Jan-Michael Charles Gambill (born June 3, 1977) is an American former professional tennis player who made his professional debut in 1996. His career-high singles ranking is world No. 14, which he achieved on June 18, 2001. Best known for his unusual double-handed forehand,Smith, David W. (2004). Tennis Mastery, p. 207. Manahawkin Printing, USA. . Gambill reached the quarterfinals of the 2000 Wimbledon Championships, the final of the 2001 Miami Masters, and won three singles titles.
Early life
Gambill spent the early years of his life in the countryside of Spokane, Washington. He currently resides in both Los Angeles and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii with his partner, architect and developer Malek Alqadi. While Jan-Michael has been sponsored by car manufacturer Jaguar, he also supports real-life Jaguars and tigers through Cat Tales Zoological Park, an organization dedicated to saving the lives of big cats. Gambill has also raised money for his long-time friend Sir Elton John's charity, the Elton John AIDS Foundation.
Gambill's career as a professional athlete has evolved into coaching tennis players as well as being an international analyst for BeIn sports. Gambill was also sponsored by Prince for both his racquets and apparel.
Tennis career 1996–2005 Gambill began playing tennis at the age of five, looking up to multiple Grand Slam singles titlists Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe. He has defeated, amongst other top players, former World No. 1s, Roger Federer, Carlos Moyá, Lleyton Hewitt, Gustavo Kuerten, Marcelo Ríos, Jim Courier, Pete Sampras, and Andre Agassi, as well as Grand Slam champions Michael Chang, Thomas Johansson, Sergi Bruguera, and Gastón Gaudio. His best performances at Grand Slams have been reaching the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in 2000 and the fourth round of the US Open in 2002. His run at Wimbledon in 2000 saw him beat Lleyton Hewitt, Fabrice Santoro, Paul Goldstein and Thomas Enqvist before losing to eventual champion Pete Sampras. His run to the final of the 2001 Miami Masters included wins over Hewitt, Gaudio, and Thomas Enqvist. He was coached by his father Chuck Gambill (1947–2020), who coached Jan-Michael's younger brother Torrey, who was also a professional tennis player.
Throughout his career, Gambill was hampered by numerous injuries. Most prominently, while still in the world's top 40, he suffered a recurring shin condition, which severely limited him on the ATP Tour after 2004."Gambill Quits Match to Miss Wimbledon", The Spokesman Review, June 17, 2005. He also started serving harder to try and compensate for lack of movement, which resulted in a shoulder injury."Gambill is Still Competing", Globe Correspondent, July 19, 2011."Jan Michael Gambill Speaks About WTT & Injuries", YouTube interview, March 29, 2012.
Post–2005 Gambill played for the Boston Lobsters in the World Team Tennis league from 2008 onwards, alongside other successful American players such as Andre Agassi, John Isner, and Robby Ginepri.
In September 2009, Gambill reached the semifinals of the USA F23 Futures tournament (losing to second seed Michael McClune) in his first pro match of the year.
He competed in three Challenger events in 2010, and reached the quarterfinals of the USA F25 Futures in Irvine, California. Since October 2010, Gambill has not competed on the pro tour.
Since July 2011, he has coached top 10 player CoCo Vandeweghe, his former Boston Lobsters teammate, on the WTA Tour. In 2017, he coached top 50 player Jared Donaldson on the ATP Tour. As of 2020, he is currently in broadcasting and television as a Sports Analyst on the Tennis Channel.
Personal life Gambill is gay and in a relationship with architectural designer and developer Malek Alqadi.
ATP Tour finals Singles (3 titles, 4 runner-ups) Legend Grand Slam tournaments (0–0) Tennis Masters Cup (0–0) ATP Masters Series (0–1) ATP Tour (3–3)
ResultW-LDateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScoreWin 1–0 Mar 1999 Scottsdale, United States Hard Lleyton Hewitt 7–6(7–2), 4–6, 6–4Loss 1–1 Jul 2000 Los Angeles, United States Hard Michael Chang 7–6(7–2), 3–6, retiredWin 2–1 Mar 2001 Delray Beach, United States Hard Xavier Malisse 7–5, 6–4Loss 2–2 Apr 2001 Miami, United States Hard Andre Agassi 6–7(4–7), 1–6, 0–6Loss 2–3 Jul 2002 Los Angeles, United States Hard Andre Agassi 2–6, 4–6Loss 2–4 Jan 2003 Doha, Qatar Hard Stefan Koubek 4–6, 4–6Win 3–4 Mar 2003 Delray Beach, United States Hard Mardy Fish 6–0, 7–6(7–5)
Performance timeline
Tournament 19971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010Australian OpenA1R1R1R1R1R2R2R1RAAAAAFrench OpenA2R1R2R1R1R1R1RAAAAAAWimbledonQ12R2RQF1R2R2R3RQ3AAAAAUS Open1R3R2R3R2R4R2R2R1RAAAAA ATP Masters Series Indian Wells MastersASF2R1RQF3R1R2R1RA1RAAA Miami MastersA1R2RQFF3R2R1RAAAAAA Monte Carlo MastersAAAAA1RAAAAAAAA Rome MastersAA1RA1RA1RAAAAAAA Hamburg MastersAA2R2R3R1R1RAAAAAAA Canada MastersA2R2RA3RAAAAA1RAAA Cincinnati MastersA3R2RAQF2R1R1RAAAAAA Madrid Masters (Stuttgart)AQFA1R1R2R3RAAAAAAA Paris MastersAAA3RA1RAAAAAAAAATP Tournaments Won00101010000000 Year End Ranking18638583321425195191687110711478911051
References
External links