Grant Connell

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Grant Connell bigraphy, stories - Tennis player

Grant Connell : biography

17 November 1965 –

Grant Connell (Pronounced: KAHN-nell) (born November 17, 1965 in Regina) is a former professional tennis player from Canada, and currently a real estate agent in Vancouver. He is considered one of the world’s top doubles player from the early to mid-1990s, reaching the World No. 1 doubles ranking in November 1993.

Connell won 22 career doubles titles during his eleven seasons on the ATP tour (1986 to 1997). He won his first four with fellow Canadian Glenn Michibata. Upon Michibata’s retirement from the tour, Connell joined Patrick Galbraith. The Connell-Galbraith tandem won 12 titles together including the 1995 season ending Doubles Championship tournament. Connell’s next main partner became Byron Black with whom he won 4 more titles. He also won a title each with Todd Martin and Scott Davis. He was a three-time Wimbledon doubles finalist, once each with Michibata, Galbraith, and Black.

A left-hander, Connell best singles ranking was World No. 67, which he reached in June 1991. His best tour singles results were reaching the semi-finals of the 1991 Chicago, 1991 Singapore, and 1992 Auckland Grand Prix events.

Connell’s best grand slam singles results were reaching the third round of the 1991 Australian Open and 1994 Wimbledon.

A solid grass-court player, Connell had Andre Agassi on the ropes in their first round encounter at Wimbledon in 1991. In that match, Connell served a gutsy second serve ace to win the third set tie-breaker and go up two sets to one. Agassi however won the final two sets 7-5, 6-3, to take the match. (The following year at Wimbledon saw Agassi win his first Grand Slam event.)

Connell played Davis Cup for Canada on numerous occasions posting a career 15 and 6 win-loss record in doubles and an equally impressive 8 and 3 record in singles. He was a member of Canada’s 1991 and 1992 teams, its first ever to qualify for the World Group.

After retiring as a tennis pro

Upon retiring from the tour in 1997, Connell became High Performance Director with Tennis BC and a real estate agent in Vancouver, BC. From February 2001 to June 2004 he also captained Canada’s Davis Cup team, as the team in September 2003 won promotion to the World Group for only the second time.

Connell currently resides in West Vancouver, BC were he works as a Real Estate Agent for the Vancouver Area under his own Personal Real Estate Corporation, . He is also part of Angell & Hasman Associates.

As a touring pro

1984, 1985

While still an amateur, Connell played the Player’s International twice as a wild card entry, losing in the first round of the main draw each time. In 1984 he lost to World No. 17 Joakim Nyström 4-6, 3-6, while the following summer Connell fell to World No. 47, 6-7, 3-6.

On December 30, 1985, Connell was ranked by the ATP World No. 570T in singles and No. 724T in doubles.

1986

Connell played the San Luis Potosí Challenger in March, reaching the second round in both singles and doubles. He defeated World No. 327 Evan Ratner 6-1, 6-4, before losing to World No. 415 Karl Richter 6-3, 6-7, 3-6, while in doubles, he and partner Mark Greenan, also Canadian, lost their second round match to Mark Wooldridge and Derek Tarr in a 3rd set tie-break.

In July, Connell played two further challengers. At the Schenectady Challenger, he and Greenan lost in the first round in doubles. At the Berkeley Challenger the following week, Connell and Greenan again lost in the first round, while in singles Connell reached the semi-finals, defeating Charles Buzz Strode, Russell Simpson, and Paul Chamberlin all in straight sets before falling to Mike Bauer 6-7, 2-6.

In August, Connell again played the Player’s, but in doubles this time, again partnering Greenan. The pair lost however in the first round, to the pair of Ricardo Acuña and Bob Green, 6-1, 3-6, 4-6. Connell next saw action in three European challengers in November. At the Helsinki Challenger, he lost in both singles and doubles in the first round. The following week at Bergen Challenger, he reached the second round of both, falling to Dan Goldie in three sets in singles and partnering Chamberlin in doubles. Connell finished 1986 on tour with a bang, reaching the semi-finals at the Valkenswaard Challenger in both singles and doubles, again partnering Chamberlin.