Keith A. Carpenter (born August 3, 1941) was one of
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
's top men's
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 ...
players during the 1960s.
Tennis career
Overview
Carpenter's best result was winning the Canadian Open Men's Doubles Championship in 1966 alongside his older brother,
Michael Carpenter. It was their first and only Grand Slam Event win for both brothers' careers and a proud moment in Canadian tennis history. Fourth round in singles of the
1965 U.S. Nationals.
The year before he also reached the third round. Carpenter reached the second round at
Wimbledon every year from 1963, his first appearance in the main draw, which he reached through qualifying, through 1966.
In 1964 he also reached the second round at
Roland Garros, his only time in three appearances in the main draw.
In doubles, Carpenter competed in the main draw of a grand slam event twice.
At the
1968 Wimbledon Championships, he and partner
Berry Geraghty lost in the opening round.
The following year, he and his partner, compatriot
John Sharpe, reached the second round, where they lost in straight sets to the tandem of
Roy Emerson and
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, ...
.
In Davis Cup, Carpenter competed for
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...
each year from 1963 through 1968.
His overall record was 1 win, 4 losses in singles, and 1 win, 6 losses in doubles, in a total of 7 ties. Canada lost all but one of these match-ups, their only victory coming over
Finland
Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...
in the first round of Europe Group in 1966.
In the following round that year they lost to
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
5-0 at Roland Garros.
Carpenter was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1996.
1960 — 1962
Carpenter competed in singles in the main draw of three
U.S. National Championships over three consecutive years before contesting any other majors, losing in the first round each time. As a 19 years old, he lost in the
U.S. Nationals to
Eduardo Zuleta in three sets. The
following year, Carpenter lost to eventual quarter-finalist
Donald Dell. In
1962
The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War.
Events January
* January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
, he lost to
Bodo Nitsche comprehensively in straight sets.
1963
Carpenter played both the U.S. Championship and
Wimbledon, the later for the first time. At
Wimbledon, he won his first match at a major event, reaching the second round. Qualifying for the main draw, Carpenter beat Mexican
Angel Ochoa in straight sets. In the second round he faced Japanese
Osamu Ishiguro. Carpenter leveled the match at a set apiece before dropping the next two, the last 15-17, to lose. At the
U.S. Nationals, Carpenter fell again in the first round, and again to a German player,
Peter Scholl.
1964
Carpenter had his best year in majors, making it past the first round of all three he participated in, the
French Championships, Wimbledon, and Forest Hills. At Roland Garros, he beat Briton
Billy Knight
William R. Knight (born June 9, 1952) is an American former professional basketball player and executive. Playing with the Indiana Pacers in both the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later the National Basketball Association (NBA), he ...
, possibly by default, in the first round, while in the second, Carpenter lost in four sets to
Jean-Claude Barclay
Jean-Claude Barclay (born 30 December 1942) is a former French international 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 tea ...
. At
Wimbledon, Carpenter, for the second time in a row, reached the second round as well. He defeated lucky loser Briton
Geoff Bluett in straight sets before falling to eventual quarter-finalist
Christian Kuhnke. Then at the
U.S. Championships, Carpenter reached the third round of a major tournament for the first time. He swept aside
David Sandlerlin in the first round and then beat Dutchman
Evert Schneider in five sets. Carpenter then was defeated, however, by American
Raymond Senkowski.
1965
Carpenter earned his best result in a major in reaching the fourth round of the
1965 U.S. National Championships. Not competing in the main draw of the French, Carpenter first however reached the second round at
Wimbledon for the third straight year. Carpenter eliminated qualifier
Pat Cramer in the first round in four sets before succumbing to
Inge Buding. At
Forest Hills, Carpenter began his run by beating
Eugene Cantin in three sets. He got through his second round match too without dropping a set, a win over
Leif Beck. Carpenter was pushed to the limit, however, by
John Powless, prevailing in a five-set match. In the fourth round, he went down in straight sets, however, to
Charlie Pasarell
Charles Manuel Pasarell Jr. (born February 12, 1944) is a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican-American former tennis player, tennis administrator and founder of the current Indian Wells Open, Indian Wells tournament. He has also commented for the Tennis ...
.
1966
Carpenter competed in The Canadian Men's Doubles Championships in 1966 (Vancouver Lawn Tennis Club) alongside his brother, Michael Carpenter. As a final result, Michael and Keith Carpenter won the doubles title that summer.
As two years earlier, Carpenter competed in the main draws at Roland Garros, Wimbledon, and Forrest Hills, but with less success in terms of results. At the
French Championships, he lost in the first round, to
Georges Goven. At Wimbledon, Carpenter defeated veteran Floridian
Gardnar Mulloy, before falling to South African
Keith Diepraam in four sets. At the
U.S. Nationals, he came from 2 sets down to defeat
Bailey Brown in round one. He lost in the second round in straight sets, however, to Frenchman
Daniel Contet.
1967
Carpenter in the first round of the main draw at each the French, Wimbledon, and U.S. Championships in Canada's centennial year. In the Roland Garros main draw for the last time as it turned out, Carpenter lost to Pole
Wieslaw Gasiorek in four sets. At Wimbledon, he went down to No. 2 seed
Roy Emerson in straight sets, while at the U.S. Championships, Carpenter lost to
Marty Riessen.
Senior circuit tennis
Carpenter has stayed active as a player in masters or senior circuit tennis. His
ITF Senior Circuit high ranking is No. 167, achieved on November 10, 2006.
Carpenter won the men's 65 and over Canadian national championship in singles in 2006.
In 2007 and 2008, however, he was not listed in the Canadian rankings.
Personal life
Carpenter attended
Concordia University
Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...
, where he obtained a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, B.S., B.Sc., SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree that is awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Scienc ...
degree.
Born in
Birmingham, England, he resides or has resided in
King City, Ontario.
Carpenter and fellow former Canadian Davis Cupper
Harry Fauquier have since 1974 operated a tennis court accessory company, Tennex Systems, Inc.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Carpenter, Keith
1941 births
Living people
Canadian male tennis players
Concordia University alumni
English emigrants to Canada
Naturalized citizens of Canada
Sportspeople from King, Ontario
Racket sportspeople from Ontario
20th-century Canadian sportsmen