Jimmy Arias
American tennis player and TV commentator
James Arias (born August 16, 1964) is a retired tennis touring professional player from the United States.
01Biography
Arias was born in Grand Island, New York on August 16, 1964. His father, Antonio Arias, was born in Spain and emigrated to Cuba during after the Spanish Civil War, and played football for the Cuba national team. Arias' father was an engineer who analyzed his forehand, and revolutionized it by creating the full-whip forehand - it kept racket speed up by preventing Jimmy from slowing down as he hit the ball.
A baseliner, Arias turned pro at age 16 in 1980. His peak year was 1983, when as a 19-year-old he finished the year ranked World No. 6, having reached the U.S. Open semi-finals by defeating Jonathan Canter, Tom Gullikson, Gianni Ocleppo, Joakim Nyström and Yannick Noah, and then lost to Ivan Lendl. He also won the Italian Open and three other tour grand prix events.
He reached his career high ranking of World No. 5 in April 1984. He retired from the tour in 1994, having amassed a 286-223 singles playing record and over $1,800,000 in prize money.
With former World No. 2 tennis player, Andrea Jaeger, he won the 1981 French Open Mixed Doubles Championship.
Broadcast work
Arias serves as a commentator for ESPN International and Tennis Channel. Arias served as an analyst for NBC Sports coverage of Tennis at the 2008 Summer Olympics. In Canada, he has worked as an analyst for Rogers Sportsnet and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on the broadcasts of the Rogers Cup.
02Grand Slam finals
Mixed doubles (1 title)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1981 | French Open | Clay | Andrea Jaeger | Betty Stöve Fred McNair | 7-6, 6-4 |
03Career finals
Singles (5 titles, 11 runner-ups)
| Result | W/L | Date | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | Jul 1982 | Washington, D.C., U.S. | Clay | Ivan Lendl | 3-6, 3-6 |
| Loss | 0-2 | Aug 1982 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | José Higueras | 5-7, 7-5, 3-6 |
| Win | 1-2 | Oct 1982 | Tokyo, Japan | Clay | Dominique Bedel | 6-2, 2-6, 6-4 |
| Win | 2-2 | May 1983 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Francesco Cancellotti | 6-4, 6-3 |
| Win | 3-2 | May 1983 | Rome, Italy | Clay | José Higueras | 6-2, 6-7(3-7), 6-1, 6-4 |
| Win | 4-2 | Aug 1983 | Indianapolis, U.S. | Clay | Andrés Gómez | 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 |
| Loss | 4-3 | Jul 1983 | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | Clay | José Luis Clerc | 3-6, 1-6 |
| Loss | 4-4 | Jul 1983 | Washington D.C., U.S. | Clay | José Luis Clerc | 3-6, 6-3, 0-6 |
| Win | 5-4 | Sep 1983 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | José Luis Clerc | 6-2, 2-6, 6-0 |
| Loss | 5-5 | May 1985 | Las Vegas, U.S. | Hard | Johan Kriek | 6-4, 3-6, 4-6, 2-6 |
| Loss | 5-6 | May 1985 | Florence, Italy | Clay | Sergio Casal | 6-3, 3-6, 2-6 |
| Loss | 5-7 | Oct 1985 | Tokyo Outdoor, Japan | Hard | Scott Davis | 1-6, 6-7(3-7) |
| Loss | 5-8 | Apr 1987 | Monte Carlo Open, Monaco | Clay | Mats Wilander | 6-4, 5-7, 1-6, 3-6 |
| Loss | 5-9 | May 1988 | Charleston, U.S. | Clay | Andre Agassi | 2-6, 2-6 |
| Loss | 5-10 | Jan 1990 | Adelaide, Australia | Hard | Thomas Muster | 6-3, 2-6, 5-7 |
| Loss | 5-11 | May 1991 | Charlotte, U.S. | Clay | Jaime Yzaga | 3-6, 5-7 |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Jimmy Arias”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Jimmy Arias 1984.jpg by Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain
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