Richard Dell (born 1947) is a former professional

tennis Tennis is a List of racket sports, racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles (tennis), singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles (tennis), doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket st ...

player from the United States.

Biography

Dell, who won a gold medal at the

1965 Summer Universiade The 1965 Summer Universiade, also known as the IV Summer Universiade, took place in Budapest, Hungary. Sports at the 1965 Summer Universiade * * * * * * * * * Medal table 1965 Events January–February * January 14 &nda ...

in the men's doubles with

Allen Fox Allen E. Fox (born June 25, 1939) is an American former tennis player in the 1960s and 1970s who went on to be a college coach and author. He was ranked as high as U.S. No. 4 in 1962, and was in the top ten in the U.S. five times between 1961 ...

, attended the

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

from 1965 to 1969. A member of the varsity tennis team, Dell was the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representatives in 1 ...

Singles Champion in 1969. As he was beginning a law degree at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

his number was called out in the

Vietnam War draft The United States ran a draft, a system of conscription, during the late 1950s and early 1960s, the peacetime years before the Vietnam War. It was administered by the Selective Service System. But the number of men actually drafted each year was ...

. Following basic training, Dell became a squash and tennis coach at the

United States Military Academy at West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as commissioned officers in the United States Army. The academy was founded ...

. He created history in 1967 when he took part in the longest ever doubles match. Partnering Dick Leach at the Newport Casino Invitational, the pair defeated Tommy Mozur and Lenny Schloss, 3–6, 49–47, 22–20. On the

Grand Prix tennis circuit The ITF Grand Prix Circuit was a professional tennis tour for male players founded in 1970 as the ILTF Grand Prix Tennis Circuit it was administered by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and ran annually until 1989 when it and the rival ...

he won two titles, both in the doubles with

Sherwood Stewart Sherwood Stewart (born June 6, 1946) is a former professional tennis player who was active in the 1970s and 1980s. Stewart was ranked as high as No. 60 in the world in singles on the ATP Rankings on December 31, 1978, and No. 4 in doubles on J ...

. They won their first title together in Tokyo in 1972 then a second in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

in 1974. As a singles player he made the second round of the

US Open U.S. Open or US Open are open championship sporting tournaments that are hosted in the United States and in which anyone, especially amateur and professional, or American and non-American, may compete. The term may also be applied to non-sporting ev ...

on three occasions and came close to getting a win over

Rod Laver Rodney George Laver (born 9 August 1938) is an Australian former professional tennis player. Laver was ranked as the World number 1 ranked male tennis players, world number 1 professional player indisputably for five years from 1965 to 1969, ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1973 when he was a set and a break up. He had his most noted singles performances on tour in 1974, when he upset John Alexander at a WCT tournament in Washington DC and made the semi-finals in Chicago, after beating

Raúl Ramírez Raúl Ramírez (born 20 June 1953) is a Mexican former professional tennis player. He was active during the 1970s and 1980s. Ramírez was the first player to finish first in both singles and doubles Grand Prix point standings, accomplishing the ...

in the quarter-finals. At the

1975 Wimbledon Championships The 1975 Wimbledon Championships was a 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 Monday 23 June until Saturday ...

, Dell and Stewart made it to the third round of the doubles, where they took former champions

Bob Hewitt Robert Anthony John Hewitt (born 12 January 1940) is a former professional tennis player from Australia. In 1967, after marrying a South African, he became a South African citizen. He has won 15 major titles and a career Grand Slam in both men' ...

and

Frew McMillan Frew Donald McMillan (born 20 May 1942) is a former professional tennis player from South Africa who won five grand slam doubles titles including three Wimbledons with Bob Hewitt. All together, he won 63 doubles titles, surpassed only by the Br ...

to five sets. Dell retired from tennis in 1977 and took up a coaching job in

Maui Maui (; Hawaiian language, Hawaiian: ) is the second largest island in the Hawaiian archipelago, at 727.2 square miles (1,883 km2). It is the List of islands of the United States by area, 17th-largest in the United States. Maui is one of ...

. He returned to the University of Virginia in the 1980s and completed a Doctor of Law. For many year he was the agent of

Gabriela Sabatini Gabriela Beatriz Sabatini (; born 16 May 1970) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. A former world No. 3 in both singles and doubles, Sabatini was one of the leading players from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, amassing 41 titles a ...

, while working for ProServ, a company founded by his elder brother

Donald Dell Donald L. Dell (born June 17, 1938) is an American sports attorney, writer, commentator, and former tennis player. Dell was the first sports agent in professional tennis, and represented Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Jimmy Connors, and Ivan Lendl d ...

Grand Prix career finals

Doubles: 2 (2–0)

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dell, Dick 1947 births Living people American male tennis players Tennis players from Washington, D.C. Michigan Wolverines men's tennis players University of Virginia School of Law alumni American sports agents Date of birth missing (living people) United States Military Academy people Army Black Knights men's tennis coaches Summer World University Games medalists in tennis FISU World University Games gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 1965 Summer Universiade Tennis coaches from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American sportsmen