Paul Gerken
Paul Gerken
Paul Gerken, a kid from East Norwalk, Conn., cut his tennis playing teeth on the New England tennis circuit, and went on to put together a highly successful professional tennis career. On his way to achieving a career high No. 32 ATP ranking (1973), he accomplished something not even the great John McEnroe managed - a winning record against Bjorn Borg! Gerken was able to post a 2-1 career head-to-head record against the Hall of Famer, beating Borg in straight sets twice. Gerken's lone loss to Borg came in a third set tiebreak. For the record, McEnroe's career record against Borg was an even 7-7.
Of course, Gerken's tennis prowess began to show long before he was knocking down future Hall of Famers. As a junior, Gerken held top five New England rankings in every junior age group, including No. 1 singles rankings in the 14- and 16-and-under divisions. He complemented those with top rankings in 14- and 18-and-under doubles. In 1967, he held the distinction of being ranked No.1 and No. 2 in singles at the same time, in the 16 and 18 divisions respectively.
While dominating New England's tennis scene, Gerken decided to take his game to the next level, and the results followed. He reached a career-high national ranking of No. 7 in the 18s while reaching the finals of both the National Junior Indoor Championships and the Orange Bowl in 1968. During the same time, he was the only New Englander to be selected to the U.S. Junior Davis Cup team (1967-68).
Gerken's success followed him to college. During his time at Trinity (Texas) and Stanford Universities, he was a three-time All-American, a member of Trinity's 1972 NCAA Championship team, a finalist in the 1972 NCAA Doubles Championships and a member of the U.S. Junior Davis Cup Under 21 team.
After college, Gerken set out on the pro tour. His best year on tour was 1973, when he reached two singles finals (Calgary, Salt Lake City), two doubles finals (Hong Kong, Baltimore) and the round of 16 at the French Open on route to his career high No. 32 singles ranking. Gerken was also selected to the 1973 U.S. Davis Cup Team. During his career, he also reached the third round of the US Open four times and managed wins over Arthur Ashe, Guillermo Vilas, Ilie Nastase and a host of other great players.
Since retiring from the pro tour, Gerken has dedicated himself to teaching the sport and returned to his Connecticut tennis roots. Gerken was the men's tennis coach at Columbia University from 1979-82, and has since taught tennis at several clubs in Fairfield County and New York. He is currently teaching at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, Conn.
