The Open Era
United States · born Chattanooga, Tennessee, 1951 · left-handed · Australian Open champion at Kooyong and 1979 Wimbledon finalist, with the fastest serve of his era
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153 mph
Serve reported at Palm Springs in 1978, a record until 2004
2
Major singles finals, both on grass
4
Career-high world ranking, July 1979
16
Career singles titles
169
Minutes of the 1979 Wimbledon final against Björn Borg
Leonard Roscoe Tanner was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 1951 and grew up on Lookout Mountain. At Stanford he played No. 1, with Sandy Mayer at No. 2, and the two won the NCAA doubles in 1972. He turned professional that year, and Arthur Ashe asked him to be his doubles partner.
A left-hander with a low toss and a lunging, very fast serve, he was built for grass. He reached the Wimbledon semi-finals in 1975 and 1976, losing to Jimmy Connors and Björn Borg, and in January 1977 won the Australian Open at Kooyong, beating Guillermo Vilas 6-3, 6-3, 6-3. In 1979 he took Borg to five sets in the Wimbledon final and reached a career-high No. 4; two months later he beat Borg in the US Open quarter-finals. He won the Davis Cup with the United States in 1981, 16 singles titles in all, and retired in 1985 after an injury to his serving elbow.
After his playing career he was arrested several times over unpaid child support and bad cheques, and served time in prison, including a year in Florida after his arrest in Germany in 2003.
| Wimbledon final 1979 | As fifth seed, lost to Björn Borg 6-7 (4-7), 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 in 169 minutes, the first Wimbledon final shown live on NBC's Breakfast at Wimbledon |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon semi-finals | 1975: lost to Jimmy Connors 6-4, 6-1, 6-4, after beating Guillermo Vilas 6-4, 5-7, 6-8, 6-2, 6-2 in the quarter-finals. 1976: lost to Björn Borg 6-4, 9-8, 6-4. Quarter-finalist again in 1980 and 1983 |
| Australian Open | January 1977: beat Guillermo Vilas 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 in a final of left-handers at Kooyong, finishing with two aces. In December 1977 he became the first defending champion to lose in the first round |
| Nottingham | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1975 | Men's doubles | with Charlie Pasarell |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1977 | Men's singles Australian Open | |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1977 | Men's singles New South Wales Open | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. † single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
The person behind the player.
Lookout Mountain, Tennessee
Tanner said Jerry Evert, Chris Evert's father, taught him to serve by taking him into the woods beside the court without a ball and having him knock leaves off the trees with his service motion.
Source: WikipediaKooyong, January 1977
In his autobiography, Double Fault, Tanner admitted that Arthur Ashe sat behind his chair during the final against Vilas and coached him at changeovers: "Serve to his forehand," or "Chip and charge on the next break point".
Source: Tennis MajorsThe serve
Twice in his career a ball he struck broke the metal frame holding up the net, which, according to BNP Paribas's tennis site, had never happened before him.
Source: We Are Tennis, BNP ParibasWimbledon 1979
His five-set final against Borg was the first Wimbledon final broadcast live in the United States on NBC's Breakfast at Wimbledon.
Source: Tennis MajorsUS Open 1979
Two months after Wimbledon he beat Borg in the US Open quarter-finals and then lost the semi-final to Vitas Gerulaitis. In Double Fault he wrote that the Borg win was the peak of his career and the Gerulaitis defeat the symbol of his later downfall.
Source: We Are Tennis, BNP ParibasLater life
He kept nothing from his playing days, not even his Australian Open trophy: his second wife, Charlotte, sold most of his trophies.
Source: tennisnet.comFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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