Peter Doohan
Australian tennis player (1961-2017)
Peter Leslie Doohan (2 May 1961, 21 July 2017) was an Australian tennis player who won three consecutive Australian Hard Court Championships singles titles (1984, 1985, 1986), which remains an Open era record for that tournament. He won a further two singles titles at the South Australian Open in 1984 and San Louis Potosí tournament in Mexico in 1988. He also won five doubles titles during his career. The right-hander reached his highest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles ranking of world No. 43 in August 1987.
01Early and personal life
Peter Leslie Doohan was born on 2 May 1961 in Newcastle, New South Wales, to Paul and Thelma Doohan. Her sisters were Cathie Roff and Margaret Knight. His sons include tennis coach John Doohan and American actor Hunter Doohan.
Doohan died on 21 July 2017 from motor neurone disease.
02Career
At the 1987 Wimbledon Championships, he unexpectedly defeated two-time defending champion and top-seeded Boris Becker in the second round, earning himself the nickname "The Becker Wrecker" at home in Australia.
Doohan played collegiately in the United States with the University of Arkansas where he won the NCAA doubles title in 1982. Also a successful singles player, he won three Australian Hard Court Championships consecutively from 1984 to 1986. In 1984, he won the South Australian Open singles title. In 1988, he won the San Luis Potosí singles title on clay in San Luis Potosí, Mexico. He also coached high school tennis at Donoho High School in Anniston, Alabama, for several years in the mid-1990s.
03Grand Slam finals
Doubles: 1 (1 runner-up)
| Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 1987 | Australian Open | Grass | Laurie Warder | Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd | 4-6, 4-6, 6-7(3-7) |
04ATP career finals
Singles: 4 (1 title, 3 runner-ups)
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| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1-0 | Dec 1984 | Adelaide, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Huub van Boeckel | 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 |
| Loss | 1-1 | Dec 1985 | Adelaide, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Eddie Edwards | 2-6, 4-6 |
| Loss | 1-2 | Dec 1985 | Melbourne, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Jonathan Canter | 7-5, 3-6, 4-6 |
| Loss | 1-3 | Feb 1987 | Sydney, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Miloslav Mečíř | 2-6, 4-6 |
Doubles: 14 (5 titles, 9 runner-ups)
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| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1-0 | Sep 1984 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Grand Prix | Hard | Brian Levine | Colin Dowdeswell Jakob Hlasek |
6-3, 6-4 |
| Loss | 1-1 | Dec 1984 | Adelaide, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Brian Levine | Broderick Dyke Wally Masur |
6-4, 5-7, 1-6 |
| Win | 2-1 | Jul 1985 | Newport, United States | Grand Prix | Grass | Sammy Giammalva | Paul Annacone Christo van Rensburg |
6-1, 6-3 |
| Win | 3-1 | Jul 1985 | Livingston, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Mike De Palmer | Eddie Edwards Danie Visser |
6-3, 6-4 |
| Loss | 3-2 | Mar 1986 | Fort Meyers, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Paul McNamee | Andrés Gómez Ivan Lendl |
5-7, 4-6 |
| Loss | 3-3 | Jan 1987 | Adelaide, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Laurie Warder | Ivan Lendl Bill Scanlon |
7-6, 3-6, 4-6 |
| Loss | 3-4 | Jan 1987 | Melbourne, Australia | Grand Slam | Grass | Laurie Warder | Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd |
4-6, 4-6, 6-7 |
| Loss | 3-5 | Feb 1987 | Sydney, Australia | Grand Prix | Grass | Laurie Warder | Brad Drewett Mark Edmondson |
4-6, 6-4, 2-6 |
| Loss | 3-6 | Aug 1987 | Montreal, Canada | Masters Series | Hard | Laurie Warder | Pat Cash Stefan Edberg |
7-6, 3-6, 4-6 |
| Win | 4-6 | Jun 1988 | Bristol, United Kingdom | Grand Prix | Grass | Laurie Warder | Marty Davis Tim Pawsat |
2-6, 6-4, 7-5 |
| Loss | 4-7 | Sep 1988 | Los Angeles, United States | Grand Prix | Hard | Jim Grabb | John McEnroe Mark Woodforde |
4-6, 4-6 |
| Win | 5-7 | Jan 1989 | Wellington, New Zealand | Grand Prix | Hard | Laurie Warder | Rill Baxter Glenn Michibata |
3-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| Loss | 5-8 | May 1989 | Munich, Germany | Grand Prix | Clay | Laurie Warder | Javier Sánchez Balázs Taróczy |
6-7, 3-6 |
| Loss | 5-9 | Aug 1989 | Indianapolis, United States | Championship Series | Hard | Laurie Warder | Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser |
6-7, 6-7 |
05ATP Challenger and ITF Futures finals
Singles: 1 (0-1)
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| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loss | 0-1 | Mar 1989 | San Luis Potosí, Mexico | Challenger | Clay | Jorge Lozano | 4-6, 4-6 |
Doubles: 1 (1-0)
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| Result | W-L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Win | 1-0 | Sep 1990 | Canberra, Australia | Challenger | Carpet | Brett Custer | David Adams Jamie Morgan |
6-3, 6-4 |
06Performance timelines
| W | F | SF | QF | #R | RR | Q# | DNQ | A | NH |
Singles
| Tournament | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | SR | W-L | Win % | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | A | 1R | Q1 | Q3 | 1R | 1R | 3R | A | 4R | 2R | 1R | 1R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 6-9 | 40% | ||||||
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | ||||||
| Wimbledon | Q2 | 1R | Q1 | 1R | Q3 | Q2 | 1R | 1R | 4R | 1R | Q2 | Q1 | A | 0 / 6 | 3-6 | 33% | ||||||
| US Open | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | 1R | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 1-3 | 25% | ||||||
| Win-loss | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 2-3 | 0-2 | 6-3 | 1-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0 / 19 | 10-19 | 34% | ||||||
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | ||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | 0 / 2 | 1-2 | 33% | ||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | ||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | ||||||
| Win-loss | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-2 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 / 5 | 1-5 | 17% | ||||||
Doubles
| Tournament | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | SR | W-L | Win % | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Slam tournaments | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Open | 1R | 1R | A | 1R | SF | 3R | A | F | 1R | 3R | 1R | 2R | 0 / 10 | 11-10 | 52% | |||||||
| French Open | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 1 | 1-1 | 50% | |||||||
| Wimbledon | 1R | Q2 | A | Q2 | SF | 1R | 2R | 3R | SF | QF | 2R | 1R | 0 / 9 | 15-9 | 63% | |||||||
| US Open | A | A | 1R | A | 2R | 2R | A | 2R | 3R | A | 3R | A | 0 / 6 | 7-6 | 54% | |||||||
| Win-loss | 0-2 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 0-1 | 8-3 | 2-3 | 1-1 | 7-3 | 6-3 | 6-3 | 3-3 | 1-2 | 0 / 26 | 34-26 | 57% | |||||||
| ATP Masters Series | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Indian Wells | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4-3 | 57% | |||||||
| Miami | A | A | A | A | A | 3R | A | QF | 2R | A | 2R | A | 0 / 4 | 0-4 | 64% | |||||||
| Monte Carlo | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | |||||||
| Hamburg | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | 0 / 1 | 2-1 | 67% | |||||||
| Rome | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | QF | A | A | 0 / 1 | 2-1 | 67% | |||||||
| Canada | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | F | A | A | SF | A | 0 / 3 | 8-3 | 73% | |||||||
| Cincinnati | A | A | A | A | A | A | 2R | QF | 2R | A | A | A | 0 / 3 | 4-3 | 57% | |||||||
| Paris | A | A | A | A | A | A | A | 1R | A | A | A | A | 0 / 1 | 0-1 | 0% | |||||||
| Win-loss | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0-0 | 2-1 | 2-2 | 10-5 | 4-3 | 5-4 | 4-2 | 0-0 | 0 / 17 | 27-17 | 50% | |||||||
Mixed doubles
Sources and credits
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