Antonio Palafox (born 28 April 1936) is a Mexican male former tennis player. He and compatriot Rafael Osuna won the doubles at the U.S. Open in 1962 and at Wimbledon in 1963. He is remembered along with Rafael Osuna, Francisco "Pancho" Contreras and Mario Llamas for guiding Mexico to the final of the Davis Cup in 1962.
Palafox won the 1958 Mexican Championships defeating Pancho Contreras in the final and he won the Mexican title again in 1963 defeating Rafael Osuna in the final.
Also in 1958 Palafox won the Southern Championships defeating Frank Willett,Frank Willett. https://dlg.usg.edu/record/geh_athpc_1388 the defending champion, in the final.
Palafox won the Eastern Clay Court Championships in 1970 at Port Washington, N.Y. beating Sandy Mayer in the semifinal and Otokar Merunka in three straight sets in the final. He defended his title the following year defeating Steve Ross in the final in three straight sets.
He is a former coach of John McEnroe, and taught him to put yourself in an advantageous positions and putting your opponent in difficult positions.
Grand Slam finals
Doubles (2 titles, 2 runners-up)
ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1961 U.S. National Championships Grass Rafael Osuna Chuck McKinley Dennis Ralston 3–6, 4–6, 6–2, 11–13Win 1962 U.S. National Championships Grass Rafael Osuna Chuck McKinley Dennis Ralston 6–4, 10–12, 1–6, 9–7, 6–3Win 1963 Wimbledon Grass Rafael Osuna Jean-Claude Barclay Pierre Darmon 4–6, 6–2, 6–2, 6–2Loss 1963 U.S. National Championships Grass Rafael Osuna Chuck McKinley Dennis Ralston 7–9, 6–4, 7–5, 3–6, 9–11
Mixed Doubles (1 runner-up)
ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 1960 U.S. National Championships Grass Maria Bueno Margaret Osborne duPont Neale Fraser 3–6, 2–6
References
External links