John Hillebrand (born c. 1940)[1] is an Australian former tennis player who was active from the late 1950s until the early 1970s. His best finish in a Grand Slam tournament came in 1963, when he reached the men's doubles quarterfinals of the Australian Open with partner Peter McPherson.[2]
| Country (sports) | Australien |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1940 (age 83–84) Rockhampton, Queensland, Australia |
| Doubles | |
| Grand Slam doubles results | |
| Australian Open | 4th (1963) |
Tennis career
editAs a junior, Hillebrand won the Victorian Under 19 Clay Court Singles Championships three years in a row. Up until that time, it had only been done once, by Neale Fraser. Hillebrand also won the Tasmanian State Under 19 Singles Championships in 1957.[citation needed]
In the first round at Wimbledon in 1963, he defeated John Newcombe in five sets with the score 14–12, 9–7, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3. Arthur Ashe then defeated him 5–7, 7–5, 11–9, 3–6, 6–3 in the second round.[3][4] In 1964, Hillebrand and partner Clive Brebnor reached the men's doubles final of the British Hard Court Championships, where they lost to Cliff Drysdale and Keith Diepraam in straight sets.[5]
Hillebrand had wins either in singles or doubles against Frank Sedgman, Neale Fraser, Rex Hartwig, John Newcombe, Tony Roche, Paul McNamee, Peter McNamara, Bob Hewitt, Frew McMillan, and Jaroslav Drobny. He also has wins over Davis Cup players Mark Cox (GB), Roger Taylor (GB), Keith Diepraam (South Africa), Beppi Merlo (Italy), Pierre Barthes (Fr), Daniel Contet (Fr), Micah Dubitsky (Israel), Andres Licis (Poland), Christian Kuhnke (Germany), Juan Gisbert (Spain), and Nikki Pilic (Yugoslavia). Singles tournaments he won include Monte Carlo, Chapel Allerton, Sutton Coalfield, Eastbourne, Hoylake, St. Annes-On-Sea, and Israel. He won the Irish International Doubles Championship with Warren Jacques in 1961. After retirement as a player, Hillebrand captained the winning "A" pennant team of Liston/Esplanade to the Premiership of Melbourne, Victoria in 1966.[citation needed]
Retirement
editHillebrand had played Dale Jensen in a London tournament in 1962. Upon arriving in California, he called Jensen and asked for help relocating to Southern California. Jensen arranged for him to immediately play a senior tournament in Costa Mesa, where he met Dr. Jim Pugh, a dentist and tennis player. They immediately became good friends. Pugh sponsored Hillebrand into the United States, and had him teach his son, Jim Pugh, age 10, who went on to become the top world ranked doubles player in 1989.[citation needed]
He also coached his wife (now ex) Charleen to 123 National US senior titles. He later became the director of the Australian School of Tennis in San Pedro, California.[citation needed]
In 1996, he self-published Tennis Secrets Revealed, a book exploring different theories of tennis play.[1]
Personal life
editHillebrand is also a songwriter whose hymn, God Will Guide You Home, was translated into the Cheyenne language (Tsisinstsistots). He is currently[when?] living in San Pedro, California.[citation needed]
He married fellow tennis player Charleen in 1964 and they have two daughters and one son. Hillebrand's father was the president of Australia's Professional Tennis Association in the 1960s and 1970s and oversaw the implementation of standards.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c Sanjurjo, Erik (2 September 1996). "Court Order". News-Pilot. San Pedro, California, US. p. 3. Retrieved 18 August 2024 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Australian Open results archive". Archived from the original on 18 May 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2015.
- ^ 1963 Wimbledon results
- ^ Weissberg, Ted (1993). Arthur Ashe (Illustrated ed.). Los Angeles: Melrose Square Pub. Co. p. 74. ISBN 978-0870677816.
- ^ "Drysdale, Knight Gain Tennis Final". The New York Times. 25 April 1964.