Luis Ayala obit

Chilean tennis great Luis Ayala dies at age 91

 

He was not on the list.

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Luis Ayala, a Chilean tennis great who played in two French Open finals, has died, the country's tennis federation announced on Wednesday. He was 91.

"Today the Chilean tennis is losing a giant, but his legacy will live on every court where this beautiful sport is played," the federation said in a statement.

The federation did not specify the cause of death.

Born in Santiago, Ayala was an icon of the sport in Chile as he won 46 singles titles in his career.

Among his greatest achievements, he was a finalist at Roland Garros in 1958 and 1960, when he "became one of the greatest players in clay of his time," added the federation.

Ayala was a two-time singles runner-up at the French Championships. In 1958, as the fifth seed, he reached the final after defeating the top-seeded and world No. 1 player, Ashley Cooper, in the semifinals. However, he was defeated in straight sets by Mervyn Rose in the final. In 1960, Ayala again reached the final, losing in five sets to Nicola Pietrangeli. He won the mixed doubles title at the 1956 French Championships with Thelma Coyne Long.

Ayala secured the gold medal in singles at the 1959 Pan American Games in Chicago, defeating Canadian player Robert Bédard in the final.

He claimed the prestigious singles title at the Italian Open in 1959, overcoming Nicola Pietrangeli in the semifinals and Neale Fraser in the final, both in four sets. The following year, he reached the final again but was defeated in five sets by Barry MacKay.

Ayala won the 1960 Argentina International Tennis Championships in Buenos Aires, defeating Ron Holmberg in the semifinals and Manuel Santana in the final. This was his third Argentina title, having previously won in 1955 (defeating Art Larsen) and 1957 (defeating Enrique Morea).

In 1960, Ayala also won the Madrid Championships, defeating Andrés Gimeno in the final. In 1961, he won the Hanover Championships, overcoming Ramanathan Krishnan in the final.

In 1961, Ayala turned professional and joined Jack Kramer's tour. In 1964, he won the La Baule Professional Championships on clay, defeating Rod Laver in the semifinals and Lew Hoad in the final.

After retiring from professional play, Ayala became a tennis professional at the River Oaks Country Club in Houston, Texas. He later served as the director of tennis at the Forest Club in Houston.

Ayala represented Chile in the Davis Cup from 1952 to 1960, participating in 18 ties and compiling a record of 37 wins and 14 losses. His most notable performance came in 1955 when Chile reached the semifinals of the Europe Zone, where they were defeated by Sweden despite Ayala winning both his singles matches against Lennart Bergelin and Sven Davidson.

Ayala was consistently ranked among the world's top ten tennis players by both Ned Potter and Lance Tingay between 1956 and 1961. Tingay of The Daily Telegraph ranked him as world No. 5 in 1958, and he was ranked No. 6 in 1959, No. 7 in 1960, and No. 7 again in 1961.