Peter Doohan from Australia, who won the NCAA doubles title in tennis for the Razorbacks died this morning at the age of 56.
Peter reached a world ranking of #43 as a professional and his biggest day as a professional was in upset of Boris Becker at Wimbledon that earned him the nickname of Becker Wrecker.
RIP Peter.
I had forgotten about the upset of Becker. That was a big deal when it happened.
Never know when your day is coming. Very humbling.
Peter was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig disease nine weeks ago. I guess it was an aggressive form of the disease.
To date, the upset of Becker ranks as one of the five biggest upsets in Wimbledon history. Becker was ranked #1 and pre-tournament favorite to win it. Doohan was ranked #70.
I was trying to think of the name of his doubles partner at Arkansas. Tennis is my #1 sport to follow and I should remember it, but don’t. Maybe someone can help out. Was it Pat Serret?
Found out on Friday a friend has a terminal illness. It appears she has 3 to 5 years to live.
Pat Serrat was Duhan’s doubles partner. They were both All Americans.
I got to know Peter and Pat both pretty well while we were all on the Hill. Great guys. Tom Pucci’s tennis players were generally good people as well as good players; our teams were nationally competitive in that period.
RIP Doo.
Here are some links to news articles concerning the death of Peter Doohan.