Status: Former ATP Player and current Tennis Channel commentator. Highest singles ranking was #63. Had career wins over Agassi, Muster, Korda, Murray, Lopez, Santoro, Kuerten, Corretja, Martin, Massu, Philippoussis.
DOB: January 26, 1977 In: Livingston, NJ
Greatest Sports Moment: “Tough to say. Maybe beating Rafter in L.A. when he was 2 in the world. He had a great summer that year, he won the U.S. Open. He didn’t lose that many matches that summer. I remember beating Agassi in L.A. early on in my career. Just because it was right after I left UCLA. But also some of the moments – some of the five-setters I had at the Open. Beating Andy Murray here (Newport), late in my career, 1 and 6. Tough to say just one match.”
Most Painful Moment: “Emotionally or physically? (Both.) Emotionally, I had a few. Lost some tough matches with match point. I lost to Lleyton Hewitt one year in Bangkok with match point. Probably losing in L.A., losing semifinal to Chang, I was up 6-3 3-1 in the semifinal and a chance to win my hometown tournament UCLA. That was tough.”
Strangest Match: “Early in my career I was playing in the first round of a tournament, I was down 6-4 5-2. The guy was serving, had 40-love and I ended up coming back and winning the match and winning the tournament. Against Jordi Burillo in Andorra, Spain. That was an interesting one. (How did you manage to turn that around?) I hit a forehand topspin lob down match point, broke serve, then he got a little nervous and then just turned it around. I lost plenty of matches like that as well [smiles], unfortunately.”
Funniest Players Encountered: “Like, best sense of humor? …Patrick Rafter was quite funny. I played doubles with him a couple times. He was quite funny. He’s the kind of guy, right up to the start of the match, would be playing jokes, very laid back, but then right when he’d play, would be so intense. Mardy Fish has a great sense of humor. Roddick is quite witty.”
Embarrassing Tennis Memory: “One year at the French Open, early on, my partner hit a short lob and I got hit with a point blank overhead right on the most vulnerable spot for a man – and it was horrifying.”
Match You Felt At Your Best: “Probably against Rafter. I was just in the zone that night, 4 and 3. And just the cliche, the ball feels like a beach ball and your timing is right, your body feels great. The ball is coming off your racquet and going where you want it to go. It’s just everything slows down a little bit. It happens a couple of times. It didn’t happen to me enough [smiles].”
Last Book Read: “Outliers.”
Current Car: “An Escalade (black).”
Favorite Sport Outside Tennis: “Love basketball.”
Why Do You Love Playing Tennis: “I think tennis is the greatest sport in the world. Because, first of all, it’s based on merit on the court. It’s a combination of physical, mental, technical and tactical skills. It’s one on one. It’s international. And it’s just a great feeling hitting that ball cleanly and purely.â€
People Qualities Most Admired: “Work ethic. Honesty. Generosity. Sensitivity. Those are good ones to start with. Philanthropic.”
Career Accomplishments: Winner of the 1998 Australian Open and French Open mixed doubles titles with Venus Williams; Winner of 13 doubles titles; Member of United States Davis Cup team in 1998 and 2001.
Gimel won two Grand Slams in mixed dubs
Scoop Malinowski · November 15, 2011 at 4:39 pm
Wonder when the next Jersey boy is gonna break into the ATP top 100?
Dan Markowitz · November 15, 2011 at 7:29 pm
Gimelstob is a complex guy. You read this Biofile and you come away with the thought, “This guy’s a fine, dude. Self-deprecating, sincere, humble, generous.” But I’ve seen this guy absolutely lose it on the court where I thought he was just nuts. I guess with a lot of intensity and expectations comes some insanity.
Scoop Malinowski · November 15, 2011 at 10:51 pm
Things happen in the heat of the battle Dan! Llodra told me Federer used to be “crazy” but wouldn’t divulge any details despite several proddings. Saint Agassi tried to bean a lineswoman, Todd Martin’s wild man outburst after beating Moya, Tarango at Wimbledon, I mean there’s a ton of examples. Gimelstob was a very good player who had a few moments he’d probably like to forget, like the rest of us.
Dan Markowitz · November 16, 2011 at 1:19 am
No, Scoop, this was beyond just the “heat of the battle” diatribes. I once saw him in Armstrong playing against a seeded player. I was sitting next to his mother and all during the first set that I watched, whenever Gimel would make an error, he’d turn to her and say things like, “You happy now?” It was beyond bizarre.
Then I watched him on a side court against Thomas Ketola of Finland in the qualis and Gimel went absolutely crazy on the umpire, like Brad Gilbert, nuts, but Gilbert usually just went nuts on himself.
It’s interesting, too, because I remember when Gimel turned pro, people were expecting big things from him. And then he got to the third round of his first Open, but his game seemed to get worse and worse as he matured into his prime. He had about a zillion coaches, but nothing clicked.
Scoop Malinowski · November 16, 2011 at 4:42 pm
Weird stuff happens, your example of Gimelstob with his mom (how are you sure it was his mom?) brings this thought to mind: I remember Roy Jones actually said after he lost the third and rubber match with Antonio Tarver that he purposefully lost the match to spite his father, which of course was absolutely and absurdly false but he did try to rationalize the loss with that excuse. The combustibility of high pressure sports and family dynamics could go haywire on occasion.
Dan markowitz · November 16, 2011 at 5:08 pm
You’ve never seen Gimel’s mom? Come on, what kind of tennis reporter are you. She was at all his matches at the Open and I won’t describe her appearance but it was striking.
Scoop Malinowski · November 16, 2011 at 5:21 pm
No I never met his mom but sat right next to his dad, think his name is Barry, at a Murray match on Armstrong a couple years ago. Enjoyed his company too, he’s definitely, or was, a tennis insider. It’s funny, the first time I never came across the Gimelstob name was back in the late 80s, I worked part time for the Daily Record of Morris County covering local and high school sports and once they assigned me to cover a local girls tennis tournament in Chatham or Livingston and the two 18s stars were Vicky Paynter and Deb Morigowski (definitely butchered the spelling) and I remember putting the name of the winner of one of the younger boys divisions – Justin Gimelstob in the story agate. Funny enough, here we are two decades later and I’m doing a Biofile with Justin Gimelstob.
Andrew Miller · November 17, 2011 at 4:17 am
Gimelstob was pretty crazy both in his playing days and on the practice court. I saw him play, practice, and play on three courts: on a gravel-like clay court in Delray, where as a top 100 player he lost early, and in the process, lost it; in practice on a hard court in DC, where against a practice partner he absolutely lost it, mangled his racquet, and lashed out against anyone and anything within a few feet of him (the dunlop took a severe, severe beating that afternoon); then in a qualifying match in DC (a year later) against a 16 year old U.S. player named Phillip Simmonds from Virginia, where, down 3-5 in the 1st set against the upstart, Gimelstob proceeded to take him out. The kid didnt even make it to a tiebreak – Gimelstob basically put on the brakes then and there and went on a 9 game blitz, losing just one more game (in the 2nd set). Simmonds had the crowd, the energy and the momentum, and Gimelstob basically acted like so:
“I’ve been in your shoes before. I know exactly how you feel. And I am about to take the match in straights. You won’t sniff another set point.”
Gimelstob put together a serve-volley display, started picking apart the kid’s backhand, made his forehand seem “troublesome”, and shook his confidence. You could see it unfold on the court – Gimelstob knew EXACTLY what he was doing – he put on a performance.
So no matter what, these players are for real. I felt Gimelstob didn’t reach his potential (whether out of expectations, injury, lack of movement, etc) and was somewhat of a goof (proven in part through some of his announcing gaffes, especially the Kournikova diatribe). He may yet prove to be a good announcer. I think he has a long way to go before he’s Cliff Drysdale.
But that day, and I kid you not, it was heading for the towel and the shower and the exit out of the tournament for Gimelstob’s opponent. Pros are the pros.
Andrew Miller · November 17, 2011 at 5:32 am
In short, Gimelstob started playing like Edberg when he got a whiff of the opponent’s insecurity.
Gimelstob’s final interview at his final U.S. open as a player was memorable – talking about all the diving during the match against Roddick. It was especially memorable as he was getting ribbed by the announcer (not sure who it was) who suggested Gimelstob didnt need to dive so much (or something like that) and suggested, in part, that it was a little bit of an act.
Gimelstob was pretty serious and basically said he worked as hard as possible every match, that the dives were for real, and I believed him! So the racquet smashing, bad mouthing, etc – it’s true, the guy was intense. He may not have reached his potential, but he played hard.
Andrew Miller · November 17, 2011 at 5:37 am
My bad. I am not sure if it was Gimelstob’s final Wimbledon or US Open. Must have been his final Wimbledon because diving on cement is rough!
The Gimelstob / Roddick interview (where they basically took the mic and interviewed each other) at US Open, still on youtube (just saw it) was a classic. Gimelstob basically said that he lived for moments like that one where he got the big applause and how rare it was for him.
Dan Markowitz · November 17, 2011 at 2:19 pm
There’s no doubt Gimel could play. He beat Murray at Newport once, I think it was a double-bagel. Figure that one out. He’s just a bit of an exhibitionist. I mean I saw recently where he videotaped his proposal in Vegas to his now-fiancee! Who does that? Who pops the question and has someone else videotape it?
I trained with Gimel once when he was on the tour for a story in Tennis Magazine. I went out to Jersey where he was working in this gym with this trainer who trained NFL players. And we did things like pick up heavy balls and run sprints with them and agility drills. It was tough and Gimel was a good guy. I also schlepped once all the way out to his yearly charity event where that he did in his hometown, I think, Chatham.
But there are some sketchy things about the Gimel family. His brother once got involved with a hit-and-run where I believe someone was killed and he got off. And Gimel’s actions on the court sometimes were even crazier than McEnroe’s.
Scoop Malinowski · November 17, 2011 at 3:12 pm
No doubt he could play tennis, having a MP on Hewitt come on, we know what a bulldog Hewitt was, you know Gimelstob had to be playing incredible there. Also to beat Rafter that summer when Rafter was ‘The Man.’ There’a a lot of players who can shock the world here and there with some fantastic tennis – Jerome Haehnel, Mike Russell, Spadea, Paes beating Sampras in singles in New Haven, etc. – but they just can’t do it often enough. I guess you classify Gimelstob in this category. One thing I would add, Gimelstob didn’t seem like the most athletic type player – not the best wheels – but he did make himself into a very pro tennis player through very hard work. At least that’s my impression, which could be inaccurate.
Dan Markowitz · November 17, 2011 at 4:47 pm
I think hard work and determination were part of it. He had some natural skills, very fine volleyer. But you’re right, when’s the last time a Jersey player made it on the tour.
I also think in tennis, whether it’s because of appearance fees where the top pros used to come in and sometimes mail in their effort or because of the length of the season, the top guys are playing 80+ matches a year, there are going to be some upsets. That’s why it’s really a Masters event and slam season. The other tournaments, where a Raonic or Gulbis or Fish does well, I just don’t think you can put much stock into them.
Andrew Miller · November 18, 2011 at 3:48 am
Gimelstob I agree with Dan and Scoop – sometimes played some lights-out tennis. I don’t know what stunted him at the outer limits of the top 50. From reading Agassi’s book and how crucial mindset is out there, I would have to say it’s in part that Gimelstob was his own worst enemy (mentally).
I think he came along early enough to have some opportunities on the faster U.S. courts; from the ATP website he got to #151 at age 19 in his 1st year on tour, top 100 at age 20, hit the peak ranking at 22 years old (beware youngsters out there!)
Gimelstob didnt seem to have a renaissance after his high-point, but the rankings actually tell the story of a pretty consistent player, even getting back down to a solid top 80 ranking in 2006, at age 29 (Mardy Fish territory). To get there you have to be consistent and play a pretty darn good game – no small feat in an era (2003-2011) that has seen a noticeable slow-down in court surface and an evolution in racquet strings and other technologies.
So to add a few final words in, Gimelstob did pretty darn well. He’ll have wins other players dream of, but he did not meet the hopes that many had for him (me included. I saw the highlights from his US Open match against Krajicek and thought: this player will be good, he has guts.
Seems he was battling a lot out there. Way more than the opponent. Glad he’s still in the game. I still think that he has a lot of room to become a better announcer.
Bendiss · November 19, 2011 at 3:59 am
There is a lot of truth in the comments here about Justin, but as a friend of his I want to correct the story about his engagement.
His proposal was not a spontaneous thing. He had fussed over finding the perfect ring (its gorgeous) and making sure everything was just so. He had enlisted the help of friends, including and especially his fiancee’s entire family and some of her best friends. And they all kept it a secret from her. They were the ones who videotaped the proposal, specifically a married friend who remembered that she got so emotional for her own proposal that she had no memory of it. She was the one who wanted to make sure the future Mrs G. had the moment recorded, not Justin. It was Justin’s friends who stood around and took multiple photos and videos, and it was two of his own friends who scooped him on Facebook and posted their photos first. This was not a publicity stunt for Justin, his only concern was making the moment perfect for his fiancee.
If there is one thing I have learned from my friendship with Justin (and a few other players) in the last 6+ years, it is that you cannot always take the measure of a man by his behavior on court. Justin is intense on court, he can be almost as intense off court, and then he can turn into a completely sentimental sap over a new puppy (look at his twitter lately). He is a complicated guy (and I sometimes think he’s a text book example of middle child syndrome), but I can definitely say that I am very happy to count him amongst my friends.
That Hewitt match he mentioned, I remember that match. I watched it on a live scoreboard, and then exchanged a few emails with him about it. Tiebreak, I think there were 7 MP’s in that match. Justin was so close to winning that match. It stayed with him for a while.
Yes, he dove on cement. He said he did it to make up for his lack of movement. And yes, he knew it was kind of entertaining, but in that split second, within the point, it was only about the point.
Overall, no he’s not perfect. But he’s a good guy at heart. I think he’s still trying to grow and improve. I like that about him.
Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2011 at 12:34 pm
Great comments and insights Bendiss thanks and welcome to the site.
Mark blons · January 22, 2012 at 2:17 am
I have watched and appreciated the growth of Justin. I have seen his meltdowns on court which were no different than some of my own. I have played against and with him in a proam and I must say he can play doubles. I stuck a couple of returns and he poached and hit volleys that win grand slams. I have seen his transformation as a commentator and he is now excellent. His interviews are salient, relevant and interesting and heart felt. I like Justin Gimelstob. I thank him for poaching on my two returns and showing me greatness. Congratulations, Justin, on your engagement to be married.
Bonnie · March 24, 2012 at 5:27 pm
Think he’s a terrible announcer. Very argumentative andsurly with other commentators. Not as knowledgeable as he would pretend. He contradicts himself often.
Scoop Malinowski · March 24, 2012 at 6:08 pm
Disagree Bonnie, he’s getting really good to listen to IMO, very knowledgeable about the players and their strengths/weaknesses, great enthusiasm for the game, can analyze what’s going on in a singles and doubles match. I really enjoy his commentaries now and some of my friends totally agree. The only thing I don’t like is when a player hits a crazy winner and he says, “That is FILTHY.” Patrick McEnroe’s signature lines “HELL LOW!” and “Are you KIDDING ME?!” Are still the best for me.
Kathryn (aka Jewish doctor in JG camp) · March 28, 2012 at 2:10 am
I disagree with Bonnie totally. I have watched Justin as a player and then his career as a commentator, tangentially meeting him thru email when he was more accessible. He is personable and friendly with no ulterior motive. He is tremendously knowledgeable and thoughtful on player and general tennis matters. His analysis of individual player tactics, strokes, mental states, etc are mostly right on point. (I did email a protest to him once for being too hard on Dinara Safina – why not lift all boats?) He is definitive and outspoken which is usually refreshing. He has matured in his tactfulness but gets the point across no less. And he has a quick wit and offbeat humor which sometimes drops my jaw in a good way. He is also quite good looking in person, if that matters for anything.
I suspect I am a lot older than Bonnie so each to her own.