Colin Dowdeswell

Colin Dowdeswell (born 12 May 1955) is a former professional tennis player who represented, at different times, Rhodesia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom,[1] and who achieved rank as UK No. 1. During his time on the world tour, he won one singles title and eleven doubles titles.[2] The highlight of his career was reaching the men's doubles final of Wimbledon.

Colin Dowdeswell
Country (sports) Rhodesia (1972–1976)
  Switzerland (1977–1981)
 United Kingdom (1982–1986)
Born (1955-05-12) 12 May 1955
London, England
Height6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$327,277
Singles
Career record113–171
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 31 (12 December 1983)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open2R (1984)
French Open2R (1977, 1978, 1979)
Wimbledon2R (1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986)
US Open4R (1976, 1978)
Doubles
Career record216–162
Career titles11
Highest rankingNo. 24 (24 March 1980)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open3R (1984, 1985)
French OpenQF (1977)
WimbledonF (1975)
US OpenSF (1976)
Mixed doubles
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
French OpenF (1976)
WimbledonQF (1976, 1980)
US OpenSF (1984)

Early life

Dowdeswell was born in London but grew up in Rhodesia and went to university in South Africa.[3]

Tennis career highlights

Partnering Australian Allan Stone, Dowdeswell finished runner-up in doubles at Wimbledon in 1975. Unseeded, after two straight sets wins, they defeated the No. 7 seeds Tom Okker and Marty Riessen in the round of 16 in four sets. They did likewise in eliminating the No. 3 seeds, Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan, in the quarterfinals. It took Dowdeswell and Stone then five sets to overcome the unseeded team of Dick Crealy and Niki Pilic in the semifinals. They lost the final to another unseeded tandem, Vitas Gerulaitis and Sandy Mayer, 5–7, 6–8, 4–6.[4]

Dowdeswell achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 31 in 1983 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 24 in 1980.[2]

Career finals

Singles: 4 (1 title)
Result No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1. 1974 Dublin, Ireland Hard Sherwood Stewart 3–6, 8–9
Win 1. 1975 Istanbul, Turkey Clay Ferdi Taygan 6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Loss 2. 1978 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Cliff Richey 2–6, 4–6
Loss 3. 1983 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Johan Kriek 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6

Doubles: 28 (11 titles)
Result No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1. 1974 Dublin, Ireland Hard John Yuill Lito Álvarez
Jorge Andrew		 6–3, 6–2
Loss 1. 1975 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet (i) John Yuill Jürgen Fassbender
Karl Meiler		 1–6, 6–3, 6–7
Loss 2. 1975 Wimbledon, London Grass Allan Stone Vitas Gerulaitis
Sandy Mayer		 5–7, 6–8, 4–6
Loss 3. 1975 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Ken Rosewall Jürgen Fassbender
Hans-Jürgen Pohmann		 4–6, 7–9, 1–6
Loss 4. 1975 Istanbul, Turkey Clay John Feaver Colin Dibley
Thomaz Koch		 2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 5. 1976 Nuremberg, Germany Carpet (i) Paul Kronk Frew McMillan
Karl Meiler		 6–7, 4–6
Loss 6. 1976 Barcelona, Spain Clay Paul Kronk Wojtek Fibak
Jacek Niedźwiedzki		 2–6, 3–6
Loss 7. 1976 Cologne, Germany Carpet (i) Mike Estep Bob Hewitt
Frew McMillan		 1–6, 6–3, 6–7
Loss 8. 1977 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Bob Hewitt Jürgen Fassbender
Karl Meiler		 4–6, 6–7
Loss 9. 1977 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Chris Kachel Buster Mottram
Roger Taylor		 6–7, 4–6
Win 2. 1978 Sarasota, U.S. Carpet Geoff Masters Byron Bertram
Bernard Mitton		 2–6, 6–3, 6–2
Loss 10. 1978 Lagos, Nigeria Clay Jürgen Fassbender George Hardie
Sashi Menon		 3–6, 6–3, 5–7
Win 3. 1978 Berlin, Germany Clay Jürgen Fassbender Željko Franulović
Hans Gildemeister		 6–3, 6–4
Loss 11. 1978 Toronto, Canada Clay Heinz Günthardt Wojtek Fibak
Tom Okker		 3–6, 6–7
Win 4. 1979 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Heinz Günthardt Raymond Moore
Ilie Năstase		 6–3, 7–6
Win 5. 1979 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Frew McMillan Wojtek Fibak
Pavel Složil		 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Loss 12. 1980 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Heinz Günthardt Bob Hewitt
Frew McMillan		 4–6, 3–6
Win 6. 1980 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Ismail El Shafei Mark Edmondson
Kim Warwick		 6–4, 6–4
Win 7. 1980 Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany Clay Frew McMillan Chris Lewis
John Yuill		 6–3, 6–4
Loss 13. 1983 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay Wojtek Fibak Pavel Složil
Tomáš Šmíd		 7–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 14. 1983 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Zoltan Kuharszky Wojtek Fibak
Pavel Složil		 5–7, 2–6
Win 8. 1983 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Zoltan Kuharszky Peter Elter
Peter Feigl		 6–4, 7–5
Loss 15. 1984 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Wojtek Fibak Henri Leconte
Pascal Portes		 6–2, 6–7, 6–7
Loss 16. 1984 Tel Aviv, Israel Hard Jakob Hlasek Peter Doohan
Brian Levine		 3–6, 4–6
Win 9. 1985 Palermo, Italy Clay Joakim Nyström Sergio Casal
Emilio Sánchez		 6–4, 6–7, 7–6
Win 10. 1985 Johannesburg, South Africa Hard Christo van Rensburg Amos Mansdorf
Shahar Perkiss		 3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Win 11. 1986 Milan, Italy Carpet (i) Christo Steyn Brian Levine
Laurie Warder		 6–3, 4–6, 6–1
Loss 17. 1986 Nice, France Clay Gary Donnelly Jakob Hlasek
Pavel Složil		 3–6, 6–4, 9–11

Davis Cup

Dowdeswell participated in one Davis Cup tie for Rhodesia in 1976, posting a 2–0 record in singles and an 0–1 record in doubles. He participated in six Davis Cup ties for Great Britain from 1984 to 1986, posting an 0–2 record in singles and a 5–1 record in doubles.

Life outside tennis

Dowdeswell completed his tennis career in 1986 and began a successful career in financial services and private banking with Merrill Lynch.[2] Married with three children,[2] he currently resides in Monaco. He has also resided in Wimbledon.[1]

References
  1. "ITF Men's Circuit Biography of Colin Dowdeswell". ITF Tennis. Retrieved 19 October 2011.
  2. "ATP.com Colin Dowdeswell profile". ATP.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
  3. Official website: Biography Archived 10 September 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed 11 July 2014
  4. "1975 Wimbledon Men's Doubles drawsheet". ATP.com. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
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