General William (Bill)
Scanlon
Male
United States of America
1956-11-19
Dallas, TX, United States of America
2021-06-02
Park City, Utah, United States of America


About

He was a tennis player from the United States, who won seven singles and two doubles titles during his 13-year professional career. The right-hander reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of World No. 9 in January 1984. He is also known for having upset top-seeded John McEnroe in the fourth round at the 1983 US Open.

After winning the NCAA Singles championships in 1976 as a sophomore for Trinity University (upsetting UCLA's Peter Fleming), Scanlon turned pro and, in his first Grand Prix event, defeated world #7 Harold Solomon to reach the quarter-finals. His first ever ATP singles ranking was No. 154. Later that summer, Scanlon defeated world no. 4 Adriano Panatta at the US Open and, with two wins over former world #1 Ilie Năstase in early 1977, climbed the rankings to No. 23 by March 1977.

After a frustrating season in 1978, Scanlon rebounded in his final tournament of the year to take the title in Maui with wins over John McEnroe, Harold Solomon, and Peter Fleming. In 1979 he reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon (losing to Jimmy Connors) before successfully defending his title in Maui, again beating Fleming in the final.

Scanlon peaked in 1983 when he reached the semi-finals of the US Open. He defeated Henrik Sundström, Chris Lewis, Pat Cash, John McEnroe, and Mark Dickson, before losing to Jimmy Connors.

In 1985 Scanlon underwent two knee surgeries, missing most of the season. He continued to compete through 1989, winning only one more singles title, the 1986 Hall of Fame Championships in Newport, Rhode Island.

During his career, Scanlon would log wins over eight players who had been or would be ranked #1 in the world, namely Stan Smith, Ilie Năstase (twice), Björn Borg, John McEnroe (three times), Ivan Lendl, Mats Wilander, Boris Becker, and Andre Agassi. Scanlon's other notable victories over top players included wins over Guillermo Vilas (career high No. 2) and Vitas Gerulaitis (career high #3), as well as Adriano Panatta (career high No. 4), Pat Cash (career high No. 4), and Harold Solomon (career high No. 5).

Golden set
Scanlon achieved a golden set against Marcos Hocevar of Brazil in the first round of the WCT Gold Coast Classic at Delray Beach, Florida on February 22, 1983. Scanlon won the match, 6–2, 6–0. A golden set is a player winning a set without losing a single point. The feat is recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records. Only Tine Scheuer-Larsen, Yaroslava Shvedova, and Julian Reister have since repeated the feat.

Activities and distinctions
Scanlon was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame and the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame. His Golden Set achievement is represented in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. He served on the ATP Board of Directors during his professional career and also founded the Dallas Youth Foundation in 1984 to provide sports activities to Dallas area youth featuring professional tennis players, Dallas Cowboys, Texas Rangers, Dallas Mavericks, and Olympic athletes. He also served on the board of the Southern California Tennis Association and the USTA Davis Cup committee. He was chairman of the Carl Reiner Celebrity Pro-Am and was co-founder of the Beverly Hills Invitational Charity Event.

Post-tennis career
Scanlon was a professional investment advisor from 1992 on. He was founder and principal of Advantage Capital Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisor in Los Angeles, California. He was formerly the senior partner of The Scanlon Group, a top wealth management team at UBS Financial in Los Angeles.

Author
In 2014, Scanlon authored "Zen Tennis - Playing in the Zone" with co-author Dr. Joe Parent. Parent is a renowned PGA Tour mental game coach, and author of "Zen Golf". Scanlon also authored the book Bad News for McEnroe: Blood, Sweat, and Backhands with John, Jimmy, Ilie, Ivan, Bjorn, and Vitas in 2004 as a tribute to the era during which he participated on the ATP International Tour. The book focuses on the high-profile personalities of the sport during that era, their rivalries, their celebrity, and the growth of the sport's popularity.



Media


Archive statistics 1969 - 1989
7
543
304


Tournament wins 1982 - WCT - Zurich (WCT Circuit)
1981 - Auckland (ATP World Tour 250 series)
1981 - WCT - Salisbury (WCT Circuit)
1981 - Thailand Open (ATP)
1979 - Maui Classic (Grand Prix Circuit)
1978 - Maui Classic (Grand Prix Circuit)
1976 - Intercollegiate Championships (Amateur)


Tournaments Wimbledon - 1989 Australian Open - 1988 Wimbledon - 1988 Australian Open - 1987 Wimbledon - 1987 Roland Garros - 1987 US Open - 1987 Wimbledon - 1986 US Open - 1986 Australian Open - 1985 US Open - 1985 Australian Open - 1984 Wimbledon - 1984 US Open - 1984 Canadian International Championships - 1984 Pacific Coast Championship - 1984 Queens Club Tournament - 1984 US International Indoor Championships - 1984 River Oaks Tournament - 1984 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1984 Madrid Open - 1984 Metz - 1984 Philadelphia Indoors - 1984 WCT Finals - 1984 Cleveland Grand Prix - 1984 Tokyo Indoor - 1984 Amelia Island - 1984 Brussels Indoor - 1984 Kiva Tennis Classic - 1984 Wimbledon - 1983 Monte Carlo - 1983 US Open - 1983 Pacific Coast Championship - 1983 Cincinnati - 1983 Queens Club Tournament - 1983 River Oaks Tournament - 1983 South African Championships - 1983 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1983 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1983 Delray Beach - 1983 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1983 Gstaad - 1983 Philadelphia Indoors - 1983 Milano Indoors - 1983 WCT Finals - 1983 Columbus Open - 1983 WCT - Munich - 1983 Wembley Indoor - 1983 Lorraine Open - 1983 North Miami Beach - 1983 WCT - Winter Finals - 1983 WCT - Spring Finals - 1983 Vancouver Tennis Classic - 1983 Wimbledon - 1982 US Open - 1982 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1982 US International Indoor Championships - 1982 Swiss International Covered Courts - 1982 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1982 Delray Beach - 1982 Indian Wells - 1982 Tampa Open - 1982 Gstaad - 1982 Paris Indoor - 1982 WCT Finals - 1982 WCT - Chicago - 1982 Los Angeles Tennis Classic - 1982 Vienna International Indoor - 1982 WCT - Munich - 1982 Cap D'Agde - 1982 Wembley Indoor - 1982 Oklahoma Open - 1982 WCT - Forest Hills - 1982 Toulouse Indoor - 1982 WCT - Genoa - 1982 WCT - Zurich - 1982 WCT - Baltimore - 1982 WCT - Dortmund - 1982 WCT - Hartford - 1982 Wimbledon - 1981 US Open - 1981 Pacific Coast Championship - 1981 Cincinnati - 1981 Queens Club Tournament - 1981 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1981 US International Indoor Championships - 1981 West of England Championships - 1981 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1981 Thailand Open - 1981 Auckland - 1981 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1981 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1981 Washington Open - 1981 Philadelphia Indoors - 1981 Milano Indoors - 1981 Hong Kong Open - 1981 Las Vegas - 1981 Maui Classic - 1981 Gunze World Open - 1981 Taipei International - 1981 WCT - Forest Hills - 1981 Tokyo Indoor - 1981 Brussels Indoor - 1981 WCT - Salisbury - 1981 Guaruja - 1981 Edmonton Tennis Challenge - 1981 Australian Open - 1980 Wimbledon - 1980 Monte Carlo - 1980 US Open - 1980 New South Wales Championships - 1980 Pacific Coast Championship - 1980 Cincinnati - 1980 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1980 River Oaks Tournament - 1980 Surrey Championships - 1980 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1980 Richmond Indoor Championships - 1980 Indian Wells - 1980 Philadelphia Indoors - 1980 Milano Indoors - 1980 WCT Finals - 1980 Bologna Indoor - 1980 Columbus Open - 1980 Denver - 1980 Birmingham International Indoor - 1980 Australian Indoors - 1980 Maui Classic - 1980 North Conway - 1980 Wembley Indoor - 1980 Sarasota Open - 1980 WCT - Forest Hills - 1980 Stowe - 1980 Tokyo Indoor - 1980 Frankfurt Open - 1980 Melbourne Indoor - 1980 Wimbledon - 1979 Roland Garros - 1979 US Open - 1979 Canadian International Championships - 1979 Pacific Coast Championship - 1979 Cincinnati - 1979 Queens Club Tournament - 1979 Italian International Championships - 1979 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1979 Surrey Championships - 1979 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1979 Santa Clara - 1979 Tulsa Open - 1979 Hong Kong Open - 1979 Dayton Classic - 1979 Arkansas International - 1979 Maui Classic - 1979 San Jose International - 1979 Taipei International - 1979 Sarasota Open - 1979 Tokyo Indoor - 1979 Costa Rica International - 1979 Wimbledon - 1978 Roland Garros - 1978 US Open - 1978 Cincinnati - 1978 US Clay Courts - 1978 Italian International Championships - 1978 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1978 Abierto Mexicano - 1978 Indian Wells - 1978 Washington Open - 1978 Philadelphia Indoors - 1978 WCT - St. Louis - 1978 Atlanta Open - 1978 Hartford - 1978 New Orleans International - 1978 Milano Indoors - 1978 Louisville Open - 1978 Birmingham International Indoor - 1978 Maui Classic - 1978 San Jose International - 1978 Portland Indoor - 1978 Oklahoma Open - 1978 Mexico Fall Open - 1978 Australian Open - 1977-2 South Australian Championships - 1977(2) Wimbledon - 1977 Roland Garros - 1977 US Open - 1977 New South Wales Championships - 1977 Canadian International Championships - 1977 US Clay Courts - 1977 Queens Club Tournament - 1977 Italian International Championships - 1977 River Oaks Tournament - 1977 Nottingham - 1977 Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament - 1977 Japan Open - 1977 Indian Wells - 1977 Philadelphia Indoors - 1977 WCT - St. Louis - 1977 Louisville Open - 1977 Baltimore International Indoors - 1977 Las Vegas - 1977 Rotterdam - 1977 Birmingham International Indoor - 1977 Australian Indoors - 1977 Dayton Classic - 1977 South Pacific - 1977 Jackson - 1977 Perth Open - 1977 Monterrey Open - 1977 Ocean City CBS Invitational - 1977 La Costa International - 1977 Virginia Beach International - 1977 WCT Tournament of Champions - 1977 US Open - 1976 Pacific Coast Championship - 1976 Tennessee Valley Invitation - 1976 Cincinnati - 1976 US Clay Courts - 1976 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1976 US International Indoor Championships - 1976 US Pro Championships - 1976 Japan Open - 1976 Intercollegiate Championships - 1976 Pacific Coast Indoors - 1976 Washington Open - 1976 Hampton - 1976 Louisville Open - 1976 Cape Fear Open - 1976 Australian Indoors - 1976 Arkansas International - 1976 Maui Classic - 1976 Boca West International - 1976 North Conway - 1976 Perth Open - 1976 AMEX - Great Gorge - 1976 Pennsylvania Lawn Tennis Championship - 1975 Intercollegiate Championships - 1975 Tulsa Invitation - 1975 Houston Open - 1975 US National Amateur Grass Courts - 1975 US Open Qualifying - 1974 US National Amateur Grass Courts - 1973 Dallas Invitation - 1969

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