Kjell Johansson (born 12 February 1951) is a Swedish former tennis player.
Johansson turned professional in 1974. He won one singles title (1978, Lagos) during his career and reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on 21 August 1978, when he became world number 32.
He represented Sweden in the Davis Cup in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981.
Early life Johansson was born on 12 February 1951 in Toarp, Älvsborg County, Sweden. He developed his tennis game in the early 1970s. He regularly trained and competed alongside contemporary national figures such as Björn Borg.
Professional career Johansson turned professional and began playing on the international tennis circuit in 1974. Throughout his playing career, he recorded a total of 120 singles match victories on the professional circuit. In Grand Slam competitions, he made multiple main-draw appearances at major tournaments, including the French Open and the US Open.
He captured the sole Grand Prix/ATP Tour singles title of his career on 12 March 1978 at the Lagos Classic tournament in Nigeria. He secured the championship tier title at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club by defeating British player Robin Drysdale in the tournament's final match.
Johansson reached his peak individual singles ranking on 21 August 1978, ascending to world No. 32.
His best results in Grand Slam men's singles was reaching the third round at the 1975 French Open, the 1975 US Open, and the 1976 US Open.
His best result in Grand Slam men's doubles was reaching the second round at the 1973 French Open with Björn Borg.
At the 1975 US Open, playing in doubles alongside Björn Andersson, they lost in the first round to Americans Steve Turner and Steve Siegel.
Davis Cup Johansson was a epresentative for the Sweden Davis Cup team. He played in tournament ties in 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980 and 1981. Over his Davis Cup career, Johansson competed exclusively in singles match play.
He accumulated a 13–11 overall win-loss record across 24 international matches. He played his final Davis Cup tie in March 1981 during a World Group first-round fixture away against Japan. During that tie, he won both of his singles matches in straight sets against Japanese players Tsuyoshi Fukui and Shigeyuki Nishio.
Career finals Singles (1 titles, 3 runner-ups) ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreLoss 0–1 1976 Valencia, Spain Clay Manuel Orantes 2–6, 2–6, 2–6Loss 0–2 1977 Helsinki, Finland Carpet Mark Cox 3–6, 3–6Win 1–2 1978 Lagos, Nigeria Clay Robin Drysdale 9–8, 6–3Loss 1–3 1978 Cairo, Egypt Clay José Higueras 6–4, 4–6, 4–6
Doubles (1 runner-up) ResultW/LDateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScoreLoss 0–1 1980 Lagos, Nigeria Clay Leo Palin Tony Graham Bruce Nichols 3–6, 6–0, 3–6
See also
Sweden Davis Cup team
References
External links