Vytautas Kevin Gerulaitis (July 26, 1954 – September 17, 1994) was an American professional tennis player, known as Vitas Gerulaitis. In 1975, he won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon, partnering with Sandy Mayer. He won the men's singles title at the latter of the two Australian Open tournaments held in 1977 (December;[1]Roscoe Tanner won earlier in January). He won two Italian Opens (1977, 1979), and the WCT Finals in Dallas in 1978.
Gerulaitis was nicknamed "The Lithuanian Lion".[4] His younger sister Ruta was also a professional tennis player; both siblings' native language was Lithuanian.[5]
Gerulaitis was coached by Fred Stolle from 1977 until 1983.
He also won the men's doubles title at Wimbledon in 1975. He was a singles semifinalist at Wimbledon in both 1977 and 1978. In 1977 he lost a Wimbledon semifinal to his close friend and practice partner, Björn Borg, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6, a match considered one of the greatest ever,[6] with journalist Curry Kirkpatrick stating shortly thereafter that it may have "been the finest ever played at Wimbledon".[7]
In 1978, Gerulaitis won the year-end championship WCT Finals for the World Championship Tennis tour, beating Eddie Dibbs 6–3, 6–2, 6–1. By 1978, he was the third-ranked men's singles player in the world.
Gerulaitis advanced to the men's singles finals at the US Open in 1979, but lost in straight sets to fellow New Yorker John McEnroe. He was a member of the U.S. team which won the Davis Cup in 1979 and won two singles "rubbers" in the final, as the U.S. swept Italy 5–0.
Gerulaitis reached his third Grand Slam singles final at the French Open in 1980, but lost in straight sets to defending champion Borg.
In February 1981, Gerulaitis won the star-laden Toronto Indoor invitational tournament, defeating Jimmy Connors in the semifinal and McEnroe in four sets the final.[8]
During his career, Gerulaitis won 25 top-level singles titles and eight doubles titles. His career-high singles ranking was world No. 3 which he reached on February 27, 1978.
Gerulaitis was known for his exceptionally quick hands at the net and his outstanding court coverage.[9]
In 1985, Gerulaitis teamed with Bobby Riggs to launch a challenge to female players after the famous Battle of the Sexes. The stunt, however, was short-lived when Gerulaitis and Riggs lost a doubles match against Martina Navratilova and Pam Shriver.[10]
He retired from the professional tour in 1986, and was a regular tennis commentator on the USA network between 1988 and 1994.
On September 17, 1994, while visiting a friend's home in Southampton, New York, an improperly installed propane heater for the swimming pool caused carbon monoxide gas to seep into the guesthouse where Gerulaitis was sleeping, causing his death by carbon monoxide poisoning. He failed to show up for a dinner at 7 p.m. that Saturday evening and his body was found the following day by a maid who went to the guesthouse.[11][12][13] Gerulaitis' remains were interred in Saint Charles Cemetery in Farmingdale, New York.
Criminal charges of negligent homicide were later brought against the pool mechanic and the company he worked for. Both he and the company were acquitted in October 1996. Jurors heard testimony that a technician from the heater manufacturer had made adjustments several days before Gerulaitis' death and that even if an exhaust pipe had been longer, carbon monoxide (colorless and odorless) would have still been drawn into the air-conditioning vent because it is denser than air at low temperatures. Arthur M. Luxenberg, a lawyer for the Gerulaitis family, stated that Gerulaitis' mother and sister believed the verdict to be fair, and he went on to state that the testimony at the trial "confirmed to us what we always knew: that there were a lot of other people involved in this matter."[14]
The Gerulaitis family reached a confidential settlement with some of the defendants in their civil case by 2002.[15][16]
The Vitas Gerulaitis Memorial Tennis Centre was opened in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania.[17] Also, a street in Vilnius is named after him. The song An Outbreak of Vitas Gerulaitis by Birkenhead band Half Man Half Biscuit, from their 1991 album McIntyre, Treadmore and Davitt also references the player, albeit obliquely.
