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Brad Gilbert

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Bronze
medal 		1988
Seoul 		Tennis
Men's Singles Competition

Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961 in Oakland, California) is a tennis coach, a television tennis commentator, and former professional tennis player.

Gilbert joined the professional tour in 1982 and won his first top-level singles title later that year in Taipei. His first doubles title came in 1985 in Tel Aviv. He won a total of 20 top-level singles titles during his career, the biggest being the historic Cincinnati event in 1989. He was also runner-up in a further 20 singles events, including Cincinnati in 1990 (where he lost to future Hall of Fame inductee Stefan Edberg) and the Paris Indoors in 1987 and 1988.

His most successful year on the tour was 1989, during which he won five singles titles, including Cincinnati. His best performance at a Grand Slam tournament was at the 1987 US Open, where he reached the quarter-finals. He was also runner-up at the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in 1990. He won Bronze Medal in the men's singles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 4, which he reached in January 1990.

Unlike many other professional players of his era, Gilbert did not have a powerful serve, a dangerous forehand or backhand, a flashy volley, or a lighting smash. His best asset was his ability to keep the ball in play. He hit the ball most often at a deliberately slow pace but with accuracy. He kept an open stance and did not make many turns when at the baseline. This enabled him to control the game through oversight and tempo despite his defensive style. He built his game around destroying his opponent's rhythm. He would force the other player into long rallies by hitting the ball high over the net and deep into his opponent's court. If an opponent employed a slow pace, then Gilbert would attack decisively, often at the net. Although he was easy to get along with outside the court, Gilbert could be (deliberately or not) annoying during a match, often challenging calls or complaining about trivial things. Both his style of play and his mental approach were that of a snake; this may have been the only way for him to survive. To Gilbert's credit, he was fast on his feet and had accurate passing shots.

Gilbert retired as player in 1994. Since then, he has been highly successful as a tennis coach.

Gilbert was coach to Andre Agassi for eight years from 1994 to 2002. During that period, Agassi won six Grand Slam singles titles, making it the joint-most successful coach-player partnership in the Open era (along side Tony Roche's period as coach of Ivan Lendl). Agassi described Gilbert as "the greatest coach of all time" as a result of the pair's highly successful relationship.

Gilbert went on to coach Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open, but they parted ways in early 2004. Roddick's form has taken a noticeable downturn since this break-up, and many believe this is testament to Gilbert's competence as a tennis coach.

Gilbert now serves occasionally as an analyst for ESPN. He is also the author of the very popular book Winning Ugly, which gives tips on how an average player can defeat a more skilled opponent.

In June 2006, Gilbert was rumoured to be considering taking over the coaching duties of British talent Andy Murray. The 19-year-old confirmed that he had been in talks with Gilbert, yet emphasised that no deal had been finalised. Murray is expecting Gilbert to coach him for the first time in the US Open warm ups of Toronto and Cincinnati. Nothing finalised yet but it looks good for Murray it's in all in Gilbert's hands now.

Gilbert resides with his wife and children in San Rafael, California.

Career highlights

'''Singles titles (20): '''Career runner-ups (20): '''Doubles titles (3): '''Doubles runner-ups (3):

External links

 

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