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José Luis Clerc
Country (sports)	Argentina
Residence	Miami, United States
Born	16 August 1958 (age 66); Buenos Aires, Argentina
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Turned pro	1977
Retired	1986 (from full-time playing); 1995 (last match)
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record	378–152 (71.32%)
Career titles	25 (listed by ATP)
Highest ranking	No. 4 (3 August 1981)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	2R (1980)
French Open	SF (1981, 1982)
Wimbledon	4R (1979)
US Open	4R (1979, 1981)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	QF (1982)
WCT Finals	QF (1982)
Doubles
Career record	110–99
Career titles	2
Highest ranking	No. 30 (8 October 1979)
Grand Slam doubles results
French Open	SF (1981)
Wimbledon	2R (1977, 1979, 1981)

José Luis Clerc (born 16 August 1958), also known by the nickname Batata, is a former professional tennis player from Argentina. He reached a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) world No. 4 singles ranking on 3 August 1981, following a run of 25 consecutive match wins after Wimbledon.

Tennis career

Clerc represented Argentina for the Davis Cup from 1976 to 1989. He and Guillermo Vilas led Argentina to its first Davis Cup final in 1981 to set up a tie against United States in Cincinnati, Ohio. After Vilas lost the first rubber in straight sets to John McEnroe, Clerc defeated Roscoe Tanner in straight sets in the second rubber to level the tie. During the third rubber, partnering Vilas, the pair lost to Fleming/McEnroe in doubles, 9–11 in the fifth and deciding set. Clerc then played McEnroe in the fourth rubber and eventually lost in 5 sets.

Clerc, with Vilas and Carlos Gattiker won the 1980 World Team Cup in Düsseldorf. Clerc defeated former French Open champion Adriano Panatta 7–6, 6–3. Argentina eventually beat Italy 3–0 to claim the title.

In 1981, Clerc entered the French Open with an 11-match win streak and defeated Jimmy Connors in the quarterfinals, 4–6, 6–2, 4–6, 7–5, 6–0, to extend it to 16. The streak ended when Clerc lost in five sets against Ivan Lendl. Later that year, starting after Wimbledon, Clerc won another 28 consecutive matches before losing in the third round of the US Open.

In 1982, Clerc reached the semifinals of the French Open for the second consecutive year, losing to 17-year-old Swedish teenager Mats Wilander in four sets.^[1] Wilander would go on to beat Vilas in the final in 4 sets to become the youngest winner of a Grand Slam at the time.

Injuries began to plague Clerc since 1984, and his consistency dropped. Clerc never recovered and only played sporadically after 1985.

He received the ATP Sportsmanship Award in 1981, and Argentine Konex Awards in 1980 and 1990.

ATP career finals

Singles: 35 (25 titles, 10 runners-up)

Legend
Grand Slam tournaments (0–0)
Year-end championships (0–0)
Grand Prix Super Series (1–1)
Grand Prix / WCT Tour (24–9)

Titles by surface
Hard (3–1)
Clay (21–9)
Grass (0–0)
Carpet (1–0)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1.	May 1978	Florence, Italy	Clay	Patrice Dominguez	6–4, 6–2, 6–1
Loss	1.	Jul 1978	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	3–6, 6–7, 4–6
Loss	2.	Jul 1978	South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	1–6, 3–6
Loss	3.	Aug 1978	Toronto, Canada	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	7–5, 4–6, 1–6
Loss	4.	Sep 1978	Aix-En-Provence, France	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	3–6, 0–6, 3–6
Win	2.	Nov 1978	Buenos Aires, Argentina	Clay	Víctor Pecci	6–4, 6–4
Win	3.	Dec 1978	Santiago de Chile, Chile	Clay	Víctor Pecci	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Win	4.	Apr 1979	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Deon Joubert	6–2, 6–1
Loss	5.	Nov 1979	Buenos Aires, Argentina (2)	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	1–6, 2–6, 2–6
Win	5.	Mar 1980	San José de Costa Rica, Costa Rica	Hard	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 2–6, retired
Loss	6.	Jul 1980	Washington D.C., US	Clay	Brian Gottfried	5–7, 6–4, 4–6
Win	6.	Jul 1980	South Orange, New Jersey, U.S.	Clay	John McEnroe	6–3, 6–2
Win	7.	Aug 1980	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S.	Clay	Mel Purcell	7–5, 6–3
Win	8.	Sep 1980	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 1–6, 1–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win	9.	Nov 1980	Quito, Ecuador	Clay	Víctor Pecci	6–4, 1–6, 10–8
Win	10.	Nov 1980	Buenos Aires, Argentina (2)	Clay	Rolf Gehring	6–7, 2–6, 7–5, 6–0, 6–3
Win	11.	May 1981	Florence, Italy (2)	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–1, 6–2
Win	12.	May 1981	Italian Open, Rome	Clay	Víctor Pecci	6–3, 6–4, 6–0
Win	13.	Jul 1981	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.	Clay	Hans Gildemeister	0–6, 6–2, 6–2
Win	14.	Jul 1981	Washington D.C., US	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	7–5, 6–2
Win	15.	Jul 1981	North Conway, New Hampshire, U.S.	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 6–2
Win	16.	Aug 1981	Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S. (2)	Clay	Ivan Lendl	4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Loss	7.	Oct 1981	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Ivan Lendl	2–6, 3–6, 0–6
Win	17.	Feb 1982	Richmond, Virginia, U.S.	Carpet (i)	Fritz Buehning	3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Loss	8.	Apr 1982	Houston, Texas, US	Clay	Ivan Lendl	6–3, 6–7, 0–6, 4–1, ret.
Win	18.	Jun 1982	Venice, Italy	Clay	Peter McNamara	7–6, 6–1
Win	19.	Jul 1982	Gstaad, Switzerland	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	6–1, 6–3, 6–2
Win	20.	Jul 1982	Zell am See, Austria	Clay	Heinz Günthardt	6–0, 3–6, 6–2, 6–1
Win	21.	Nov 1982	São Paulo, Brazil	Clay	Marcos Hocevar	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
Win	22.	Jan 1983	Guarujá, Brazil	Hard	Mats Wilander	3–6, 7–5, 6–1
Win	23.	Jul 1983	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (2)	Clay	Jimmy Arias	6–3, 6–1
Win	24.	Jul 1983	Washington D.C., U.S. (2)	Clay	Jimmy Arias	6–3, 3–6, 6–0
Loss	9.	Sep 1983	Palermo, Italy	Clay	Jimmy Arias	2–6, 6–2, 0–6
Loss	10.	Jul 1984	Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. (3)	Clay	Aaron Krickstein	6–7, 6–3, 4–6

Performance timeline

Key
W	F	SF	QF	#R	RR	Q#	DNQ	A	NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	SR	W–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	1R	A	2R	A	A	A	A	A	NH	A	A	A	A	0 / 2	1–2
French Open	A		2R	2R	2R	SF	SF	2R	2R	3R	A	A	A	1R	A	0 / 9	17–9
Wimbledon	A		1R	4R	3R	3R	A	1R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 5	7–5
US Open	A		3R	4R	1R	4R	1R	1R	A	1R	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 7	8–7
Win–loss	0–0		3–4	7–3	4–4	10–3	5–2	1–3	1–1	2–2	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–1	0–0	0 / 23	33–23
Year-end championship
Masters	Did not qualify				RR	RR	QF	1R	Did not qualify							0 / 4	2–6
Career statistics
Finals	0		7	2	7	7	6	5	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	35
Titles	0		3	1	6	6	5	4	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25
Overall win–loss	1–3		50–17	56–22	73–23	58–14	65–22	31–15	16–14	24–14	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–4	0–0	375–148
Win %	25%		75%	72%	76%	81%	75%	67%	53%	63%	–	–	–	20%	–	71.70%
Year-end ranking	278		15	17	8	5	6	8	33	28		–	–	514

Notable rivalries

Clerc vs. Vilas

Clerc and Guillermo Vilas played each other 14 times in their careers, with Vilas leading 10–4. Vilas being a dominant force on clay for much of the second half of 1970s, Clerc was considered a rising star on clay during that time. All of their 14 meetings came after the quarterfinal stages (with one exception, which was at the Masters Grand Prix) and included eight finals. Vilas won their first six encounters before 1980, including four finals. However, since 1980, they had a tied record of 4–4, with Clerc winning all four of the finals.

Personal life

Clerc married Annelie Czerner in 1980, and they have two sons and a daughter: Juan Pablo Clerc (born 23 September 1981), Dominique Clerc (born 12 January 1984), and Nicolás Clerc (born 19 October 1990). In 2005, they divorced, Clerc married with Gisela Medrano in 2008, with whom they have a daughter named Sophie (born 7 April 2011).

Clerc runs a tennis school in Argentina, participates in senior tournaments, and regularly serves as a tennis analyst for ESPN Latin America and ESPN Deportes.