Roscoe Tanner

Roscoe Tanner (born October 15, 1951) is an American former professional tennis player, who turned pro in 1972 and reached a career high world singles ranking of World No. 4 on July 30, 1979.

Tanner was famous for his big left-handed serve, which was clocked at 153 mph at Palm Springs in 1978 during the final against Raúl Ramírez. He is also known for winning the men's singles title at one of the 2 Australian Open tournaments held in 1977. Tanner won the tournament held in January, Vitas Gerulaitis won the later December tournament. Tanner also reached the Wimbledon final in 1979, losing the final to Björn Borg in five sets.

Tanner has been in the news in recent years for his legal problems.

Early life

Leonard Roscoe Tanner III was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, graduated from the Baylor School, and with teammate Sandy Mayer, helped to lead Stanford University's rise to the number one ranking in collegiate tennis in 1973. Tanner played number one singles, with Mayer playing number two. The team also featured Rick Fisher, Stanley Pasarell, Jim Delaney, James "Chico" Hagey, Gery Groslimond, Pat DuPre, Tim Noonan and Paul Sidone. Of the winning 1973 Stanford tennis team, Tanner, Mayer and DuPre were all brothers in the Zeta Psi fraternity.

Playing history

Tanner defeated Haroon Rahim 10–8 in the fifth set to win the 1970 United States Amateur Championships (Men's Tennis).

Tanner defeated Guillermo Vilas in three straight sets in the 1977 Australian Open (January) final, to win his first and only grand slam title. Tanner lost a five set match to Björn Borg in the 1979 Wimbledon final, which was the first Wimbledon final to be broadcast live in the United States as part of Breakfast at Wimbledon. Tanner avenged this loss to Borg by beating him in four sets in the US Open quarter finals two months later, a match where Tanner's 140 mph serve brought the net down during the fourth set. Tanner lost to Vitas Gerulaitis in the semi finals. Tanner described his 1979 US Open win over Borg and loss to Gerulaitis in his autobiography as "the highest of my highs and the lowest of my lows on a tennis court within two days of each other".

Tanner's strong left-handed serve was thrown very low and struck with a lunge involving the whole body, earning him the nickname "The Rocket". His booming 153 mph serve was the fastest ever recorded in tournament competition from February 1978 until Andy Roddick posted a 155 mph serve in a Davis Cup tournament in September 2004.

Grand Slam singles tournament timeline

Tournament	1969	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977		1978	1979	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	SR	W–L
Australian Open1	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	W	1R	A	A	A	2R	A	3R	A	1 / 1	6–0
French Open	A	A	A	A	A	1R	3R	A	A		4R	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 3	5–3
Wimbledon	A	A	A	3R	A	4R	SF	SF	1R		4R	F	QF	2R	4R	QF	A	0 / 11	36–11
US Open	1R	2R	3R	QF	3R	SF	3R	4R	4R		4R	SF	QF	QF	2R	3R	1R	0 / 16	40–16
Win–Loss	0–1	0–1	2–1	6–2	2–1	8–3	9–3	8–2	9–3		9–3	11–2	8–2	6–3	4–2	8–3	0–1	1 / 34	90–33

¹The Australian Open was played twice in 1977, in January and December.

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 2 (1–1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1977	Australian Open (January)	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	1979	Wimbledon	Grass	Björn Borg	7–6(7–4), 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6

Singles titles (16)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	1972	Albany, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2–6, 6–7
Runner-up	2.	1972	Los Angeles WCT, U.S.	Hard	Stan Smith	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	3.	1973	Milan WCT, Italy	Carpet	Marty Riessen	6–7, 0–6, 6–7
Runner-up	4.	1974	Palm Desert WCT, U.S.	Hard	Rod Laver	4–6, 2–6
Winner	1.	1974	Denver WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	5.	1974	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Runner-up	6.	1974	Maui, U.S.	Hard	John Newcombe	6–7, 6–7
Winner	2.	1974	Christchurch, New Zealand	???	Ray Ruffels	6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	7.	1975	St. Petersburg WCT, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	0–6, 6–1, 2–6
Runner-up	8.	1975	St. Louis, U.S.	Clay	Vitas Gerulaitis	6–2, 2–6, 3–6
Runner-up	9.	1975	Charlotte, U.S.	Clay	Raúl Ramírez	6–3, 4–6, 3–6
Winner	3.	1975	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Ross Case	5–7, 7–5, 7–6
Winner	4.	1975	Chicago, U.S.	Carpet	John Alexander	6–1, 6–7, 7–6
Runner-up	10.	1975	Los Angeles, U.S.	Hard	Arthur Ashe	6–3, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	11.	1976	Birmingham, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 6–3, 1–6
Runner-up	12.	1976	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	4–6, 4–6
Winner	5.	1976	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Eddie Dibbs	7–6, 6–3
Winner	6.	1976	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Stan Smith	6–4, 7–6
Runner-up	13.	1976	South Orange, U.S.	Clay	Ilie Năstase	4–6, 2–6
Winner	7.	1976	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Brian Gottfried	4–6, 7–5, 6–1
Winner	8.	1976	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Clay	Corrado Barazzutti	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	14.	1976	Wembley, U.K.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	6–3, 6–7, 4–6
Winner	9.	1977	Australian Open−1, Melbourne	Grass	Guillermo Vilas	6–3, 6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	15.	1977	South Orange, U.S.	Clay	Guillermo Vilas	4–6, 1–6
Runner-up	16.	1977	WCT Challenge Cup, Las Vegas	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2–6, 6–5, 6–3, 2–6, 5–6
Winner	10.	1977	Sydney Outdoor, Australia	Grass	Brian Teacher	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–7, 6–4
Runner-up	17.	1978	Philadelphia WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Jimmy Connors	2–6, 4–6, 3–6
Winner	11.	1978	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Raúl Ramírez	6–1, 7–6
Winner	12.	1978	New Orleans, U.S.	Carpet	Victor Amaya	6–3, 7–5
Winner	13.	1979	Rancho Mirage, U.S.	Hard	Brian Gottfried	6–4, 6–2
Winner	14.	1979	Washington Indoor, U.S.	Carpet	Brian Gottfried	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	18.	1979	New Orleans, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	19.	1979	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Björn Borg	7–6, 1–6, 6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	20.	1979	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Peter Fleming	4–6, 2–6
Runner-up	21.	1980	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	1–6, 2–6
Winner	15.	1980	Manchester, U.K.	Grass	Stan Smith	6–3, 6–4
Winner	16.	1981	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Wojtek Fibak	6–2, 7–6, 7–5
Runner-up	22.	1981	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Gene Mayer	2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	23.	1981	Bristol, U.K.	Grass	Mark Edmondson	3–6, 7–5, 4–6
Runner-up	24.	1981	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	John McEnroe	4–6, 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up	25.	1982	La Costa WCT, U.S.	Hard	Johan Kriek	0–6, 6–4, 0–6, 4–6

Doubles titles (13)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	1971	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Sandy Mayer	Stan Smith Erik Van Dillen	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	1971	Columbus, U.S.	Hard	Jimmy Connors	Jim McManus Jim Osborne	6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Runner-up	3.	1973	London WCT, U.K.	Hard (i)	Arthur Ashe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	4.	1973	Washington WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–4, 6–7, 2–6
Runner-up	5.	1973	Houston WCT, U.S.	Clay	Arthur Ashe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	5–7, 5–7
Winner	1.	1973	Denver WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	3–6, 6–3, 7–6
Runner-up	6.	1973	Paris Indoor, France	Hard (i)	Arthur Ashe	Juan Gisbert, Sr. Ilie Năstase	2–6, 6–4, 5–7
Runner-up	7.	1974	Bologna WCT, Italy	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	Ove Nils Bengtson Björn Borg	4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–7, 2–6
Winner	2.	1974	Barcelona WCT, Spain	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	Tom Edlefsen Tom Leonard	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	8.	1974	Houston, U.S.	Clay	Arthur Ashe	Colin Dibley Rod Laver	6–4, 6–7, 4–6
Winner	3.	1974	Denver WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Arthur Ashe	Mark Cox Jun Kamiwazumi	6–3, 7–6
Winner	4.	1974	Maui, U.S.	Hard	Dick Stockton	Owen Davidson John Newcombe	6–3, 7–6
Winner	5.	1974	Christchurch, New Zealand		Ismail El Shafei	Syd Ball Ray Ruffels	W/O
Winner	6.	1974	Jakarta, Indonesia	Hard	Ismail El Shafei	Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann	7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	1975	St. Petersburg WCT, U.S.	Hard	Charlie Pasarell	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	4–6, 4–6
Runner-up	10.	1975	La Costa WCT, U.S.	Hard	Charlie Pasarell	Brian Gottfried Raúl Ramírez	5–7, 4–6
Winner	7.	1975	Nottingham, U.K.	Grass	Charlie Pasarell	Tom Okker Marty Riessen	6–2, 6–3
Runner-up	11.	1975	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Charlie Pasarell	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–3, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	12.	1976	Memphis WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Marty Riessen	Anand Amritraj Vijay Amritraj	3–6, 4–6
Winner	8.	1976	La Costa WCT, U.S.	Hard	Marty Riessen	Peter Fleming Gene Mayer	7–6, 7–6
Winner	9.	1976	Johannesburg WCT, South Africa	Hard	Marty Riessen	Frew McMillan Tom Okker	6–2, 7–5
Winner	10.	1976	San Francisco, U.S.	Carpet	Dick Stockton	Brian Gottfried Bob Hewitt	6–3, 6–4
Runner-up	13.	1976	Maui, U.S.	Hard	Dick Stockton	Raymond Moore Allan Stone	7–6, 3–6, 4–6
Winner	11.	1976	Perth, Australia	Hard (i)	Dick Stockton	Bob Carmichael Ismail El Shafei	6–7, 6–1, 6–2
Winner	12.	1976	Wembley, U.K.	Carpet	Stan Smith	Wojtek Fibak Brian Gottfried	7–6, 6–3
Runner-up	14.	1977	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Marty Riessen	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–7, 6–7
Runner-up	15.	1977	Cincinnati, U.S.	Clay	Bob Hewitt	John Alexander Phil Dent	3–6, 6–7
Runner-up	16.	1977	Hong Kong	Hard	Marty Riessen	Syd Ball Kim Warwick	6–7, 3–6
Winner	13.	1978	Palm Springs, U.S.	Hard	Raymond Moore	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	17.	1980	Manchester, U.K.	Grass	Dennis Ralston	John Sadri Tim Wilkison	3–6, 4–6

Personal life

Tanner has been married three times, first to Nancy, next to Charlotte and finally to Margaret. He has five children.

In 2005, Triumph Books published an autobiography Tanner wrote in collaboration with Mike Yorkey, Double Fault: My Rise And Fall, And My Road Back.

Legal problems

Tanner has an extensive record of conflicts with the law. He was first arrested in 1997 for failure to pay child support to Connie Romano, with whom he fathered a child in the early 1990s. Tanner was arrested again in Karlsruhe in June 2003 on a fugitive warrant. He had fled from Florida after felony charges were filed against him. In this case, the charges related to passing a bad check to purchase a yacht in 2000 and to further nonpayment of child support to Romano. He pled guilty and received an initial sentence of probation. After violating the terms of his probation, Tanner was sentenced to two years in the custody of the Florida Department of Corrections. He was released one year early for "good behavior".

In May 2008, Roscoe Tanner was arrested in Knoxville, Tennessee for the felony of writing US$72,000 in worthless checks as payment for two Toyota Highlanders. The felony charge was dismissed on August 14, 2008 after the dealership obtained return of the vehicles, which were taken out of town, and upon Tanner's payment of US$5,000 in restitution to the dealership for the reduced value of the vehicles after their recovery. Several years before, Tanner had been arrested in Knoxville for violating probation resulting from his guilty pleas in Florida relating to felony worthless checks and grand theft.

Tanner was recently evicted from his residence in Florida pursuant to an order of the Indian River County Court, and Tanner is currently in hiding from another warrant for his arrest, according to NewsChannel9 television in his hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Roscoe Tanner: A Wanted Man (Again)