Sam Giammalva

Sam Giammalva ( born August 1, 1934 in Houston, Texas ) is a former American professional tennis player.

Life

Giammalva played for the University of Texas at Austin, where he reached the finals of the NCAA Championships twice. Between 1956 and 1958 he won three times in succession the individual title of the Southwest Conference.

His best individual result at a Grand Slam tournament was reaching the quarter-finals at the U.S. Open, in the doubles competition he could reach the third round of the U.S. Open twice, most recently in 1972 at the age of 38 years. He stood twice in the final of the Cincinnati Masters; In 1954 he was defeated Straight Clark, 1958 Bernard Bartzen.

Giammalva played 1956-1958 five single and five double appearances for the U.S. Davis Cup team. His company balance sheet stood at 4-1 in doubles at 3-2. His only single defeat taught him the nine -time Grand Slam winner Ken Rosewall, whom he defeated in four sets.

Giammalva worked 1959-1972 as a coach at Rice University. During this time the team reach ten titles in the Southwest Conference. His two sons, Tony and Sammy Giammalva Giammalva have been a successful professional tennis player.