Brad Gilbert

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Malibu, California
Born	(1961-08-09) August 9, 1961 (age 57) Oakland, California
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	1982 (amateur tour from 1981)
Retired	1995
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money	US$5,507,973
Singles
Career record	519–288 (64.31%)
Career titles	20
Highest ranking	No. 4 (January 1, 1990)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	4R (1984)
French Open	3R (1993)
Wimbledon	QF (1990)
US Open	QF (1987)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	SF (1987)
Grand Slam Cup	F (1990)
WCT Finals	F (1989)
Olympic Games	SF (1988)
Doubles
Career record	101–127
Career titles	3
Highest ranking	No. 18 (September 29, 1986)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	2R (1987)
French Open	2R (1987)
Wimbledon	2R (1986)
US Open	2R (1988)
Coaching career
Andre Agassi Andy Roddick Andy Murray 2006 — 2007 Alex Bogdanovic Kei Nishikori 2011 Sam Querrey
Medal record Olympic Games – Tennis 1988 Seoul Singles Maccabiah Games 1981 Israel Men's Doubles 1981 Israel Men's Singles

Brad Gilbert (born August 9, 1961) is an American tennis coach and former professional tennis player. During his career he won 20 singles titles and achieved a career-high singles ranking of World No. 4 in 1990, and a career-high doubles ranking of World No. 18 four years prior. He won a bronze medal at the 1988 Olympics, and both a gold medal and a silver medal at the 1981 Maccabiah Games.

Since retiring from the tour, he has coached several top players, most notably Andre Agassi who won six of his eight Grand Slam titles under Gilbert's tutelage. Other players he has coached include Andy Roddick, Andy Murray, and Kei Nishikori.

Early life[edit]

Gilbert was born in Oakland, California, and attended Piedmont High School, for whom he played tennis.^[1][2][3] His father Barry was a high school history teacher, and then started a real estate firm.^[4][5]

Playing career[edit]

Gilbert played tennis for Foothill College, a junior college in Los Altos Hills, California, from 1980–82, where he was coached by Tom Chivington. During this time, he won the California Junior College Singles Championship and the U.S. Amateur Hardcourt Championship. In 1981, Gilbert became a member of the American Junior Davis Cup team. He competed for the US in the 1981 Maccabiah Games in Israel, losing in the men's singles finals to Israeli Shlomo Glickstein, but winning a gold medal in doubles with Jon Levine over fellow Americans Rick Meyer and Paul Bernstein.^[6][3] In 1982, he transferred to Pepperdine University, playing for Allen Fox, where he became an All-American and reached the finals of the 1982 NCAA Championship.

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.

Gilbert won a total of 20 top-level singles titles during his career, the biggest being the Cincinnati event in 1989. He was also runner-up in a further 20 singles events, including Cincinnati in 1990 where he lost to six-time Grand Slam champion Stefan Edberg, and the Paris Indoors in 1987 and 1988.

Gilbert's most successful year on the tour was 1989, during which he won five singles titles, including Cincinnati, where he beat four future Hall of Famers to claim the title: Pete Sampras, Michael Chang, Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.

Gilbert's best performances at Grand Slam tournaments were at the 1987 US Open and 1990 Wimbledon Championships, where he reached the quarterfinals. He was also runner-up at the inaugural Grand Slam Cup in 1990.

Gilbert was ranked among the top 10 players in the U.S. for 9 of his first 10 years on the professional tour. His career win-loss record in singles play was 519–288. His career prize-money totaled US$5,509,060.

Among his upsets of players ranked in the world's top 3 were his defeat of no. 2 Boris Becker, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, in Cincinnati in 1989, no. 2 Edberg, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4, in Los Angeles in 1991, no. 3 Sampras, 6–3, 6–4, in London in 1992, and no. 3 Jim Courier, 6–4, 6–4, at Memphis in 1994, Edberg, 6–4, 2–6, 7–6, in Cincinnati in 1989, and perhaps most significantly, no. 2 John McEnroe, 5–7, 6–4, 6–1, at the Masters Grand Prix in 1985, which sent McEnroe into his first six-month break from tennis.

Style of play[edit]

Unlike many other professional players of his era, Gilbert did not have a major offensive weapon such as an overpowering serve or forehand. His best asset was his ability to keep the ball in play. He hit the ball most often at a slow but accurate pace and was sometimes called a pusher.^[7] In his 2002 autobiography, John McEnroe called Gilbert a pusher and claimed that Gilbert had the ability to bring talented players down to his type of game. In addition, McEnroe stated that Gilbert was the most negative person he had ever played tennis against, and he was riled by Gilbert's alleged non-stop tirades against himself while playing.

Gilbert 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 forced his opponent 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, Gilbert attacked decisively, often at the net. He was one of the sport's top strategists as a player. Although he was easy to get along with outside the court, Gilbert was a fierce competitor with a sometimes annoying style of play, focusing on his opponent's weaknesses. Both his style of play and his mental approach brought him wins over the world's top players and kept him near the top 10 for six years.

Davis Cup[edit]

Gilbert compiled a 10–5 record in Davis Cup play from 1986–93, with a 7–1 record on hard courts and carpet.^[8]

Olympics[edit]

Gilbert won a bronze medal in men's singles at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul.

ATP Career finals[edit]

Singles 40 (20 titles, 20 runner-ups)[edit]

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	1982	Taipei, Taiwan	Carpet	Craig Wittus	6–1, 6–4
Winner	2.	1984	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Hank Pfister	6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Runner-up	1.	1984	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	4–6, 4–6
Winner	3.	1984	Taipei, Taiwan	Carpet	Wally Masur	6–3, 6–3
Winner	4.	1985	Livingston, U.S.	Hard	Brian Teacher	7–6, 6–4
Winner	5.	1985	Cleveland, U.S.	Hard	Brad Drewett	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	1985	Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany	Clay	Ivan Lendl	4–6, 0–6
Runner-up	3.	1985	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Matt Anger	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6
Winner	6.	1985	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Amos Mansdorf	6–3, 6–2
Winner	7.	1986	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Stefan Edberg	7–5, 7–6(7–3)
Winner	8.	1986	Livingston, U.S.	Hard	Mike Leach	6–2, 6–2
Winner	9.	1986	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Aaron Krickstein	7–5, 6–2
Winner	10.	1986	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Karel Nováček	3–6, 6–3, 7–5, 6–0
Runner-up	4.	1987	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Hard	Ivan Lendl	1–6, 0–6
Winner	11.	1987	Scottsdale, U.S.	Hard	Eliot Teltscher	6–2, 6–2
Runner-up	5.	1987	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Amos Mansdorf	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	6.	1987	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet	Tim Mayotte	6–2, 3–6, 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Runner-up	7.	1987	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard (i)	Pat Cash	6–7(7–9), 6–4, 6–2, 0–6, 1–6
Winner	12.	1988	Tel Aviv, Israel	Hard	Aaron Krickstein	4–6, 7–6(7–5), 6–2
Runner-up	8.	1988	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet	Amos Mansdorf	3–6, 2–6, 3–6
Winner	13.	1989	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Johan Kriek	6–2, 6–2, ret.
Runner-up	9.	1989	Dallas WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	3–6, 3–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	10.	1989	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Hard	Tim Mayotte	6–3, 4–6, 5–7
Winner	14.	1989	Stratton Mountain, U.S.	Hard	Jim Pugh	7–5, 6–0
Winner	15.	1989	Livingston, U.S.	Hard	Jason Stoltenberg	6–4, 6–4
Winner	16.	1989	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–4, 2–6, 7–6(7–5)
Winner	17.	1989	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Anders Järryd	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	11.	1989	Orlando, U.S.	Hard	Andre Agassi	2–6, 1–6
Winner	18.	1990	Rotterdam, Netherlands	Carpet	Jonas Svensson	6–1, 6–3
Winner	19.	1990	Orlando, U.S.	Hard	Christo van Rensburg	6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	12.	1990	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Stefan Edberg	1–6, 1–6
Winner	20.	1990	Brisbane, Australia	Hard	Aaron Krickstein	6–3, 6–1
Runner-up	13.	1990	Grand Slam Cup, Munich	Carpet	Pete Sampras	3–6, 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	14.	1991	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Darren Cahill	2–6, 6–3, 4–6
Runner-up	15.	1991	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Pete Sampras	2–6, 7–6(7–5), 3–6
Runner-up	16.	1991	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	Stefan Edberg	2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	17.	1992	Scottsdale, U.S.	Hard	Stefano Pescosolido	0–6, 6–1, 4–6
Runner-up	18.	1993	San Francisco, U.S.	Hard (i)	Andre Agassi	2–6, 7–6(7–4), 2–6
Runner-up	19.	1993	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Pete Sampras	2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Runner-up	20.	1994	Memphis, U.S.	Hard (i)	Todd Martin	4–6, 5–7

Singles performance timeline[edit]

Halls of Fame[edit]

Gilbert is a member of the USTA Northern California Hall of Fame, and the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.^[9][10]

Gilbert is also a 1999 inductee into the Pepperdine Athletics Hall of Fame.^[11]

Gilbert was inducted in 2001 into the ITA Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame, and in 2003 into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.^[12][13]

Gilbert was a 2001 inductee into the Marblehead Boosters Hall of Fame.^[14]

Coaching career[edit]

Gilbert retired as a player in 1995. Since 1994, he has been successful as a tennis coach. This success has often been associated with the extraordinary tactical abilities exhibited during his own matches.

Andre Agassi[edit]

Gilbert was the coach of Andre Agassi for eight years, from March 1994 until January 2002. Agassi won six of his eight majors when Gilbert was his coach. Agassi described Gilbert as "the greatest coach of all time".^[15]

Andy Roddick[edit]

On June 3, 2003, Gilbert became the coach of Andy Roddick, who won the 2003 US Open under Gilbert's guidance, as well as clinching the year-end world no. 1 for 2003 and reaching the 2004 Wimbledon final. They parted ways on December 12, 2004.

Andy Murray[edit]

Gilbert coaching Andy Murray

On July 26, 2006, Gilbert was announced as taking over the coaching duties of Scottish player Andy Murray. As well as coaching Murray, Gilbert took part, pursuant to a 3-year deal, in other British Lawn Tennis Association programmes, including tennis camps at under-12 and under-14 levels.^[16] He also worked with the LTA's network of coaches and its high-performance clubs and academies. On November 14, 2007, after 16 months working together, Gilbert and Murray parted company. By then, Murray had reached a then career-high ranking of no. 8.^[17]

Alex Bogdanović[edit]

In November 2007 it was announced that Gilbert would work for 20 weeks in 2008 for Britain's Lawn Tennis Association, concentrating mostly on coaching Britain's no. 2, Alex Bogdanović, and others in his age group. Bogdanović said he was "unbelievably excited" at the chance of spending time with Gilbert.^[18] Roger Draper, the LTA's chief executive, said: "We have set Brad a new challenge of getting Alex into the top 100 and also 'upskilling' our coaches and inspiring the next generation to follow in Andy's footsteps."^[19]

Kei Nishikori[edit]

While still being committed to his TV items,^[20] in December 2010 it was announced that Gilbert would return to coaching, and partner with Kei Nishikori of Japan for 15 tournaments in the 2011 season. Gilbert's partnership with Nishikori concluded at the end of the 2011 season.^[21]

Sam Querrey[edit]

In February 2012, it was announced that Gilbert would work with American Sam Querrey on a trial basis in 2012.^[22]

Commentator and author[edit]

Gilbert now serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN. He is also the author of the book Winning Ugly,^[23] which gives tips on how an average player can defeat a more skilled opponent and better the average player's mental game. His second book, co-authored by James Kaplan and entitled I've Got Your Back,^[24] was published in 2005.

Personal life[edit]

Gilbert is Jewish^[25] and resides with his wife Kim and three children Zach, Julian and Zoe in San Rafael, California.

He owns a tennis shop in downtown San Rafael called Brad Gilbert’s Tennis Nation. He was a close friend of Barry MacKay.

While commentating Andy Murray's third-round match in the 2011 Australian Open for ESPN2, Gilbert mentioned that he lives near the Olympian runner Michael Johnson and that when he was Murray's coach he introduced Johnson and Murray, who did a series of sprints together on a nearby track.

See also[edit]

• List of select Jewish tennis players

References[edit]

References[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

• 
  Gilbert, Brad (1994). Winning Ugly: Mental Warfare in Tennis—Lessons from a Master. Fireside. ISBN 0-671-88400-X.
  

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Brad Gilbert.

• The Official Brad Gilbert Site


• 
  Brad Gilbert at the Association of Tennis Professionals


• 
  Brad Gilbert at the International Tennis Federation


• 
  Brad Gilbert at the Davis Cup


• Brad Gilbert ESPn Bio