MADRID — On 9 October 2019, Spanish tennis pioneer Andres Gimeno, who in 1972 at 34 years and 10 months became the oldest player to win Roland-Garros, passed away at the age of 82 after suffering from cancer. The Hall of Famer's crowning triumph came in Paris when he defeated Frenchman Patrick Proisy in the final 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, a record that stood until Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic surpassed it in 2022 and 2023.
Born in 1937, Gimeno was among the first Spanish players to compete at international level alongside Manolo Santana. He won the junior event at Roland-Garros in 1955 before reaching the quarter-finals of the men's event in 1960, where he lost to Nicola Pietrangeli 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 6-2. That same year he signed a contract with Jack Kramer to become a touring professional, ruling him out of Grand Slam events for the following eight years. According to tennis expert Bud Collins, Gimeno was "a smooth groundstroker, fine server and cool under fire", while Robert Lipsyte of The New York Times wrote, "a retriever with classic stroking, Gimeno [was] the ultimate wall that returns everything."
Throughout the 1960s Gimeno faced the best of his era as a touring pro and was at his peak considered the third-best player in the world behind Rod Laver and Ken Rosewall, both of whom he defeated several times. He reached three major professional finals, losing the French Pro in 1962 to Rosewall 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 6-2, the London Pro in 1965 to Laver 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 and the US Pro in 1967 to Laver 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 7-5. After the Open Era began in 1968, he reached the semi-finals at Roland-Garros, losing to Rosewall 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, finished runner-up at the 1969 Australian Open to Laver 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 and reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon in 1970, losing to John Newcombe 6-3, 8-6, 6-0. His greatest feat followed in 1972 when, after eliminating world No 1 Stan Smith in the quarter-finals 6-1, 7-9, 6-0, 7-5, he beat Proisy to lift the title.
Gimeno's victory in Paris remained his last great achievement before he retired in 1973 and opened a tennis club in Spain, where he helped breed a new generation of clay-court talents including Alex Corretja, the two-time Roland-Garros runner-up who attended his camps as a youngster. Inducted into the Tennis Hall of Fame in 2009, he announced two years later that he had lost nearly all his money in the Spanish economic crisis, prompting a group of Spanish players including Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer to raise funds through an exhibition tournament. His age record at Roland-Garros endured until 2022, when Nadal won his 14th title at 36 years and two days, before Djokovic set a new mark by winning his third title in 2023 at 36 years and 20 days.