Bernard Mitton (9 November 1954 – 5 May 2017
) was a professional tennis player from South Africa.
Mitton reached his highest
singles ranking of world No. 51 on 15 December 1975, and his highest doubles ranking of 20 on 25 June 1984. His career record in singles on the
ATP Tour
The ATP Tour (known as ATP World Tour between January 2009 and December 2018) is the sole worldwide top-tier tennis tour for men organized by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) founded in 1990 that replaced the earlier dual Grand Prix ...
was 199–218, winning two titles - at Newport, Rhode Island in 1978 and San Jose, California in 1979. He was the runner-up in three other tournaments: San Jose (1978), Adelaide (1979) and Johannesburg (1981).
His doubles record was 210–191, and he won nine titles: Auckland (1979); Stowe, Vermont and Cologne (1980);
Richmond WCT (1981); Johannesburg (1981); Tampa (1981); Columbus, Ohio (1982); Ferrara (1983); and La Quinta, California (1984). He was the runner-up in eight tournaments: Sarasota, Florida (1978); North Conway, New Hampshire (1978); Rotterdam (1979); Maui, Hawaii (1982); Ancona (1982); Toulouse (1983); Florence (1984); and
Queen's Club (1984).
Mitton had career wins over
John McEnroe
John Patrick McEnroe Jr. (born February 16, 1959) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the world No. 1 in men's List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ...
,
Jimmy Connors
James Scott Connors (born September 2, 1952) is an American former professional tennis player. He was ranked as the List of ATP number 1 ranked singles players, world No. 1 in men's singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 2 ...
, and
Arthur Ashe in singles. He reached the fourth round at a
Grand Slam tournament on three occasions. In his first Grand Slam tournament in 1973, he reached the fourth round of
Wimbledon, then lost to Connors in straight sets. In 1976, he again reached the fourth round at Wimbledon, defeating former champion
John Newcombe in the third round beforeg losing to
Raúl Ramírez in four sets. He reached the fourth round at the 1980
US Open, defeating
José Luis Clerc in the first round, then lost to Connors.
Mitton retired from the tour in 1984 due to injuries and joined the
Newport Beach Tennis Club as director of tennis. From 2000 to 2003, he was at Rancho San Clemente. He taught until his death at the Racket Club of Irvine, California.
Career finals
Singles: 5 (2 titles, 3 runner-ups)
Doubles: 17 (9 titles, 8 runner-ups)
References
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitton, Bernard
1954 births
2017 deaths
Sportspeople from Vryburg
South African people of British descent
Sportspeople from Irvine, California
Tennis players from Orange County, California
South African expatriates in the United States
South African male tennis players
20th-century South African sportsmen