Guillermo Vilas
Guillermo Vilas (born 17 August 1952) is an Argentine former professional tennis player. Vilas was the world No. 1 of the Grand Prix seasons in 1974, 1975 and 1977. He won four major titles, the year-end championships, and 78 career singles titles overall, 62 of which were ATP titles. World Tennis, Agence France-Presse and Livre d'or du tennis 1977 (Christian Collin-Bernard Ficot), among other rankings and publications, rated him as world No. 1 in 1977. In the computerized ATP rankings, he peaked at No. 2 in April 1975, a position he held for a total of 83 weeks, although some have argued that Vilas should have been ranked No. 1 for at least 10 weeks, particularly in 1977 when he won 2 majors. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1991, two years after his first retirement.
Guillermo Vilas during the Munich Open in May 1975 | |
| Country (sports) | Argentina |
|---|---|
| Residence | Buenos Aires |
| Born | 17 August 1952 Mar del Plata, Argentina |
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) |
| Turned pro | 1969 (amateur tour from 1968) |
| Retired | 1992 |
| Plays | Left-handed (one-handed backhand) |
| Prize money | $4,923,882 |
| Int. Tennis HoF | 1991 (member page) |
| Singles | |
| Career record | 951–297 (76.2%) |
| Career titles | 78, (62 ATP) (10th in the Open Era) |
| Highest ranking | No. 2 (30 April 1975) |
| Grand Slam singles results | |
| Australian Open | W (1978, 1979) |
| French Open | W (1977) |
| Wimbledon | QF (1975, 1976) |
| US Open | W (1977) |
| Other tournaments | |
| Tour Finals | W (1974) |
| WCT Finals | F (1976) |
| Doubles | |
| Career record | 217–150 |
| Career titles | 16 |
| Highest ranking | No. 13 (21 May 1979) |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 2R (1977Jan) |
| French Open | SF (1975) |
| Wimbledon | 3R (1976) |
| US Open | QF (1975) |
Vilas is known for his prowess on clay courts. He won over 650 matches on clay, which is an all-time record. His peak was the 1977 season during which he won 21 ATP and ILTF singles titles, including two majors (both on clay) and had a 53 winning streak on clay, which was the longest in the Open Era at his time. In 2016, The Daily Telegraph ranked him as the 3rd best male clay-court player of all time, behind Rafael Nadal and Björn Borg. In 2018, Steve Tignor for Tennis Magazine ranked him as the 16th greatest tennis player of the Open Era.
Historical and statistical studies presented in 2015 by Argentinian journalist Eduardo Puppo and Romanian mathematician Marian Ciulpan concluded that Vilas should have been No. 1 in the old ATP ranking system for seven weeks between 1975 and 1976. The ATP and its chief executive at that time, Chris Kermode, although not refuting the data, decided not to officially recognize Vilas as No. 1. The controversy is still in the legal stage. In October 2020, Netflix released a documentary film about Vilas' case titled Guillermo Vilas: Settling the Score.