinalsQF (1982)
Doubles
Career record110–99
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 30 (8 October 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
French OpenSF (1981)
Wimbledon2R (1977, 1979, 1981)

José Luis Clerc (born 16 August 1958), also known by the nickname Batata, is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 3 August 1981, following a run of 25 consecutive match wins after Wimbledon.

Tennis career

Clerc represented Argentina for the Davis Cup from 1976 to 1989. He and Guillermo Vilas led Argentina to its first Davis Cup final in 1981 to set up a tie against United States in Cincinnati, Ohio. After Vilas lost the first rubber in straight sets to John McEnroe, Clerc defeated Roscoe Tanner in straight sets in the second rubber to level the tie. During the third rubber, partnering Vilas, the pair lost to Fleming/McEnroe in doubles, 9–11 in the fifth and deciding set. Clerc then played McEnroe in the fourth rubber and eventually lost in 5 sets.

Clerc, with Vilas and Carlos Gattiker won the 1980 World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. Clerc defeated former French Open champion Adriano Panatta 7–6, 6–3. Argentina eventually beat Italy 3–0 to claim the title.

In 1981, Clerc entered the French Open with an 11-match win streak and defeated Jimmy Connors in the quarterfinals, 4–6, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–0, to extend it to 16. The streak ended when Clerc lost in five sets against Ivan Lendl. Later that year, starting after Wimbledon, Clerc won another 28 consecutive matches before losing in the third round of the US Open.

In 1982, Clerc reached the semifinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, losing to 17-year-old Swedish teenager Mats Wilander in four sets.[1] Wilander would go on to beat Vilas in the final in 4 sets to become the youngest winner of a Grand Slam at the time.

Injuries began to plague Clerc since 1984, and his consistency dropped. Clerc never recovered and only played sporadically after 1985.

He received the ATP Sportsmanship Award in 1981, and Argentine Konex Awards in 1980 and 1990.

ATP career finals

Singles: 35 (25 titles, 10 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Year-end championships (0–0)
Grand Prix Super Series (1–1)
Grand Prix / WCT Tour (24–9)
Titles by surface
Hard (3–1)
Clay (21–9)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win1.May 1978Florence, ItalyClayFrance Patrice Dominguez6–4, 6–2, 6–1
Loss1.Jul 1978Gstaad, SwitzerlandClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas3–6, 6–7, 4–6
Loss2.Jul 1978South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.ClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas1–6, 3–6
Loss3.Aug 1978Toronto, CanadaClayUnited States Eddie Dibbs7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Loss4.Sep 1978Aix-En-Provence, FranceClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas3–6, 0–6, 3–6
Win2.Nov 1978Buenos Aires, ArgentinaClayParaguay Víctor Pecci6–4, 6–4
Win3.Dec 1978Santiago de Chile, ChileClayParaguay Víctor Pecci3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win4.Apr 1979Johannesburg, South AfricaHardSouth Africa Deon Joubert6–2, 6–1
Loss5.Nov 1979Buenos Aires, Argentina (2)ClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win5.Mar 1980San José de Costa Rica, Costa RicaHardUnited States Jimmy Connors4–6, 2–6, retired
Loss6.Jul 1980Washington D.C., USClayUnited States Brian Gottfried5–7, 6–4, 4–6
Win6.Jul 1980South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.ClayUnited States John McEnroe6–3, 6–2
Win7.Aug 1980Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.ClayUnited States Mel Purcell7–5, 6–3
Win8.Sep 1980Madrid, SpainClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas6–3, 1–6, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win9.Nov 1980Quito, EcuadorClayParaguay Víctor Pecci6–4, 1–6, 10–8
Win10.Nov 1980Buenos Aires, Argentina (2)ClayWest Germany Rolf Gehring6–7, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3
Win11.May 1981Florence, Italy (2)ClayMexico Raúl Ramírez6–1, 6–2
Win12.May 1981Italian Open, RomeClayParaguay Víctor Pecci6–3, 6–4, 6–0
Win13.Jul 1981Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.ClayChile Hans Gildemeister0–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win14.Jul 1981Washington D.C., USClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas7–5, 6–2
Win15.Jul 1981North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S.ClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas6–3, 6–2
Win16.Aug 1981Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. (2)ClayCzechoslovakia Ivan Lendl4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss7.Oct 1981Basel, SwitzerlandHard (i)Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl2–6, 3–6, 0–6
Win17.Feb 1982Richmond, Virginia, U.S.Carpet (i)United States Fritz Buehning3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss8.Apr 1982Houston, Texas, USClayCzechoslovakia Ivan Lendl6–3, 6–7, 0–6, 4–1, ret.
Win18.Jun 1982Venice, ItalyClayAustralia Peter McNamara7–6, 6–1
Win19.Jul 1982Gstaad, SwitzerlandClayArgentina Guillermo Vilas6–1, 6–3, 6–2
Win20.Jul 1982Zell am See, AustriaClaySwitzerland Heinz Günthardt6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1
Win21.Nov 1982São Paulo, BrazilClayBrazil Marcos Hocevar6–2, 6–7, 6–3
Win22.Jan 1983Guarujá, BrazilHardSweden Mats Wilander3–6, 7–5, 6–1
Win23.Jul 1983Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (2)ClayUnited States Jimmy Arias6–3, 6–1
Win24.Jul 1983Washington D.C., U.S. (2)ClayUnited States Jimmy Arias6–3, 3–6, 6–0
Loss9.Sep 1983Palermo, ItalyClayUnited States Jimmy Arias2–6, 6–2, 0–6
Loss10.Jul 1984Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (3)ClayUnited States Aaron Krickstein6–7, 6–3, 4–6

Performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 SR W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A 1R A 2R A A A A A NH A A A A 0 / 2 1–2
French Open A 2R 2R 2R SF SF 2R 2R 3R A A A 1R A 0 / 9 17–9
Wimbledon A 1R 4R 3R 3R A 1R A A A A A A A 0 / 5 7–5
US Open A 3R 4R 1R 4R 1R 1R A 1R A A A A A 0 / 7 8–7
Win–loss 0–0 3–4 7–3 4–4 10–3 5–2 1–3 1–1 2–2 0–0 0–0 0–0 0–1 0–0 0 / 23 33–23
Year-end championship
Masters Did not qualify RR RR QF 1R Did not qualify 0 / 4 2–6
Career statistics
Finals 0 7 2 7 7 6 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 35
Titles 0 3 1 6 6 5 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 25
Overall win–loss 1–3 50–17 56–22 73–23 58–14 65–22 31–15 16–14 24–14 0–0 0–0 0–0 1–4 0–0 375–148
Win % 25% 75% 72% 76% 81% 75% 67% 53% 63% – – – 20% – 71.70%
Year-end ranking 278 15 17 8 5 6 8 33 28 – – 514

Notable rivalries

Clerc vs. Vilas

Clerc and Guillermo Vilas played each other 14 times in their careers, with Vilas leading 10–4. Vilas being a dominant force on clay for much of the second half of 1970s, Clerc was considered a rising star on clay during that time. All of their 14 meetings came after the quarterfinal stages (with one exception, which was at the Masters Grand Prix) and included eight finals. Vilas won their first six encounters before 1980, including four finals. However, since 1980, they had a tied record of 4–4, with Clerc winning all four of the finals.

Personal life

Clerc married Annelie Czerner in 1980, and they have two sons and a daughter: Juan Pablo Clerc (born 23 September 1981), Dominique Clerc (born 12 January 1984), and Nicolás Clerc (born 19 October 1990). In 2005, they divorced, Clerc married with Gisela Medrano in 2008, with whom they have a daughter named Sophie (born 7 April 2011).

Clerc runs a tennis school in Argentina, participates in senior tournaments, and regularly serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN Latin America and ESPN Deportes. He also coaches Sebastián Báez.

References

  1. ↑ "Exclusive interview with José Luis Clerc alias Batata who is a part of history". DB4Tennis.com. 13 September 2015.
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