Jan Gunnarsson (born 30 May 1962) is a former tennis player from Sweden,[1] who won one singles in Vienna in 1985 (beating Libor Pimek in the final) and nine doubles titles on the world tour during his professional career. In 1989 he reached the semi-finals of Australian Open where he lost in straight sets to Miloslav Mečíř.

Jan Gunnarsson
Country (sports) Sweden
ResidenceMonte Carlo, Monaco
Born (1962-05-30) 30 May 1962 (age 62)
Olofström, Sweden
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro1979
Retired1994
PlaysRight-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money$1,285,040
Singles
Career record188–204
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 25 (9 December 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1989)
French Open4R (1984)
Wimbledon4R (1991)
US Open1R (1986)
Doubles
Career record176–176
Career titles9
Highest rankingNo. 20 (30 April 1984)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1989, 1991, 1992)
French Open3R (1986)
Wimbledon2R (1980, 1985, 1986)
US Open1R (1986)

Along with Michael Mortensen he won the longest tie-break in tennis history at Wimbledon in 1985. The Swedish/Danish duo defeated John Frawley and Víctor Pecci in the first round.

The right-hander reached his career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 25 in December 1985.

Summer 2012 Olympics controversy

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Gunnarsson was an expert commentator for the Summer 2012 Olympic Games. His position on Swedish television became controversial after he made xenophobic comments in response to negative comments made by the Swedish Culture and Sports Minister Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth about financial support for future Swedish applications for major championships. On his Facebook page, Gunnarsson posted the comment, "There's not enough money when the state is paying welfare for 27,000 Somalis." His comment was criticized by SVT's sports editor Per Yng, and he removed the comment shortly after.[2]

Career finals

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Singles (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Loss 0–1 Mar 1984 Metz, France Carpet   Ramesh Krishnan 3–6, 3–6
Win 1–1 Nov 1985 Vienna, Austria Carpet   Libor Pimek 6–7(5–7), 6–2, 6–4, 1–6, 7–5
Loss 1–2 Oct 1986 Toulouse, France Hard (i)   Guy Forget 6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Loss 1–3 Jul 1987 Stuttgart, West Germany Clay   Miloslav Mečíř 0–6, 2–6
Loss 1–4 May 1991 Bologna, Italy Clay   Paolo Canè 7–5, 3–6, 5–7

Doubles (9 titles, 10 runner-ups)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Nov 1982 Stockholm, Sweden Hard (i)   Mark Dickson   Sherwood Stewart
  Ferdi Taygan
7–6, 6–7, 6–4
Win 2–0 Mar 1983 Nancy, France Hard (i)   Anders Järryd   Ricardo Acuña
  Belus Prajoux
7–5, 6–3
Loss 2–1 May 1983 Rome, Italy Clay   Mike Leach   Francisco González
  Víctor Pecci
2–6, 7–6, 4–6
Win 3–1 Apr 1984 Nice, France Clay   Michael Mortensen   Hans Gildemeister
  Andrés Gómez
6–1, 7–5
Loss 3–2 Apr 1984 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay   Mats Wilander   Mark Edmondson
  Sherwood Stewart
2–6, 1–6
Win 4–2 Jul 1984 Båstad, Sweden Clay   Michael Mortensen   Juan Avendaño
  Fernando Roese
6–0, 6–0
Loss 4–3 Oct 1984 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Joakim Nyström   Wojciech Fibak
  Sandy Mayer
1–6, 3–6
Loss 4–4 Nov 1984 Treviso, Italy Clay   Sherwood Stewart   Pavel Složil
  Tim Wilkison
2–6, 3–6
Win 5–4 Nov 1984 Toulouse, France Carpet   Michael Mortensen   Pavel Složil
  Tim Wilkison
6–4, 6–2
Loss 5–5 Sep 1985 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Michael Mortensen   Sergio Casal
  Emilio Sánchez
3–6, 3–6
Loss 5–6 Oct 1985 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Peter Lundgren   Alex Antonitsch
  Michiel Schapers
4–6, 5–7
Loss 5–7 Apr 1986 Cologne, West Germany Hard (i)   Peter Lundgren   Kelly Evernden
  Chip Hooper
4–6, 7–6, 3–6
Win 6–7 Sep 1986 Barcelona, Spain Clay   Joakim Nyström   Carlos di Laura
  Claudio Panatta
6–3, 6–4
Loss 6–8 Oct 1986 Basel, Switzerland Hard (i)   Tomáš Šmíd   Guy Forget
  Yannick Noah
6–7, 4–6
Win 7–8 Jul 1987 Gstaad, Switzerland Clay   Tomáš Šmíd   Loïc Courteau
  Guy Forget
7–6, 6–2
Loss 7–9 Feb 1989 Rotterdam, Netherlands Clay   Magnus Gustafsson   Miloslav Mečíř
  Milan Šrejber
6–7, 0–6
Win 8–9 Oct 1989 Vienna, Austria Carpet   Anders Järryd   Paul Annacone
  Kelly Evernden
6–2, 6–3
Loss 8–10 Jul 1990 Båstad, Sweden Clay   Udo Riglewski   Rikard Bergh
  Ronnie Båthman
1–6, 4–6
Win 9–10 Apr 1991 Nice, France Clay   Rikard Bergh   Vojtěch Flégl
  Nicklas Utgren
6–4, 4–6, 6–3

References

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  1. ^ Jan Gunnarsson at the Association of Tennis Professionals
  2. ^ ""Helt oacceptabelt att uttrycka sig så"". aftonbladet.se.
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