J. Francisco Guzmán Carmigniani (born 24 May 1946), known as Pancho Guzmán, is an Ecuadorian former tennis player active in the 1960s and 1970s.
Biography
Guzmán, the son of a banker, began playing tennis at the age of seven and trained at the Guayaquil Tennis Club. He was 11 when he won his first national title and in 1961 was a finalist in the
Orange Bowl
The Orange Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Miami metropolitan area. It has been played annually since January 1, 1935, making it, along with the Sugar Bowl and the Sun Bowl, the second-oldest bowl game ...
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...
, for a tie against
Trinidad and Tobago
Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...
, aged only 17.
In the
1965 French Championships
The 1965 French Championships (now known as the French Open) was a tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor clay courts at the Stade Roland-Garros in Paris, France. The tournament ran from 17 May until 29 May. It was the 69th staging of t ...
, Guzmán was in the unusual situation of exiting in the third round, without even playing a match. He received a first round bye, then benefited from a walkover in the second round when number one seed
Manuel Santana
Manuel Santana Martínez (10 May 1938 – 11 December 2021), also known as Manolo Santana, was a Spanish tennis player. He was ranked as amateur world No. 1 in 1965 by Ned Potter and in 1966 by Lance TingayBill Hoogs. He made the third round again at the 1966 French Championships, but this time featured in the tournament, with wins over
Mike Belkin
Michael I. Belkin (born June 29, 1945)
is a former top-ranked Canadian tennis player.
Canada's top-ranked player five times between 1966 and 1972, Belkin had a career 17–12 Davis Cup record, including a 14–7 record in singles.
The right- ...
and Terry Ryan. In the mixed doubles he partnered with
Helen Gourlay
Helen Gourlay Cawley (''née'' Gourlay; born 23 December 1946) is a retired tennis player from Australia.
Personal
Helen Gourlay was born in Launceston, Tasmania, Australia. She married Richard Leon Cawley in January 1977, and married William ...
to make the semi-finals. Curiously he is listed as losing in a walkover for the first round of the singles in every French Open from 1967 to 1971.
In April 1969, Guzman won the Jacksonville Invitation defeating Nicholas Kalogeropoulos in the semifinal and
Mike Belkin
Michael I. Belkin (born June 29, 1945)
is a former top-ranked Canadian tennis player.
Canada's top-ranked player five times between 1966 and 1972, Belkin had a career 17–12 Davis Cup record, including a 14–7 record in singles.
The right- ...
in the final.
His most famous moment came in the
1967 Davis Cup
The 1967 Davis Cup was the 56th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 32 teams entered the Europe Zone, 9 teams entered the Eastern Zone, and 7 teams entered the America Zone.
Ecuador de ...
when he defeated
Arthur Ashe
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player who won three Grand Slam singles titles. He started to play tennis at six years old. He was the first black player selected to the Un ...
in the reverse singles to complete a surprise victory for Ecuador over the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
in the Americas Inter-Zonal Final. The tie was played on Guzmán's home court in Guayaquil. He began started with a loss to
Cliff Richey
George Clifford Richey Jr. (born December 31, 1946) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player who was active during the 1960s and 1970s. Richey achieved a highest singles ranking of World No. 6 and reached at least the quarter ...
in the first match of the tie, before Miguel Olvera levelled it at 1–1 going into the doubles. Guzmán then teamed up with Olvera to win the doubles rubber, 8–6 in the fifth set. Guzmán secured the tie in the first of the reverse singles in a match against Ashe which went the distance. He lost two of the sets 0–6, including the first, but was able to prevail in five. Ecuador widely celebrated the win across the country and the ''
El Universo
''El Universo'' ( Spanish for "The Universe") is one of the largest daily newspapers in Ecuador. It was founded in 1921 and the first edition was published September 16 of the same year. Its headquarters are located in Guayaquil.
The newspaper h ...
'' newspaper used a headline that translates to "A victory for history" to describe to triumph. This qualified Ecuador for Inter-Zonal semi final against
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
in Barcelona and where they were no match for the European team who eliminated them from the tournament.
He came from two sets down to beat Bob Lutz in a 64-game marathon opening round match at the
1968 Wimbledon Championships
The 1968 Wimbledon Championships was a combined men's and women's tennis tournament that took place on the outdoor grass courts at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, London, United Kingdom. The tournament was held from Mo ...
. Later in the year he competed in the exhibition tournament for
tennis at the 1968 Summer Olympics
Tennis returned to the Summer Olympic program as an exhibition and a demonstration event in 1968. Men's and women's singles and doubles and mixed doubles were held in both, a Demonstration tournament and an Exhibition tournament. The Demonstration ...
and won a bronze medal in men's doubles with
Teimuraz Kakulia
Teimuraz Kakulia ( ka, თეიმურაზ კაკულია, tr, ; 26 April 1947, Tbilisi, Georgian SSR — 25 August 2006, Tbilisi, Georgia) was a Soviet tennis player and Soviet/Georgian tennis coach.
Tennis career
Teimuraz Kakulia s ...
.
At the 1969 Canadian Open he made it as far as the quarter-finals of the singles, where he was two points away from upsetting top seed John Newcombe in the fifth set, as well as making the semi-finals in the doubles, with
Dick Crealy
Richard Crealy (born 18 September 1944) is an Australian former tennis player most notable for reaching the final of the Australian Open in 1970, being a member of the 1970 Australian Davis Cup Team, and winning three Grand Slam titles in do ...
.
In 1974 he made his last Davis Cup appearance for Ecuador. He featured with a total of 14 ties and finished his representative career with 13 wins from 37 matches.