Byron Black

Byron Black (born 6 October 1969) is a former touring professional tennis and Davis Cup player for Zimbabwe.

Byron Black
Country (sports) Zimbabwe
ResidenceHarare, Zimbabwe
Born (1969-10-06) 6 October 1969
Salisbury, Rhodesia
(now Harare, Zimbabwe)
Height1.75 m (5 ft 9 in)
Turned pro1991
Retired2002
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed both sides)
Prize money$5,159,775
Singles
Career record257–246
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 22 (29 April 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open4R (1998)
French Open3R (1999)
WimbledonQF (2000)
US OpenQF (1995)
Other tournaments
Grand Slam CupQF (1995)
Olympic Games2R (1996)
Doubles
Career record328–201
Career titles22
Highest rankingNo. 1 (14 February 1994)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian OpenF (1994, 2001)
French OpenW (1994)
WimbledonF (1996)
US OpenSF (1999)

Personal life

He is the son of Donald Black and Velia Black and brother to Wayne Black and Cara, who were also professional tennis players. He attended the University of Southern California and was named an All-American by the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA).[1]

Tennis career

Black started playing tennis at a young age at his father’s grass court in Highlands, and played the game for Lewisham Primary School in his hometown. He played for the tennis team when he moved to the Oriel Boys High School, where he was exposed to other future Davis Cup players for Zimbabwe like Greig Rodgers and Mark Gurr.

Pro tour

In 1995, Black was a US Open quarterfinalist, and in 2000, he reached the same round at Wimbledon. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 22, which he achieved in June 1996.

An accomplished doubles player, Black became world No. 1 in doubles in February 1994. He won the 1994 French Open partnering Jonathan Stark. Black was a doubles finalist in three other majors, the 1994 and 2001 Australian Opens and the 1996 Wimbledon Championships.

Black is one of the few professional players to have played with a double-handed forehand.[2]

Black formed the core of the Zimbabwe Davis Cup team with his brother Wayne.

Career finals

Doubles: 41 (22 titles, 19 runner-ups)
Legend
Grand Slam (1–3)
ATP Masters Series (5–5)
ATP Championship Series (3–4)
ATP Tour (13–7)
Finals by surface
Hard (14–12)
Clay (4–2)
Grass (1–2)
Carpet (3–3)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1. Apr 1992 Hong Kong, UK Hard Byron Talbot Brad Gilbert
Jim Grabb		 2–6, 1–6
Win 1. Apr 1993 Durban, South Africa Hard Lan Bale Johan de Beer
Marcos Ondruska		 7–6, 6–2
Loss 2. Jul 1993 Newport, U.S. Grass Jim Pugh Javier Frana
Christo van Rensburg		 6–4, 1–6, 6–7
Win 2. Jul 1993 Washington, D.C., U.S. Hard Rick Leach Grant Connell
Patrick Galbraith		 6–4, 7–5
Loss 3. Aug 1993 Schenectady, U.S. Hard Brett Steven Bernd Karbacher
Andrei Olhovskiy		 6–2, 6–7, 1–6
Win 3. Oct 1993 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i) Jonathan Stark Brad Pearce
Dave Randall		 3–6, 7–5, 6–3
Win 4. Oct 1993 Toulouse, France Hard (i) Jonathan Stark David Prinosil
Udo Riglewski		 7–5, 7–6
Win 5. Oct 1993 Vienna, Austria Carpet (i) Jonathan Stark Mike Bauer
David Prinosil		 6–3, 7–6
Win 6. Nov 1993 Paris, France Carpet (i) Jonathan Stark Tom Nijssen
Cyril Suk		 4–6, 7–5, 6–2
Loss 4. Jan 1994 Adelaide, Australia Hard David Adams Mark Kratzmann
Andrew Kratzmann		 4–6, 3–6
Loss 5. Jan 1994 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Jonathan Stark Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis		 7–6, 3–6, 4–6, 3–6
Loss 6. Feb 1994 San Jose, U.S. Hard (i) Jonathan Stark Rick Leach
Jared Palmer		 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win 7. Feb 1994 Memphis, U.S. Hard (i) Jonathan Stark Jim Grabb
Jared Palmer		 7–6, 6–4
Loss 7. Feb 1994 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Jonathan Stark Grant Connell
Patrick Galbraith		 5–7, 3–6
Win 8. Jun 1994 French Open, Paris Clay Jonathan Stark Jan Apell
Jonas Björkman		 6–4, 7–6
Win 9. Aug 1994 Toronto, Canada Hard Jonathan Stark Patrick McEnroe
Jared Palmer		 6–4, 6–4
Loss 8. Oct 1994 Sydney Indoor, Australia Hard (i) Jonathan Stark Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis		 4–6, 6–7
Loss 9. Oct 1994 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Hard (i) Jonathan Stark Grant Connell
Patrick Galbraith		 3–6, 6–3, 4–6
Loss 10. Nov 1994 Paris, France Carpet (i) Jonathan Stark Jacco Eltingh
Paul Haarhuis		 6–3, 6–7, 5–7
Loss 11. Jan 1995 Adelaide, Australia Hard Grant Connell Jim Courier
Patrick Rafter		 6–7, 4–6
Loss 12. May 1995 Hamburg, Germany Clay Andrei Olhovskiy Wayne Ferreira
Yevgeny Kafelnikov		 1–6, 6–7
Win 10. May 1995 Bologna, Italy Clay Jonathan Stark Libor Pimek
Vince Spadea		 7–5, 6–3
Win 11. Nov 1995 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Jonathan Stark Tommy Ho
Brett Steven		 6–4, 3–6, 6–3
Win 12. Feb 1996 Dubai, UAE Hard Grant Connell Karel Nováček
Jiří Novák		 6–0, 6–1
Loss 13. Mar 1996 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i) Grant Connell Todd Woodbridge
Mark Woodforde		 6–7, 2–6
Loss 14. Apr 1996 New Delhi, India Hard Sandon Stolle Jonas Björkman
Nicklas Kulti		 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Win 13. May 1996 Rome, Italy Clay Jonathan Stark Libor Pimek
Byron Talbot		 6–2, 6–3
Win 14. Jun 1996 Halle, Germany Grass Grant Connell Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Daniel Vacek		 6–1, 7–5
Loss 15. Jul 1996 Wimbledon, England Grass Grant Connell Todd Woodbridge
Mark Woodforde		 6–4, 1–6, 3–6, 2–6
Win 15. Aug 1996 New Haven, U.S. Hard Grant Connell Jonas Björkman
Nicklas Kulti		 6–4, 6–4
Loss 16. May 1997 Rome, Italy Clay Alex O'Brien Mark Knowles
Daniel Nestor		 3–6, 6–4, 5–7
Win 16. Apr 1998 Hong Kong Hard Alex O'Brien Neville Godwin
Tuomas Ketola		 7–5, 6–1
Loss 17. Mar 1999 London, England Carpet (i) Wayne Ferreira Tim Henman
Greg Rusedski		 3–6, 6–7(6–8)
Win 17. Aug 1999 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Wayne Ferreira Goran Ivanišević
Brian MacPhie		 6–2, 7–6(7–4)
Loss 18. Aug 1999 Montreal, Canada Hard Wayne Ferreira Jonas Björkman
Patrick Rafter		 6–7(5–7), 4–6
Win 18. Aug 1999 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Jonas Björkman Todd Woodbridge
Mark Woodforde		 6–3, 7–6(8–6)
Win 19. Nov 1999 Stuttgart Indoor, Germany Hard (i) Jonas Björkman David Adams
John-Laffnie de Jager		 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–2), 6–0
Win 20. Feb 2000 Mexico City, Mexico Clay Donald Johnson Gastón Etlis
Martín Rodríguez		 6–3, 7–5
Win 21. Jan 2001 Chennai, India Hard Wayne Black Barry Cowan
Mosé Navarra		 6–4, 6–3
Loss 19. Jan 2001 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard David Prinosil Jonas Björkman
Todd Woodbridge		 1–6, 7–5, 4–6, 4–6
Win 22. Sep 2001 Shanghai, China Hard Thomas Shimada John-Laffnie de Jager
Robbie Koenig		 6–2, 3–6, 7–5

Singles: 10 (2 titles, 8 runner-ups)
Result No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. Jan 1996 Adelaide, Australia Hard Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–7, 6–3, 1–6
Loss 2. Apr 1996 New Delhi, India Hard Thomas Enqvist 2–6, 6–7
Win 1. Apr 1996 Seoul, South Korea Hard Martin Damm 7–6, 6–3
Loss 3. Apr 1998 Hong Kong Hard Kenneth Carlsen 2–6, 0–6
Loss 4. Apr 1998 Tokyo, Japan Hard Andrei Pavel 3–6, 4–6
Loss 5. Jun 1998 Nottingham, England Grass Jonas Björkman 3–6, 2–6
Win 2. Apr 1999 Chennai, India Hard Rainer Schüttler 6–4, 1–6, 6–3
Loss 6. Nov 1999 Moscow, Russia Carpet (i) Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6–7, 4–6
Loss 7. Feb 2000 Memphis, USA Hard (i) Magnus Larsson 2–6, 6–1, 3–6
Loss 8. Jun 2000 Nottingham, England Grass Sébastien Grosjean 6–7, 3–6

Performance timelines

Doubles
Tournament19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002Career SRCareer Win-Loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open A A A 2R 1R F 1R 2R 3R 1R 2R 2R F 3R 0 / 11 18–11
French Open A A A 1R 1R W 2R 2R 1R 1R 2R 2R 1R 3R 1 / 11 12–10
Wimbledon A A 2R 1R QF 3R 3R F 2R 1R 1R 3R 1R 2R 0 / 12 17–12
US Open 2R A A 1R 2R 3R QF 1R 1R 3R SF 1R 2R A 0 / 11 14–11
Grand Slam SR 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 4 1 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 1 / 45 N/A
Annual Win-Loss 1–1 0–0 1–1 1–4 4–4 15–3 6–4 7–4 3–4 2–4 6–4 4–4 6–4 5–3 N/A 61–44
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells NME 2R A A A F 2R SF 2R 2R 1R 1R QF A 0 / 9 9–8
Miami NME A A A SF SF SF SF QF 3R 1R QF 2R A 0 / 9 17–9
Monte Carlo NME A A A A A 2R A A A A A A A 0 / 1 0–1
Rome NME A A A A A 1R W F A A QF A A 1 / 4 11–3
Hamburg NME A A A A A F A A A A 2R A A 0 / 2 4–2
Canada NME A A A 2R W 2R QF 1R 1R F A 1R A 1 / 8 9–7
Cincinnati NME A A A A QF SF QF 1R 1R W A 2R A 1 / 7 10–6
Stuttgart (Stockholm) NME A A A A A QF 2R A 1R W A A A 1 / 4 5–3
Paris NME A A A W F 2R SF 1R 2R 2R 1R A A 1/ 8 11–7
Masters Series SR N/A 0 / 1 0 / 0 0 / 0 1 / 3 1 / 5 0 / 9 1 / 7 0 / 6 0 / 6 2 / 6 0 / 5 0 / 4 0 / 0 5 / 52 N/A
Annual Win-Loss N/A 1–0 0–0 0–0 9–2 14–4 9–9 12–6 6–6 4–6 13–4 5–5 3–4 0–0 N/A 76–46
Year-end ranking 586 381 149 90 5 6 18 4 70 70 10 53 34 106 N/A

A = did not attend tournament

References
  1. "ATP Player Profile". ATP. Retrieved 1 April 2012.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 26 January 2013. Retrieved 28 November 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
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