Jose Higueras

Residence: Barcelona, Spain/Palm Springs, California Wife, Donna
Son, Jordi; Daughter, Jenna
Singles titles: 15, as follows:
1984--(2) Kitzbuhel, Bordeaux
1983--(2) La Quinta, Bournemouth
1982--(2) Hamburg, Indianapolis
1979--(3) Houston, Hamburg, Boston
1978--(4) Cairo, Nice, Bournemouth, Madrid
1977--(1) Murcia
1976--(1) Santiago
Best Grand Slam results: French Open: SF in 1983, '82, QF in 1979, '77.
Qualified for the Masters of 1984/82/80.
Member of the Spanish team that won the World Team Cup in 1983 and '78.
1984- Semifinalist at LaQuinta, Gstaad; R16 at French Open.
When Jose was awarded the ATP Sportsmanship Award at the ATP Gala in
January 1984, he displayed a sense of irony and a sense of humor. "I've been
giving away points for almost 20 years," Higueras said, "it's about time they
gave me something for it."
The catch phrase for his long and lucrative career, has been fair and
steady play. His game is rooted in patience, anchored firmly to the
baseline. If one hopes to beat the elegant Spaniard, one had best be
prepared for an all-day task. Jose is also a bit of a philosopher; "Life is
strange," he once observed, reflecting upon the developments in his own
own career. He was born on an olive plantation in Granada, Spain, where his
father raised his brood in a stone barn. When the family moved to Barcelona,
settling in one of the poorer sections, the only job available to Jose was
that of a ballboy at the posh Real Tennis Club. Although prohibited from
taking formal lessons, Higueras learned the game in his free time. His
talent was recognized when the club needed a "sacrifice" to play a highly
touted player in an inter-club match. Jose was thrown to the wolves. When
he won the match, he realized tennis could be a means to a better life for
himself and his family. These days Jose moves in decidedly different
circles, residing in Palm Springs, where his father-in-law is the mayor. But
it has been anything but a walk in the park as he has sustained some rather
bizarre injuries in his career. In 1975, he broke his arm in a fall during a
match at the French Open. In 1980, after his finest year to that point, he
contracted hepatitis, the effects of which lingered for nearly two years.
For a player whose foremost weapon is stamina, there was the fear that he
might not ever play as well again. Higueras dispelled those qualms during
the 1982 German Open, when he defeated Peter McNamara to win the singles
title in a five hour, six minute marathon.