Georges Goven (born 26 April 1948) is a retired tennis player from France.

Georges Goven
Country (sports) France
ResidenceParis, France
Born (1948-04-26) 26 April 1948 (age 76)
Lyon, France
Height1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Turned pro1968 (amateur from 1965)
Retired1984
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Singles
Career record162–209
Career titles1
Highest rankingNo. 13 (30 November 1970)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1965, 1973)
French OpenSF (1970)
Wimbledon3R (1966, 1972)
US Open3R (1975)
Doubles
Career record83–129
Career titles1
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open1R (1973)
French OpenSF (1970)
Wimbledon2R (1969, 1971, 1972)
US Open2R (1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973)

Tennis career

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Juniors

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As a junior, he won the Australian Championships Boys' Singles title in 1964.

Amateur / Pro tour

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Goven reached the semifinals in both singles and doubles (partnering François Jauffret) at the 1970 French Open.

He notably defeated Ilie Năstase (then world No. 7) in Paris in September 1977 with the help of the spaghetti racquet, and Vitas Gerulaitis (then world No. 5) in Florence in May 1983.[1]

After retirement

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Goven has coached such players as Nicolas Escudé, Nathalie Dechy and Tatiana Golovin. He was the Davis Cup team captain from 1993 to 1994. Currently, he is the captain of the France Fed Cup team since 2005 (replacing his compatriot and former player Guy Forget) and coaches Kristina Mladenovic.

Career finals

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Doubles (1 title, 6 runner-ups)

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Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win 1–0 Apr 1971 Palermo, Italy Clay   Pierre Barthès   Ilie Năstase
  Ion Țiriac
6–2, 6–3
Loss 1–1 Feb 1972 Des Moines, US Carpet (i)   Thomaz Koch   Jim Osborne
  Jim McManus
2–6, 3–6
Loss 1–2 Apr 1972 Johannesburg, South Africa Clay   Ray Moore   Bob Hewitt
  Frew McMillan
2–6, 2–6, 4–6
Loss 1–3 Dec 1972 Brisbane, Australia Grass   Wanaro N'Godrella   Ross Case
  Geoff Masters
2–6, 7–6, 2–6, 6–7
Loss 1–4 Apr 1973 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay   Patrick Proisy   Juan Gisbert
  Ilie Năstase
2–6, 2–6, 2–6
Loss 1–5 Jan 1974 Philadelphia WCT, US Carpet (i)   Jean-Baptiste Chanfreau   Pat Cramer
  Mike Estep
1–6, 1–6
Loss 1–6 Aug 1974 Bretton Woods, US Clay   François Jauffret   Jeff Borowiak
  Rod Laver
3–6, 2–6

References

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