Tom Gullikson proved again in 1984 that he has a knack for beating the big boys. "Gully" (a handy sobriquet for both he and his twin brother, Tim) has career wins over Bjorn Borg and Jimmy Connors, and it was Connors who was victimized again in '84, at Madrid.

The Gullikson's story has a bit of of Andy Hardy to it. They grew up in Lacrosse, Wisconsin, across the street from the tennis courts of the local campus of the state university. Mother Gullikson needed someplace to send her charges where she could keep an eye on them; hence the boys learned tennis. Although they never played a national junior tournament, they owned the competition at the state level as boys. They would frequently meet each other in the finals of such tournaments, and if one brother won on a particular week, then the other would often take top
honors the next time around. And all of this transpired while Papa Gullikson kept the townfolk well-groomed in his role as the community barber. As if this weren't enough, Tom and Time were in the same fraternity and married sorority sisters.

Tom announced his retirement in the summer of 1986, scheduled for the end of the year. Resides in Palm Coast, Florida with wife, Julie, and daughters Petra and Christina.