Erik van Dillen (born February 21, 1951) is an American retired tennis player who played over 25 Grand Slam championships at Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon and US Open. He was active from 1964 to 1982 and won 9 careers singles titles.[1]

Erik van Dillen
van Dillen circa 1990
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceSan Mateo, California
Born (1951-02-21) February 21, 1951 (age 73)
San Mateo
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Turned pro1964 (amateur tour)
Retired1982
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record274–269[1]
Career titles9[1]
Highest rankingNo. 36 (September 13, 1973)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1977)
French Open4R (1974, 1975)
Wimbledon4R (1974)
US Open3R (1979, 1980)
Doubles
Career record288–178
Career titles13
Highest rankingNo. 35 (August 23, 1977)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (1977)
French OpenQF (1978)
WimbledonF (1972)
US OpenF (1971)

Tennis career

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Born in San Mateo, California, van Dillen first played tennis aged six years old. During his junior career, he won both the singles and doubles competitions at the "USTA Boys 16 & 18 National Championships" in Kalamazoo, Michigan, as well as winning other national titles in the 12- and 14-year-old divisions. In total, he won 12 U.S. junior titles and is the only player ever to win singles and doubles titles in all four age groups: 12, 14, 16, and 18. (Source USTA Yearbooks).[citation needed]

Van Dillen first played on the men's circuit in 1967 when he appeared at the U.S. Championships for the first time. In 1968, he had his first big win when he beat his future doubles partner and then American No. 1 Charlie Pasarell at the U.S. national tournament at Boston in five sets when only 17. He was ranked in the top 20 of the U.S. from 1968 to 1970 and the top 10 from 1971 to 1973.

In 1973, he won his biggest tournament beating Frew McMillan in Nottingham. In 1974, van Dillen had his best Grand Slam singles year reaching the last 16 at the French Open where he narrowly lost to eventual champion Björn Borg in five sets. At Wimbledon, he also reached the last 16, defeating Guillermo Vilas on the way. He repeated the last 16 appearance in Paris in 1975.

In 1978, van Dillen had a very strong grass-court season in England; he qualified at Nottingham and reached the last 16, and also won the doubles with Dick Stockton. At Wimbledon, he again qualified and then had the greatest win of his career defeating John McEnroe in five sets in the first round.

Van Dillen's last full year on the circuit was 1981 when he won two doubles titles and reached the semifinals of the Volvo International in North Conway with Roscoe Tanner. He also reached the semifinals in singles at Newport, Rhode Island.

He completed his career in 1982 by qualifying at his last singles event the prestigious Alan King Classic in Las Vegas and shortly after reached the final of the WCT Invitation event at Forest Hills in doubles with Dick Stockton.

Van Dillen played in the Wimbledon veterans doubles for a number of years and also played in a veterans event at Indian Wells.[citation needed]

Between 1960 and 1981, he beat six of the then-top players: John McEnroe,[2] Stan Smith,[3] Arthur Ashe,[4] Jimmy Connors,[5] Guillermo Vilas,[6] and Ilie Năstase.[7] At his peak, he was ranked 36th in the world in singles, and 35th in doubles.[8]

After tennis

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Erik earned a degree in finance from the University of Southern California and an MBA from San Francisco State University. He joined IMG, a sports marketing agency. While at IMG, Erik worked with Joe Montana, Martina Navratilova, Arnold Palmer, Kristi Yamaguchi and Chris Evert and helped to build a number of sport and lifestyle events including the WTA Bank of the West Tennis Classic (formerly the Virginia Slims of Oakland), the US Open of Surfing (a 10-day sports and lifestyle exhibition), the Transamerica Seniors Golf Championship and the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon.[citation needed]

After the death of Mark McCormack in 2003, Erik left the company to create van Dillen Partners, a sports and lifestyle marketing agency. The agency works with professional sports and media associations; such as the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP), Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP), Stanford University Athletics, ESPN, NBC Sports, Fox Sports Net, ABC Sports and CBS Sports.[citation needed]

 
Erik van Dillen

Career finals

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Doubles (13 wins, 10 losses)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jun 1971 London Queen's, UK Grass   Stan Smith   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen
6–8, 6–4, 8–10
Win 1–1 Aug 1971 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay   Stan Smith   Sandy Mayer
  Roscoe Tanner
6–1, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 1–2 Aug 1971 Indianapolis, U.S. Clay   Clark Graebner   Željko Franulović
  Jan Kodeš
6–7, 7–5, 3–6
Loss 1–3 Sep 1971 South Orange, U.S. Hard   Clark Graebner   Bob Carmichael
  Tom Leonard
4–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss 1–4 Sep 1971 US Open, New York Grass   Stan Smith   John Newcombe
  Roger Taylor
7–6, 3–6, 6–7, 6–4, 6–7
Loss 1–5 Jul 1972 Wimbledon, London Grass   Stan Smith   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
2–6, 2–6, 7–9
Win 2–5 Feb 1973 Copenhagen, Denmark Carpet (i)   Tom Gorman   Mark Cox
  Graham Stilwell
6–4, 6–4
Loss 2–6 Apr 1973 Vancouver, Canada Carpet (i)   Tom Gorman   Pierre Barthès
  Roger Taylor
7–5, 3–6, 6–7
Loss 2–7 Apr 1973 Charlotte, U.S. Clay   Tom Gorman   Tom Okker
  Marty Riessen
6–7, 6–3, 3–6
Win 3–7 Jul 1973 Nottingham, UK Grass   Tom Gorman   Bob Carmichael
  Frew McMillan
6–4, 6–1
Win 4–7 Jun 1974 Nottingham, UK Grass   Charlie Pasarell   Bob Lutz
  Stan Smith
6–4, 9–7
Loss 4–8 Jan 1975 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet (i)   Dick Stockton   Brian Gottfried
  Raúl Ramírez
6–3, 3–6, 6–7
Win 5–8 Feb 1975 Toronto, Canada Carpet (i)   Dick Stockton   Anand Amritraj
  Vijay Amritraj
6–4, 7–5, 6–1
Win 6–8 Mar 1975 Memphis, U.S. Carpet (i)   Dick Stockton   Mark Cox
  Cliff Drysdale
1–6, 7–5, 6–4
Win 7–8 Aug 1975 North Conway, U.S. Clay   Haroon Rahim   John Alexander
  Phil Dent
7–6, 7–6
Win 8–8 Jan 1976 Birmingham, U.S. Carpet (i)   Jimmy Connors   Hank Pfister
  Dennis Ralston
7–6, 6–4
Win 9–8 Jul 1976 Cincinnati, U.S. Clay   Stan Smith   Eddie Dibbs
  Harold Solomon
6–1, 6–1
Loss 9–9 Aug 1976 Louisville, U.S. Clay   Stan Smith   Byron Bertram
  Pat Cramer
3–6, 4–6
Win 10–9 Aug 1978 New Orleans, U.S. Carpet (i)   Dick Stockton   Ismail El Shafei
  Brian Fairlie
7–6, 6–3
Win 11–9 Aug 1978 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Dick Stockton   Rick Fisher
  Bruce Manson
6–1, 6–4
Win 12–9 Jul 1981 Newport, U.S. Grass   Brad Drewett   Kevin Curren
  Billy Martin
6–2, 6–4
Win 13–9 Aug 1981 Cleveland, U.S. Hard   Van Winitsky   Syd Ball
  Ross Case
6–4, 5–7, 7–5
Loss 13–10 May 1982 Forest Hills, U.S. Clay   Dick Stockton   Tracy Delatte
  Johan Kriek
4–6, 6–3, 3–6

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Players: van Dillen, Erik)". The Tennis Base. Madrid: Tennismem SL. Retrieved November 3, 2023.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ Alfano, Peter (June 24, 1988). "Wimbledon exit for McEnroe on centre court". New York Times. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  3. ^ "Head-to-head: Erik van Dillen against Stan Smith". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  4. ^ "Head-to-head: Erik van Dillen against Arthur Ashe". ATP World Tour. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  5. ^ Joel Drucker (June 2005). Jimmy Connors Saved My Life: A Personal Biography. ISBN 9781861058997. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  6. ^ "Erik Van Dillen - Opponents". Scoreshelf.com. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "Player profile - Erik VAN DILLEN (USA)". Davis Cup. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "Tennis Players - Erik Van Dillen". ATP World Tour. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
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