Tennis career

Junior and college

Gottfried was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He began playing tennis at the age of 5 after receiving a racquet as a gift. In all, Gottfried won 14 national junior titles. As a teen Gottfried attended Baylor School in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and Piper High School in Sunrise, Florida. In 1970, as a freshman at Trinity University in Texas, he won the USTA boys 18s singles championship, as well as the doubles championship with Alexander Mayer. He was an All-American in 1971 and 1972.

Professional career

Gottfried began his professional tennis career in 1972. He won five tournaments in 1976 and was runner-up at the French Open. Newsweek described him as the "best male tennis player in the world at the moment" in April 1977. He won the Italian Open doubles championship in four consecutive years (1974-77). He won the men's doubles at the French Open in 1975 and 1977. In 1976, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon. He ended his career tied for 22nd in open era singles titles leaders, and tied for 12th in doubles.

Arthur Ashe liked to recall how Gottfried missed his daily practice session to get married, but atoned by doubling his practice time the next day.

Gottfried retired as the player with the most number of tour match victories among players who had never won a slam. He has held this record for 22 years.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1977	French Open	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	0-6, 3-6, 0-6

Doubles: 7 (3 titles, 4 runners-up)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1975	French Open	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	John Alexander Phil Dent	6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	1976	French Open	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6-7, 3-6, 1-6
Winner	1976	Wimbledon	Grass	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 2-6, 7-5
Winner	1977	French Open	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Wojtek Fibak Jan Kodeš	7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Runner-up	1977	US Open	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	4-6, 0-6
Runner-up	1979	Wimbledon	Grass	Raúl Ramírez	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6
Runner-up	1980	French Open	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Victor Amaya Hank Pfister	6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 3-6

Grand Prix, WCT, and Grand Slam singles finals (51)

Titles (25)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	1973	Johannesburg WCT, South Africa	Hard	Jaime Fillol	Walkover
Winner	2.	1973	Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.	Hard	Arthur Ashe	6-1, 6-3
Runner-up	1.	1973	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.	Hard	Eddie Dibbs	5-7, 2-6, 4-6
Runner-up	2.	1973	Christchurch, New Zealand	Grass	Fred Stolle	6-7, 4-6, 1-6
Winner	3.	1974	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Eddie Dibbs	6-3, 5-7, 8-6, 6-0
Runner-up	3.	1974	London	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2-6, 6-7
Winner	4.	1975	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	Carpet	Allan Stone	3-6, 6-2, 6-3
Winner	5.	1975	Dayton, Ohio, U.S.	Carpet	Geoff Masters	6-4, 4-6, 6-4
Runner-up	4.	1975	Denver WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	3-6, 4-6
Winner	6.	1975	Melbourne, Australia	Carpet	Harold Solomon	6-2, 7-6, 6-1
Runner-up	5.	1975	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Harold Solomon	3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 2-6
Runner-up	6.	1976	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	2-6, 4-6
Winner	7.	1976	Los Angeles	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	7.	1976	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Roscoe Tanner	6-4, 5-7, 1-6
Runner-up	8.	1976	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Harold Solomon	2-6, 7-6, 3-6, 4-6
Winner	8.	1977	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.	Carpet	Guillermo Vilas	6-3, 7-6
Winner	9.	1977	Palm Springs, California, U.S.	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	2-6, 6-1, 6-3
Runner-up	9.	1977	Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.	Carpet	Björn Borg	4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 5-7
Winner	10.	1977	Washington Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Robert Lutz	6-1, 6-2
Winner	11.	1977	La Costa, California, U.S.	Hard	Marty Riessen	6-3, 6-2
Runner-up	10.	1977	Los Angeles	Carpet	Stan Smith	4-6, 6-2, 3-6
Runner-up	11.	1977	Denver, Colorado, U.S.	Carpet	Björn Borg	5-7, 2-6
Runner-up	12.	1977	French Open, Paris	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	0-6, 3-6, 0-6
Runner-up	13.	1977	Washington, D.C.	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	4-6, 5-7
Runner-up	14.	1977	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.	Hard	Guillermo Vilas	2-6, 1-6
Runner-up	15.	1977	Los Angeles	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	5-7, 6-3, 4-6
Runner-up	16.	1977	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Butch Walts	6-4, 3-6, 5-7
Runner-up	17.	1977	Maui, Hawaii, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	2-6, 0-6
Winner	12.	1977	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Wojtek Fibak	6-1, 6-1
Runner-up	18.	1977	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Corrado Barazzutti	6-7, 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 4-6
Winner	13.	1978	Washington Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	7-5, 7-6
Winner	14.	1978	Dayton, Ohio, U.S.	Carpet	Eddie Dibbs	2-6, 6-4, 7-6
Winner	15.	1978	Houston WCT, U.S.	Clay	Ilie Năstase	3-6, 6-2, 6-1
Runner-up	19.	1978	Los Angeles	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	2-6, 4-6
Runner-up	20.	1979	Rancho Mirage, California, U.S.	Hard	Roscoe Tanner	4-6, 2-6
Runner-up	21.	1979	Washington Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Roscoe Tanner	4-6, 4-6
Winner	16.	1979	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	6-3, 6-0
Winner	17.	1979	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Johan Kriek	7-5, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3
Winner	18.	1980	Surbiton, United Kingdom	Grass	Sandy Mayer	6-3, 6-3
Winner	19.	1980	Washington, D.C.	Clay	José Luis Clerc	7-5, 4-6, 6-4
Winner	20.	1980	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Trey Waltke	6-2, 6-4, 6-3
Winner	21.	1980	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet	Adriano Panatta	4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 7-6
Runner-up	22.	1981	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2-6, 4-6, 3-6
Runner-up	23.	1981	Queen's Club Championships, London	Grass	John McEnroe	6-7, 5-7
Winner	22.	1981	Stowe, Vermont, U.S.	Hard	Tony Graham	6-3, 6-3
Runner-up	24.	1981	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Ivan Lendl	6-1, 0-6, 1-6, 2-6
Winner	23.	1982	Tampa, Florida, U.S.	Hard	Mike Estep	6-7, 6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	25.	1982	Columbus, Ohio, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	5-7, 0-6
Winner	24.	1982	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Bill Scanlon	6-1, 6-4, 6-0
Runner-up	26.	1982	Wembley, United Kingdom	Carpet	John McEnroe	3-6, 2-6, 4-6
Winner	25.	1983	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Mel Purcell	6-2, 6-3, 7-5

Grand Prix, WCT, and Grand Slam doubles finals (95)

Titles (54)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1.	1973	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Dick Stockton	Roy Emerson Rod Laver	4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Winner	2.	1973	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Dick Stockton	Ken Rosewall Fred Stolle	6-7, 6-4, 6-4
Runner-up	1.	1973	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	John Alexander Phil Dent	6-1, 6-7, 6-7
Winner	3.	1973	Fort Worth, U.S.	Hard	Dick Stockton	Owen Davidson John Newcombe	7-6, 6-4
Runner-up	2.	1973	Hong Kong	Hard	Paul Gerken	Colin Dibley Rod Laver	3-6, 7-5, 15-17
Runner-up	3.	1974	Atlanta WCT, U.S.	Clay	Dick Stockton	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	3-6, 6-3, 6-7
Runner-up	4.	1974	Orlando WCT, U.S.	Hard	Dick Stockton	Owen Davidson John Newcombe	6-7, 3-6
Runner-up	5.	1974	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	3-6, 4-6, 4-6
Winner	4.	1974	Rome, Italy	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Juan Gisbert Sr. Ilie Năstase	6-3, 6-2, 6-3
Runner-up	6.	1974	Chicago, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Tom Gorman Marty Riessen	6-4, 3-6, 5-7
Winner	5.	1974	South Orange, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Anand Amritraj Vijay Amritraj	7-6, 6-7, 7-6
Runner-up	7.	1974	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	3-6, 2-6
Runner-up	8.	1974	Madrid, Spain	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Patrice Dominguez Antonio Muñoz	1-6, 3-6
Runner-up	9.	1974	Tehran, Iran	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Manuel Orantes Guillermo Vilas	6-7, 6-2, 2-6
Runner-up	10.	1974	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Patrice Dominguez François Jauffret	5-7, 4-6
Runner-up	11.	1974	London, England	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase	6-3, 6-7, 3-6
Winner	6.	1975	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Dick Stockton Erik Van Dillen	3-6, 6-3, 7-6
Runner-up	12.	1975	Dayton Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Paul Gerken	Ray Ruffels Allan Stone	6-7, 5-7
Winner	7.	1975	St. Petersburg WCT, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Charlie Pasarell Roscoe Tanner	6-4, 6-4
Winner	8.	1975	La Costa WCT, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Charlie Pasarell Roscoe Tanner	7-5, 6-4
Runner-up	13.	1975	São Paulo WCT, Brazil	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	7-6, 6-7, 6-7
Runner-up	14.	1975	Caracas WCT, Venezuela	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	5-7, 6-4, 2-6
Winner	9.	1975	Orlando WCT, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Colin Dibley Ray Ruffels	6-4, 6-4
Winner	10.	1975	World Doubles WCT, Mexico	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Mark Cox Cliff Drysdale	7-6, 6-7, 6-2, 7-6
Winner	11.	1975	Dallas WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 2-6, 7-5
Winner	12.	1975	Rome, Italy	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Jimmy Connors Ilie Năstase	6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-1
Winner	13.	1975	French Open, Paris	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	John Alexander Phil Dent	6-4, 2-6, 6-2, 6-4
Runner-up	15.	1975	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	5-7, 6-2, 1-6
Winner	14.	1975	Boston, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	John Andrews Mike Estep	4-6, 6-3, 7-6
Runner-up	16.	1975	Melbourne Indoor, Australia	Grass	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	4-6, 0-6
Winner	15.	1975	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	6-4, 6-2
Winner	16.	1975	Perth, Australia	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	2-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0
Winner	17.	1975	Tokyo, Japan	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Juan Gisbert Sr. Manuel Orantes	7-6, 6-4
Winner	18.	1976	Monterrey WCT, Mexico	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	6-2, 4-6, 6-3
Winner	19.	1976	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Arthur Ashe Tom Okker	6-4, 7-5
Winner	20.	1976	St. Louis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	John Alexander Phil Dent	6-4, 6-2
Winner	21.	1976	México City WCT, México	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Ismail El Shafei Brian Fairlie	6-4, 7-6
Winner	22.	1976	Jackson WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	7-5, 4-6, 6-0
Winner	23.	1976	Caracas WCT, Venezuela	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Jeff Borowiak Ilie Năstase	7-5, 6-4
Winner	24.	1976	Rome, Italy	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Geoff Masters John Newcombe	7-6, 5-7, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
Runner-up	17.	1976	French Open, Paris	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6-7, 3-6, 1-6
Winner	25.	1976	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Raúl Ramírez	Ross Case Geoff Masters	3-6, 6-3, 8-6, 2-6, 7-5
Winner	26.	1976	Washington, D.C., U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Arthur Ashe Jimmy Connors	6-3, 6-3
Winner	27.	1976	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Ricardo Cano Victor Pecci	6-3, 6-0
Winner	28.	1976	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6-2, 6-2
Winner	29.	1976	Woodlands Doubles, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Phil Dent Allan Stone	6-1, 6-4, 5-7, 7-6
Runner-up	18.	1976	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Bob Hewitt	Dick Stockton Roscoe Tanner	3-6, 4-6
Winner	30.	1976	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	7-6, 6-4
Runner-up	19.	1976	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	4-6, 0-4, ret.
Runner-up	20.	1976	Wembley, England	Carpet	Wojtek Fibak	Stan Smith Roscoe Tanner	6-7, 3-6
Winner	31.	1976	Johannesburg WCT, South Africa	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Juan Gisbert Sr. Stan Smith	1-6, 6-1, 6-2, 7-6
Winner	32.	1977	Miami, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Paul Kronk Cliff Letcher	7-5, 6-4
Runner-up	21.	1977	Washington Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	3-6, 5-7
Winner	33.	1977	Rome, Italy	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	6-7, 7-6, 7-5
Winner	34.	1977	French Open, Paris	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Wojtek Fibak Jan Kodeš	7-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Winner	35.	1977	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Fred McNair Sherwood Stewart	7-5, 6-3
Runner-up	22.	1977	U.S. Open, New York	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	4-6, 0-6
Runner-up	23.	1977	Maui, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	6-7, 4-6
Winner	36.	1977	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Jeff Borowiak Roger Taylor	6-2, 6-0
Runner-up	24.	1977	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	3-6, 3-6
Runner-up	25.	1977	Wembley, England	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Sandy Mayer Frew McMillan	3-6, 6-7
Winner	37.	1978	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Phil Dent John Newcombe	3-6, 7-6, 6-2
Winner	38.	1978	Dayton, U.S.	Carpet	Geoff Masters	Hank Pfister Butch Walts	6-3, 6-4
Winner	39.	1979	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	Ion Ţiriac Guillermo Vilas	6-4, 6-3
Runner-up	26.	1979	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Raúl Ramírez	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6-4, 4-6, 2-6, 2-6
Runner-up	27.	1979	Washington, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart	6-2, 3-6, 4-6
Winner	40.	1979	Columbus, U.S.	Clay	Robert Lutz	Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson	4-6, 6-3, 7-6
Winner	41.	1979	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Ilie Năstase	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	1-6, 6-3, 7-6
Runner-up	28.	1979	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	3-6, 4-6
Runner-up	29.	1979	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Raúl Ramírez	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	4-6, 6-3, 1-6
Winner	42.	1980	Masters Doubles WCT, London	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Wojtek Fibak Tom Okker	3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3
Runner-up	30.	1980	Baltimore WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Tim Gullikson Marty Riessen	6-2, 3-6, 4-6
Runner-up	31.	1980	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	3-6, 6-7
Runner-up	32.	1980	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Frew McMillan	Fritz Buehning Johan Kriek	6-3, 3-6, 6-7
Winner	43.	1980	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	Rod Frawley Tomáš Šmíd	6-3, 6-7, 7-6
Runner-up	33.	1980	French Open, Paris	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Victor Amaya Hank Pfister	6-1, 4-6, 4-6, 3-6
Winner	44.	1980	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Jimmy Connors	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	7-6, 6-2
Winner	45.	1980	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Sandy Mayer	Peter Fleming Eliot Teltscher	6-4, 6-2
Winner	46.	1980	Sawgrass Doubles, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Robert Lutz Stan Smith	7-6, 6-4, 2-6, 7-6
Runner-up	34.	1980	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet	Raymond Moore	Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta	4-6, 4-6
Runner-up	35.	1980	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Vitas Gerulaitis	Peter McNamara Paul McNamee	2-6, 4-6
Runner-up	36.	1981	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Marty Riessen Sherwood Stewart	2-6, 2-6
Runner-up	37.	1981	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Tim Gullikson Bernard Mitton	6-3, 2-6, 3-6
Winner	47.	1981	Milan, Italy	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	John McEnroe Peter Rennert	7-6, 6-3
Runner-up	38.	1981	Stowe, U.S.	Hard	Robert Lutz	Johan Kriek Larry Stefanki	6-2, 1-6, 2-6
Winner	48.	1982	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	John Lloyd Dick Stockton	6-4, 3-6, 6-2
Runner-up	39.	1982	Tampa, U.S.	Hard	Hank Pfister	Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson	2-6, 3-6
Winner	49.	1982	Sawgrass Doubles, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	Mark Edmondson Kim Warwick	W/O
Winner	50.	1982	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Bruce Manson	Jay Lapidus Richard Meyer	6-4, 6-2
Winner	51.	1982	Johannesburg, South Africa	Hard	Frew McMillan	Shlomo Glickstein Andrew Pattison	6-2, 6-2
Runner-up	40.	1983	Masters Doubles WCT, London	Carpet	Raúl Ramírez	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	3-6, 5-7, 6-7
Winner	52.	1983	La Quinta, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	Tian Viljoen Danie Visser	6-3, 6-3
Runner-up	41.	1983	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Mark Edmondson	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6-7, 6-4, 4-6
Winner	53.	1983	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Paul McNamee	Kevin Curren Steve Denton	6-4, 6-3
Winner	54.	1984	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Tomáš Šmíd	Cassio Motta Blaine Willenborg	6-4, 6-2

Davis Cup

Gottfried was 7-7 in Davis Cup play for the US between 1975 and 1982 and won it twice (in 1978 and 1982).

Halls of Fame & awards

Gottfried won the 1974 and 1975 ATP Doubles Team of the Year Award with partner Raúl Ramírez.

He won the 1976 ATP Most Improved Player Award.

He won the ATP Sportsmanship award in 1984.

Gottfried was inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association's Intercollegiate Tennis Hall of Fame in 1990.

Gottfried, who is Jewish, was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1999.

Life after playing career

Gottfried now lives in Ponte Vedra, Florida. In 2007 Gottfried joined the coaching staff at the Harold Solomon Tennis Institute in Fort Lauderdale.

In 2010, Gottfried coached with the Bollettieri Tennis Program at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.

He was elected to the ATP Player Council in 2012 as an alumni representative.

In 2015 he joined the coaching staff at the Bolles School

[ Source: Wikipedia ]