Miguel Olvera (born November 14, 1939) is a tennis player active in the 1960s and 1970s, playing for Ecuador. In 1960, as an unseeded player, he won the singles title at the Cincinnati Open, the first unseeded player ever to win the singles title there. (The tournament began in 1899 and seeding began in 1927.) In 1967 in Guayaquil, Ecuador, Olvera and teammate Pancho Guzmán led the Ecuadorian Davis Cup to a stunning upset of the mighty United States Davis Cup team. After American

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 ...

defeated Guzmán in the first singles match, Olvera, then 26 years old, faced

Arthur Ashe Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. (July 10, 1943 – February 6, 1993) was an American professional tennis player. He won three Grand Slam (tennis)#Tournaments, Grand Slam titles in singles and two in doubles. Ashe was the first Black player selected ...

in the second singles match. Ashe had never lost a set in ten previous Davis Cup matches, but Olvera came back after dropping the first set to win 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–2. Ecuadorian captain Danny Carrera was so thrilled with the win that he attempted to jump the net to embrace Olvera, tripped and broke his leg. At 21, Guzmán then teamed with Olvera in the doubles, and overcame a 0–6, 2–5 deficit to knock off

Marty Riessen Marty Riessen (born December 4, 1941) is an American former amateur and professional tennis player active from the 1960s to the 1980s. He was ranked as high as No. 11 in the world in singles on the ATP rankings in September 1974, though was rank ...

and Clark Graebner, 0–6, 9–7, 6–4, 4–6, 8–6. The next day, Guzmán beat Ashe in five sets to give Ecuador the victory. Today, Olvera is a tennis coach in Guayaquil, Ecuador.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Olvera, Miguel 1939 births Living people People from Salitre Canton Sportspeople from Guayas Province Ecuadorian male tennis players Tennis players at the 1967 Pan American Games Pan American Games bronze medalists in tennis Pan American Games bronze medalists for Ecuador