Steve Denton

Steve Denton

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	College Station, Texas, USA
Born	(1956-09-05) September 5, 1956 Kingsville, Texas, USA
Height
Turned pro	1978
Retired	1987
Plays	Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
College	University of Texas
Prize money	$1,084,664
Singles
Career record	108–117 (Grand Prix, WCT and Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 12 (April 18, 1983)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (1981, 1982)
French Open	1R (1982, 1984)
Wimbledon	4R (1982)
US Open	4R (1982)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	1R (1982)
WCT Finals	QF (1983)
Doubles
Career record	325–198 (Grand Prix, WCT and Grand Slam level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles	18
Highest ranking	No. 2 (August 15, 1983)
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open	F (1983)
French Open	QF (1984)
Wimbledon	SF (1982, 1983)
US Open	W (1982)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	F (1982)

Steve Denton (born September 5, 1956, in Kingsville, Texas) is a former professional tennis player for the ATP Tour. He is currently the head men's tennis coach at Texas A&M University.

After becoming an all-American at the University of Texas in 1978, Denton spent nine seasons playing for the ATP Tour. He reached the final of both the 1981 and 1982 Australian Open, and won the 1982 US Open doubles championship with Kevin Curren, attaining career-high rankings of World No. 12 in singles and World No. 2 in doubles. He won a total of 18 tour level doubles titles and, despite reaching 6 finals, never won a singles title. In 1984, his 138 miles per hour (222 km/h) serve broke the world record, which would not be broken until 13 years later. After retiring from the pros, he moved to Corpus Christi, Texas, coaching several local junior tennis teams. In 2001, he debuted his college coaching career at Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi, where he led his teams to three conference championships and a first-ever NCAA tournament appearance. In 2006, he resigned to become the head coach at Texas A&M University.

For his accomplishments, he is a member of the ITA Hall of Fame, the Texas Tennis Hall of Fame, the Blue-Gray Tennis Class Hall of Fame, and the Longhorn Hall of Honor.

Playing career

High school and college

Denton attended Bishop High School in Bishop, Texas. As a prep, he won four consecutive UIL state 3A singles titles. He then attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he played tennis from 1976–79. He earned all-American honors in 1978. Along with teammate Kevin Curren, he won the U.S. Tennis Association amateur indoor and SWC doubles title in 1979. He completed his college career with an 85–22 singles record, which currently ranks third all-time in school history. He also compiled a 72–18 doubles record, and a 78–27 team record. For his collegiate and professional accomplishments, he was inducted into the Longhorn Hall of Honor in 2006.

Professional

Denton was ranked as high as World No. 12 on the ATP Rankings in singles and No. 2 in doubles, both in 1983. Denton was known for his big serve and employed an unusual service motion which involved taking two steps forward prior to striking the ball. Current ATP rules prohibit such a motion (or any service motion involving a running or walking start). In 1984, Denton set a service record of 138 mph (222 km/h) that would stand for 13 years until it was broken in 1997 by Mark Philippoussis who recorded a 142 mph (229 km/h) delivery. The current record of 163 mph (262 km/h) is held by Sam Groth.

He reached six singles finals, most notably the Australian Open (in 1981 and 1982) and the Cincinnati Masters (in 1982). He also won 18 doubles titles (including the US Open and the Canada Masters) in 1982, and reaching 23 additional doubles finals.

Grand Slam Finals, 7

Singles, 2 (2 finals)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-Up	1981	Australian Open	Grass	Johan Kriek	6–2, 7–6, 6–7, 6–4
Runner-Up	1982	Australian Open (2)	Grass	Johan Kriek	6–3, 6–3, 6–2

Men's Doubles, 2 (1 win, 1 loss)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1982	US Open	Grass	Kevin Curren	Victor Amaya Hank Pfister	6–2, 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-Up	1983	Australian Open	Grass	Sherwood Stewart	Mark Edmondson Paul McNamee	6–3, 7–6

Mixed Doubles, 3 (3 finals)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-Up	1983	Wimbledon	Grass	Billie Jean King	John Lloyd Wendy Turnbull	6–7, 7–6, 7–5
Runner-Up	1983	US Open	Grass	JoAnne Russell	Anne Smith Kevin Curren	6–4, 7–6
Runner-Up	1984	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Kathy Jordan	John Lloyd Wendy Turnbull	6–3, 6–3

Titles and Finals

Doubles titles (18)

Outcome	No.	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	1979	Hong Kong	Carpet	Jeff Turpin	Pat Du Pré Robert Lutz	3–6, 4–6
Winner	1.	1980	Denver, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Wojtek Fibak Heinz Günthardt	7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	2.	1980	Washington-2, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Ferdi Taygan Brian Teacher	6–4, 3–6, 6–7
Runner-up	3.	1980	North Conway, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Jimmy Connors Brian Gottfried	6–7, 2–6
Winner	2.	1980	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Wojtek Fibak Ivan Lendl	3–6, 7–6, 6–4
Winner	3.	1980	Barcelona, Spain	Clay	Ivan Lendl	Pavel Složil Balázs Taróczy	6–2, 6–7, 6–3
Winner	4.	1980	Basel, Switzerland	Hard (i)	Kevin Curren	Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan	6–7, 6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	4.	1980	Bologna, Italy	Carpet	Paul McNamee	Balázs Taróczy Butch Walts	6–2, 3–6, 0–6
Winner	5.	1981	Monterrey WCT, Mexico	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Johan Kriek Russell Simpson	7–6, 6–3
Runner-up	5.	1981	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Sandy Mayer Frew McMillan	6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Runner-up	6.	1981	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Kevin Curren	Pat Du Pré Brian Teacher	6–3, 6–7, 9–11
Winner	6.	1981	Indianapolis, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Raúl Ramírez Van Winitsky	6–3, 5–7, 7–5
Winner	7.	1981	Vienna, Austria	Hard (i)	Tim Wilkison	Sammy Giammalva, Jr. Fred McNair	4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Winner	8.	1981	Stockholm, Sweden	Hard (i)	Kevin Curren	Sherwood Stewart Ferdi Taygan	6–7, 6–4, 6–0
Runner-up	7.	1982	Masters Doubles WCT, London	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	7–6, 3–6, 5–7, 4–6
Winner	9.	1982	Denver, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Phil Dent Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
Winner	10.	1982	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	7–6, 4–6, 6–2
Runner-up	8.	1982	Munich-2 WCT, Germany	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Mark Edmondson Tomáš Šmíd	6–4, 5–7, 2–6
Winner	11.	1982	Frankfurt, Germany	Carpet	Mark Edmondson	Tony Giammalva Tim Mayotte	6–7, 6–3, 6–3
Winner	12.	1982	Houston, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Mark Edmondson Peter McNamara	7–5, 6–4
Winner	13.	1982	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Kevin Curren	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–7, 7–5, 6–2
Runner-up	9.	1982	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Mark Edmondson	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	2–6, 3–6
Winner	14.	1982	US Open, New York	Hard	Kevin Curren	Victor Amaya Hank Pfister	6–2, 6–7, 5–7, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	10.	1982	Sydney Indoor, Australia	Hard (i)	Mark Edmondson	John McEnroe Peter Rennert	3–6, 6–7
Winner	15.	1983	Philadelphia, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	6–4, 7–6
Winner	16.	1983	Munich WCT, Germany	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	7–5, 2–6, 6–1
Winner	17.	1983	Houston WCT, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Mark Dickson Tomáš Šmíd	7–6, 6–7, 6–1
Winner	18.	1983	Las Vegas, U.S.	Hard	Kevin Curren	Tracy Delatte Johan Kriek	6–3, 7–5
Runner-up	11.	1983	Forest Hills WCT, U.S.	Clay	Kevin Curren	Tracy Delatte Johan Kriek	7–6, 5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	12.	1983	London/Queen's Club, England	Grass	Kevin Curren	Brian Gottfried Paul McNamee	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	13.	1983	Dallas, U.S.	Hard	Sherwood Stewart	Nduka Odizor Van Winitsky	3–6, 5–7
Runner-up	14.	1983	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet	John Fitzgerald	Mark Edmondson Sherwood Stewart	1–6, 4–6
Runner-up	15.	1983	Wembley, England	Carpet	Sherwood Stewart	Peter Fleming John McEnroe	3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	16.	1983	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Sherwood Stewart	Mark Edmondson Paul McNamee	3–6, 6–7
Runner-up	17.	1984	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	John McEnroe Patrick McEnroe	6–7, 2–6
Runner-up	18.	1984	Brussels, Belgium	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Tim Gullikson Tom Gullikson	4–6, 7–6, 6–7
Runner-up	19.	1984	Milan, Italy	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	20.	1985	Memphis, U.S.	Carpet	Kevin Curren	Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd	6–1, 3–6, 4–6
Runner-up	21.	1985	Atlanta, U.S.	Carpet	Tomáš Šmíd	Paul Annacone Christo van Rensburg	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	22.	1987	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	John Fitzgerald	Ken Flach Robert Seguso	5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	23.	1988	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	David Pate	John Fitzgerald Johan Kriek	4–6, 7–6, 4–6

Singles runner-ups (6)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1.	1981	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Johan Kriek	2–6, 6–7, 7–6, 4–6
Runner-up	2.	1982	Metz, France	Hard (i)	Erick Iskersky	4–6, 3–6
Runner-up	3.	1982	Cincinnati, U.S.	Hard	Ivan Lendl	2–6, 6–7
Runner-up	4.	1982	Australian Open, Melbourne	Grass	Johan Kriek	3–6, 3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	5.	1983	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	Guillermo Vilas	3–6, 5–7, 4–6
Runner-up	6.	1984	Richmond WCT, U.S.	Carpet	John McEnroe	3–6, 6–7

Coaching career

Denton made his first head coaching debut at Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in 2001. In his five seasons there, he led the Islanders to three Southland Conference regular-season championships, two tournament championships, and the team's first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance. He was named Southland Conference Coach of the Year twice, in 2004 and 2005. He finished with a 64–48 overall record.

On August 8, 2006, Denton became the head men's tennis coach at Texas A&M University. After struggling for two years in Big 12 Conference play, Denton led the Aggies to a 5-1 conference record and 2nd place finish in his third year, earning Big 12 Coach of the Year honors.

Coaching record

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders (Southland Conference) (2001–2006)
2001–2002	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	8–12
2002–2003	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	13–9
2003–2004	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	14–7		1st
2004–2005	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	19–8	6–0	1st	NCAA Second Round
2005–2006	Texas A&M–Corpus Christi	10–12	5–1	1st
Texas A&M–Corpus Christi:		64–48
Texas A&M Aggies (Big 12 Conference) (2006–present)
2006–2007	Texas A&M	15–12	1–5	7th	NCAA Second Round
2007–2008	Texas A&M	13–12	2–4	5th	NCAA Second Round
2008–2009	Texas A&M	17–9	5–1	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2009–2010	Texas A&M	25–7	5–1	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
2010–2011	Texas A&M	29–6	5–1	2nd	NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Texas A&M:		99–46	18–12
Total:		163–94
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

External links

• Official Texas A&M coach bio
• Steve Denton at the Association of Tennis Professionals