Grant Connell

Grant Connell (Pronounced: KAHN-nell) (born November 17, 1965) is a former professional tennis player from Canada, who retired in 1997 and in 1999 started working as a real estate agent in Vancouver. He specializes in West Vancouver North Vancouver and Downtown properties real estate transactions. He is considered one of the world's top doubles player from the early to late -1990s, reaching the world No. 1 doubles ranking in November 1993.

Connell won 22 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 Championships tournament. Connell's next main partner became Byron Black with whom he won four more titles. He also won a title each with Todd Martin and Scott Davis. He was a three-time Wimbledon Championships doubles finalist, twice with Galbraith and once with 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 semifinals 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.) As well, Connell reached five mixed semifinals at Wimbledon. The majority of those with his highly ranked partner Lindsay Davenport. Reporters have noted that neither one of them seemed too concerned about winning any title but had a lot of fun losing.

Connell played Davis Cup for Canada on numerous occasions posting a career 15–6 win–loss record in doubles and an equally impressive 8–3 record in singles. He was a member of Canada's 1991 and 1992 Davis Cup teams winning all three needed matches in each of those wins to put Canada in to the World Group for its first two times in canadian tennis history. Awards: Winner of the “Spirit of Sport” national award for the athlete who gives back the most to charity and their sport; Member of the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame, Canadian Open Hall of Fame, BC Sports Hall of Fame, Texas A&M University Hall of Fame, and B.C. Summer Swimming Hall of Fame.

As a college player

Growing up in North Vancouver, Connell was an All-American in doubles in 1984 and in singles in 1985 at Texas A&M University. Ranked No. 5 in singles in NCAA‘s and undefeated in the SWC in singles play in ‘85 that same year before turning pro, he lost in the quarterfinals of the NCAA individual tennis championships to fellow future touring pro Mikael Pernfors.

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 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 third 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 semifinals, 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 semifinals at the Valkenswaard Challenger in both singles and doubles, again partnering Chamberlin.

On December 29, 1986, Connell was ranked world No. 191 in singles and No. 217 in doubles.

1987

Connell began 1987 playing in his first Grand Slam event, the Australian Open. He lost in singles in the first round, in straight sets, to world No. 116 Todd Nelson. In doubles, he and partner American Chris Kennedy reached the second round.

Connell's next main draw action was in March, at the Cherbourg Challenger.

1988

Connell began the year at the AAMI Classic in Sydney, Australia where he lost in the first round to Pete Sampras, 4–6, 7–5, 4–6.

Career finals

Doubles (22 titles)

Legend Grand Slam (0) Tennis Masters Cup (1) ATP Masters Series (3) ATP Championship Series (8) ATP Tour (10)

Titles by surface Hard (13) Clay (2) Grass (1) Carpet (6)

Result	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	30 March 1987	Nancy, France	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Larry Scott	Template:Flagicon Ramesh Krishnan Template:Flagicon Claudio Mezzadri	4–6, 4–6
Win	1.	22 August 1988	Livingston, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Marc Flur Template:Flagicon Sammy Giammalva Jr.	2–6, 6–4, 7–5
Loss	2.	10 October 1988	Brisbane, Australia	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Eric Jelen Template:Flagicon Carl-Uwe Steeb	4–6, 1–6
Loss	3.	29 January 1990	Australian Open, Melbourne	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Pieter Aldrich Template:Flagicon Danie Visser	4–6, 6–4, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	4.	26 February 1990	Philadelphia, United States	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Rick Leach Template:Flagicon Jim Pugh	6–3, 4–6, 2–6
Win	2.	23 April 1990	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Jason Stoltenberg Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge	7–6, 6–4
Win	3.	23 July 1990	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Jorge Lozano Template:Flagicon Todd Witsken	6–3, 6–7, 6–2
Loss	5.	20 August 1990	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Scott Davis Template:Flagicon David Pate	6–7, 6–7
Loss	6.	14 January 1991	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Sergio Casal Template:Flagicon Emilio Sánchez	6–4, 3–6, 4–6
Loss	7.	4 March 1991	Chicago, United States	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Scott Davis Template:Flagicon David Pate	4–6, 7–5, 6–7
Win	4.	29 April 1991	Singapore	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Stefan Kruger Template:Flagicon Christo van Rensburg	6–4, 5–7, 7–6
Loss	8.	17 June 1991	Queen's Club, England	Grass	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	4–6, 6–7
Loss	9.	29 July 1991	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith Template:Flagicon Todd Witsken	4–6, 6–3, 1–6
Loss	10.	12 August 1991	Cincinnati, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Ken Flach Template:Flagicon Robert Seguso	7–6, 4–6, 5–7
Loss	11.	13 January 1992	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Wayne Ferreira Template:Flagicon Jim Grabb	4–6, 3–6
Loss	12.	6 April 1992	Singapore	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	7–6, 2–6, 4–6
Loss	13.	24 August 1992	Indianapolis, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Glenn Michibata	Template:Flagicon Jim Grabb Template:Flagicon Richey Reneberg	6–7, 2–6
Win	5.	18 January 1993	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Alex Antonitsch Template:Flagicon Alexander Volkov	6–3, 7–6
Loss	14.	8 February 1993	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon John Fitzgerald Template:Flagicon Anders Järryd	2–6, 1–6
Loss	15.	9 May 1993	Hamburg, Germany	Clay	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Paul Haarhuis Template:Flagicon Mark Koevermans	4–6, 7–6, 6–7
Loss	16.	5 July 1993	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	6–7, 3–6, 6–7
Loss	17.	26 July 1993	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon Rick Leach	4–6, 5–7
Loss	18.	8 August 1993	Los Angeles, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Scott Davis	Template:Flagicon Wayne Ferreira Template:Flagicon Michael Stich	6–7, 6–7
Win	6.	18 October 1993	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Luke Jensen Template:Flagicon Murphy Jensen	6–3, 6–4
Win	7.	15 November 1993	Antwerp, Belgium	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Wayne Ferreira Template:Flagicon Javier Sánchez	6–3, 7–6
Loss	19.	17 January 1994	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Patrick McEnroe Template:Flagicon Jared Palmer	2–6, 6–4, 4–6
Loss	20.	21 February 1994	Stuttgart Indoor, Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon David Adams Template:Flagicon Andrei Olhovskiy	7–6, 4–6, 6–7
Win	8.	7 March 1994	Indian Wells, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon Jonathan Stark	7–5, 6–3
Loss	21.	4 July 1994	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	6–7, 3–6, 1–6
Win	9.	25 July 1994	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Jonas Björkman Template:Flagicon Jakob Hlasek	6–4, 4–6, 6–3
Win	10.	22 August 1994	New Haven, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Jacco Eltingh Template:Flagicon Paul Haarhuis	6–4, 7–6
Win	11.	17 October 1994	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Byron Black Template:Flagicon Jonathan Stark	6–3, 3–6, 6–4
Loss	22.	9 January 1995	Adelaide, Australia	Hard	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Jim Courier Template:Flagicon Patrick Rafter	6–7, 4–6
Win	12.	16 January 1995	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Luis Lobo Template:Flagicon Javier Sánchez	6–4, 6–3
Win	13.	13 February 1995	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Tomás Carbonell Template:Flagicon Francisco Roig	6–2, 4–6, 6–3
Win	14.	27 February 1995	Stuttgart Indoor, Germany	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Cyril Suk Template:Flagicon Daniel Vacek	6–2, 6–2
Win	15.	24 April 1995	Bermuda	Clay	Template:Flagicon Todd Martin	Template:Flagicon Brett Steven Template:Flagicon Jason Stoltenberg	7–6, 2–6, 7–5
Loss	23.	9 October 1995	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Carpet	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Patrick McEnroe Template:Flagicon Mark Philippoussis	5–7, 4–6
Win	16.	6 November 1995	Paris Indoor, France	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Jim Grabb Template:Flagicon Todd Martin	6–2, 6–2
Loss	24.	13 November 1995	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Jacco Eltingh Template:Flagicon Paul Haarhuis	6–3, 2–6, 6–7
Win	17.	25 November 1995	Doubles Championships, Eindhoven	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Patrick Galbraith	Template:Flagicon Jacco Eltingh Template:Flagicon Paul Haarhuis	7–6, 7–6, 3–6, 7–6
Win	18.	19 February 1996	Dubai, UAE	Hard	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Karel Nováček Template:Flagicon Jiří Novák	6–0, 6–1
Loss	25.	4 March 1996	Philadelphia, United States	Carpet (i)	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	6–7, 2–6
Win	19.	20 May 1996	Rome, Italy	Clay	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Libor Pimek Template:Flagicon Byron Talbot	6–2, 6–3
Win	20.	24 June 1996	Halle, Germany	Grass	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Yevgeny Kafelnikov Template:Flagicon Daniel Vacek	6–1, 7–5
Loss	26.	8 July 1996	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Todd Woodbridge Template:Flagicon Mark Woodforde	6–4, 1–6, 3–6, 2–6
Win	21.	22 July 1996	Washington, D.C., United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Scott Davis	Template:Flagicon Doug Flach Template:Flagicon Chris Woodruff	7–6, 3–6, 6–3
Win	22.	19 August 1996	New Haven, United States	Hard	Template:Flagicon Byron Black	Template:Flagicon Jonas Björkman Template:Flagicon Nicklas Kulti	6–4, 6–4

Doubles performance timeline

Tournament	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	Career SR	Career W-L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	A	A	NH	2R	QF	QF	F	3R	3R	2R	1R	2R	2R	3R	0 / 11	21–11
French Open	A	A	A	A	1R	1R	3R	SF	2R	1R	SF	2R	2R	A	0 / 9	13–9
Wimbledon	A	A	A	1R	3R	1R	QF	SF	2R	F	F	1R	F	2R	0 / 11	26–11
US Open	A	A	A	1R	1R	1R	3R	2R	3R	2R	1R	SF	1R	3R	0 / 11	11–11
Grand Slam SR	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 0	0 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 42	N/A
Annual win–loss	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–3	5–4	3–4	12–4	11–4	6–4	7–4	9–4	6–4	7–4	4–3	N/A	71–42
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells	These Tournaments Were Not Masters Series Events Before 1990						2R	2R	QF	2R	W	QF	SF	2R	1 / 8	11–7
Miami							3R	2R	3R	2R	2R	SF	SF	QF	0 / 8	7–8
Monte Carlo							A	A	A	2R	QF	2R	SF	A	0 / 4	4–4
Rome							A	A	A	1R	1R	2R	W	2R	1 / 5	7–4
Hamburg							A	A	A	F	2R	QF	QF	1R	0 / 5	7–5
Canada							SF	F	1R	SF	2R	SF	QF	A	0 / 7	10–7
Cincinnati							2R	F	2R	SF	QF	QF	QF	A	0 / 7	9–7
Stuttgart (Stockholm)							SF	2R	SF	SF	2R	SF	2R	A	0 / 7	9–7
Paris							2R	2R	2R	QF	SF	W	SF	A	1 / 7	9–6
Masters Series SR	N/A						0 / 6	0 / 6	0 / 6	0 / 9	1 / 9	1 / 9	1 / 9	0 / 4	3 / 58	N/A
Annual win–loss	N/A						6–6	7–6	7–6	12–9	9–8	13–8	16–8	3–4	N/A	73–55
Year-end ranking	758	724	217	96	32	48	10	10	27	1	7	5	3	100	N/A

Honours

Connell was inducted into the Canadian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1998.

After retiring as a tennis pro

Upon retiring from the tour in 1997, Connell became High Performance Director at Tennis BC as well as Davis Cup Captain. As captain he led the team to the World Group for only the third time. He was also the Tournament Director for Rogers Cup in Toronto in 2006 As of the last 14 years Grant has been selling real estate in Vancouver, BC.

External links

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