Ken Flach

Ken Flach

Country (sports)	United States
Born	(1963-05-24)May 24, 1963 St. Louis, Missouri, US
Died	March 12, 2018(2018-03-12) (aged 54) San Francisco, California, US
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Turned pro	1983
Retired	1996
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Prize money	$2,059,571
Singles
Career record	52-80
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 56 (December 9, 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	3R (1983, 1987)
French Open	1R (1986, 1988)
Wimbledon	3R (1986, 1987, 1988, 1989)
US Open	4R (1987)
Doubles
Career record	443-215
Career titles	34
Highest ranking	No. 1 (October 14, 1985)
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open	SF (1987)
French Open	QF (1985, 1986, 1988)
Wimbledon	W (1987, 1988)
US Open	W (1985, 1993)
Other doubles tournaments
Tour Finals	F (1987, 1991)
Medal record Men's tennis Representing the United States Olympic Games 1988 Seoul Men's doubles

Kenneth Eliot Flach (May 24, 1963 – March 12, 2018) was an American doubles world No. 1 tennis player. He won four Grand Slam men's doubles titles (two Wimbledon and two US Open), and two mixed doubles titles (Wimbledon and the French Open). He also won the men's doubles gold medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, partnering Robert Seguso. Flach reached the world No. 1 doubles ranking in 1985.

Early life

Kenneth Eliot Flach was born on May 24, 1963, in St. Louis and grew up in nearby Kirkwood, Missouri.

Before turning professional, Flach played tennis for Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, where he won the NCAA Division II singles championships in 1981, 1982 and 1983, and teamed with Seguso to reach the 1983 Division I doubles final.

Flach married his first wife, model Sandra Freeman, in September 1986 and had four children together, Dylan, Madison, Noah and Hannah.

Career

Flach played doubles on the US Davis Cup team from 1985 to 1991, compiling an 11–2 record. He was also a member of the US team which won the World Team Cup in 1985.

During his career, Flach won 36 doubles titles (34 men's doubles and 2 mixed doubles). His final career title was won in 1994 at Scottsdale, Arizona. At the US Open 1987 (second round) he won the longest fifth set tie-break to this day, 17-15 over Darren Cahill.

Following his retirement from the professional tour in 1996, Flach devoted himself to coaching. He guided Vanderbilt University to its first NCAA tournament berth in 1999. In 2003, he led the team to Vanderbilt's first NCAA championship finals appearance in any sport. He had also played in seniors events, and won the Wimbledon 35-and-over men's doubles title in 1999 and 2000.

In 2010, after moving to California, he married makeup entrepreneur Christina Friedman, and became the director of tennis at Novato's Rolling Hills Club.

Death

In early March 2018, Flach became ill with bronchitis and died from sepsis after playing 36 holes of golf. He died shortly after falling ill with his sister, brothers and four children by his side.

Kaiser Permanente settled a malpractice case for nearly $2.9 million with the family of Ken Flach in 2021.

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Doubles: 6 (4 titles, 2 runner-ups)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1985	US Open	Hard	Robert Seguso	Henri Leconte Yannick Noah	6–7(5–7), 7–6(7–1), 7–6(8–6), 6–0
Win	1987	Wimbledon	Grass	Robert Seguso	Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez	3–6, 6–7(6–8), 7–6(7–3), 6–1, 6–4
Loss	1987	US Open	Hard	Robert Seguso	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	6–7(1–7), 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–7(2–7)
Win	1988	Wimbledon (2)	Grass	Robert Seguso	John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd	6–4, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6(7–3)
Loss	1989	US Open	Hard	Robert Seguso	John McEnroe Mark Woodforde	4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Win	1993	US Open (2)	Hard	Rick Leach	Martin Damm Karel Nováček	6–7(3–7), 6–4, 6–2

Mixed doubles: 2 (2 titles)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1986	French Open	Clay	Kathy Jordan	Rosalyn Fairbank Mark Edmondson	3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3
Win	1986	Wimbledon	Grass	Kathy Jordan	Martina Navratilova Heinz Günthardt	6–3, 7–6(9–7)

Olympic men's doubles final

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Gold	1988	Seoul Olympics	Hard	Robert Seguso	Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez	6–3, 6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–7(1–7), 9–7

Career finals

Doubles (34 wins, 24 losses)

Legend Grand Slam (4–2) Olympic Gold (1–0) Tennis Masters Cup (1–2) ATP Masters Series (2–1) ATP Championship Series (2–3) ATP Tour (22–16)

Finals by surface Hard (16–15) Clay (6–3) Grass (5–1) Carpet (7–5)

Result	No	Date	Tournament	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1.	Dec 1983	Taipei, Taiwan	Carpet	Robert Seguso	Wally Masur Kim Warwick	6–7, 4–6
Win	1.	Jun 1984	Rome, Italy	Clay	Robert Seguso	John Alexander Mike Leach	3–6, 6–3, 6–4
Loss	2.	Jul 1984	Newport, US	Grass	Robert Seguso	David Graham Laurie Warder	4–6, 6–7
Win	2.	Jul 1984	Boston, US	Clay	Robert Seguso	Gary Donnelly Ernie Fernandez	6–4, 6–4
Win	3.	Aug 1984	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Robert Seguso	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	7–6, 7–5
Win	4.	Sep 1984	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Wojtek Fibak Sandy Mayer	4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Win	5.	Oct 1984	Hong Kong	Hard	Robert Seguso	Mark Edmondson Paul McNamee	6–7, 6–3, 7–5
Win	6.	Nov 1984	Taipei, Taiwan	Carpet	Robert Seguso	Drew Gitlin Hank Pfister	6–1, 6–7, 6–2
Win	7.	Jan 1985	Masters Doubles WCT, London	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–0
Loss	3.	Feb 1985	La Quinta, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Heinz Günthardt Balázs Taróczy	6–3, 6–7, 3–6
Win	8.	Apr 1985	Fort Myers, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Sammy Giammalva Jr. David Pate	3–6, 6–3, 6–3
Loss	4.	Apr 1985	Chicago, US	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Johan Kriek Yannick Noah	6–3, 6–4, 5–7, 1–6, 4–6
Win	9.	May 1985	Forest Hills, US	Clay	Robert Seguso	Givaldo Barbosa Ivan Kley	7–5, 6–2
Loss	5.	May 1985	Rome, Italy	Clay	Robert Seguso	Anders Järryd Mats Wilander	6–4, 3–6, 2–6
Win	10.	Jun 1985	Queen's Club, UK	Grass	Robert Seguso	Pat Cash John Fitzgerald	3–6, 6–3, 16–14
Win	11.	Jul 1985	Indianapolis, US	Clay	Robert Seguso	Pavel Složil Kim Warwick	6–4, 6–4
Loss	6.	Aug 1985	Stratton Mountain, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Scott Davis David Pate	6–3, 6–7, 6–7
Win	12.	Aug 1985	Montreal, Canada	Hard	Robert Seguso	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	5–7, 7–6, 6–3
Win	13.	Sep 1985	US Open, New York	Hard	Robert Seguso	Henri Leconte Yannick Noah	6–7, 7–6, 7–6, 6–0
Win	14.	Oct 1985	Tokyo Indoor, Japan	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Scott Davis David Pate	4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Win	15.	Feb 1986	Memphis, US	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Guy Forget Anders Järryd	6–4, 4–6, 7–6
Win	16.	Mar 1986	Chicago, US	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Eddie Edwards Francisco González	6–0, 7–5
Win	17.	Oct 1986	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Carpet	Matt Anger	Jimmy Arias Greg Holmes	6–2, 6–3
Loss	7.	Mar 1987	Miami, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Paul Annacone Christo van Rensburg	2–6, 4–6, 4–6
Loss	8.	Apr 1987	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Jim Grabb	Eric Korita Mike Leach	7–6, 1–6, 5–7
Win	18.	Jul 1987	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Robert Seguso	Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez	3–6, 6–7, 7–6, 6–1, 6–4
Loss	9.	Jul 1987	Livingston, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Gary Donnelly Greg Holmes	6–7, 3–6
Win	19.	Aug 1987	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Steve Denton John Fitzgerald	7–5, 6–3
Loss	10.	Sep 1987	US Open, New York	Hard	Robert Seguso	Stefan Edberg Anders Järryd	6–7, 2–6, 6–4, 7–5, 6–7
Loss	11.	Nov 1987	Wembley, UK	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd	5–7, 4–6
Loss	12.	Dec 1987	Masters Doubles, London	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Miloslav Mečíř Tomáš Šmíd	4–6, 5–7, 7–6, 3–6
Loss	13.	Mar 1988	Miami, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd	6–7, 1–6, 5–7
Win	20.	Jun 1988	Queen's Club, UK	Grass	Robert Seguso	Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser	6–2, 7–6
Win	21.	Jul 1988	Wimbledon, London	Grass	Robert Seguso	John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd	6–4, 2–6, 6–4, 7–6
Loss	14.	Aug 1988	Indianapolis, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Rick Leach Jim Pugh	4–6, 3–6
Win	22.	Aug 1988	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Robert Seguso	Andrew Castle Tim Wilkison	7–6, 6–3
Win	23.	Sep 1988	Seoul, South Korea	Hard	Robert Seguso	Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez	6–3, 6–4, 6–7, 6–7, 9–7
Win	24.	Nov 1988	Wembley, UK	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Martin Davis Brad Drewett	7–5, 6–2
Loss	15.	Nov 1988	Detroit, US	Carpet (i)	Robert Seguso	Rick Leach Jim Pugh	4–6, 1–6
Win	25.	Apr 1989	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Robert Seguso	Kevin Curren David Pate	7–6, 7–6
Win	26.	Aug 1989	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Pieter Aldrich Danie Visser	6–4, 6–4
Loss	16.	Sep 1989	US Open, New York	Hard	Robert Seguso	John McEnroe Mark Woodforde	4–6, 6–4, 3–6, 3–6
Loss	17.	Oct 1989	Orlando, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Scott Davis Tim Pawsat	5–7, 7–5, 4–6
Loss	18.	Mar 1991	Miami, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Wayne Ferreira Piet Norval	7–5, 6–7, 2–6
Win	27.	May 1991	Tampa, US	Clay	Robert Seguso	David Pate Richey Reneberg	6–7, 6–4, 6–1
Loss	19.	Jul 1991	Washington, D.C., US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Scott Davis David Pate	4–6, 2–6
Win	28.	Aug 1991	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Grant Connell Glenn Michibata	6–7, 6–4, 7–5
Win	29.	Aug 1991	Indianapolis, US	Hard	Robert Seguso	Kent Kinnear Sven Salumaa	7–6, 6–4
Loss	20.	Nov 1991	Doubles Championships, Johannesburg	Hard (i)	Robert Seguso	John Fitzgerald Anders Järryd	4–6, 4–6, 6–2, 4–6
Win	30.	Mar 1992	Miami, US	Hard	Todd Witsken	Kent Kinnear Sven Salumaa	6–4, 6–3
Loss	21.	Jul 1992	Washington, D.C., US	Hard	Todd Witsken	Bret Garnett Jared Palmer	2–6, 3–6
Win	31.	Apr 1993	Tokyo Outdoor, Japan	Hard	Rick Leach	Glenn Michibata David Pate	2–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win	32.	Jun 1993	Manchester, UK	Grass	Rick Leach	Stefan Kruger Glenn Michibata	6–4, 6–1
Loss	22.	Aug 1993	Indianapolis, US	Hard	Rick Leach	Scott Davis Todd Martin	4–6, 4–6
Win	33.	Sep 1993	US Open, New York	Hard	Rick Leach	Martin Damm Karel Nováček	6–7, 6–4, 6–2
Win	34.	Feb 1994	Scottsdale, US	Hard	Jan Apell	Alex O'Brien Sandon Stolle	6–0, 6–4
Loss	23.	May 1994	Coral Springs, US	Clay	Stephane Simian	Lan Bale Brett Steven	3–6, 5–7
Loss	24.	May 1996	Pinehurst, US	Clay	David Wheaton	Pat Cash Pat Rafter	2–6, 3–6

Doubles performance timeline

Key

W

F

SF

QF

#R

RR

Q#

DNQ

A

NH

(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Tournament	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	Career SR	Career win–loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open	3R	2R	A	NH	SF	A	A	A	A	A	A	QF	A	1R	0 / 5	8–5
French Open	A	1R	QF	QF	A	QF	A	2R	2R	2R	2R	1R	1R	1R	0 / 11	13–11
Wimbledon	A	3R	1R	QF	W	W	SF	QF	3R	3R	2R	2R	1R	1R	2 / 13	30–11
U.S. Open	1R	2R	W	A	F	SF	F	3R	SF	2R	W	1R	QF	1R	2 / 13	37–10
Grand Slam SR	0 / 2	0 / 4	1 / 3	0 / 2	1 / 3	1 / 3	0 / 2	0 / 3	0 / 3	0 / 3	1 / 3	0 / 4	0 / 3	0 / 4	4 / 42	N/A
Annual win–loss	2–2	3–4	9–2	6–2	14–2	13–2	9–2	6–2	7–3	4–3	8–2	4–4	3–3	0–4	N/A	88–37
ATP Masters Series
Indian Wells	These Tournaments Were Not Masters Series Events Before 1990							2R	2R	2R	QF	2R	A	1R	0 / 6	4–6
Miami								2R	F	W	2R	3R	A	2R	1 / 6	12–5
Monte Carlo								A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0
Rome								A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0
Hamburg								A	A	A	A	A	A	A	0 / 0	0–0
Canada								1R	SF	2R	A	A	A	1R	0 / 4	3–4
Cincinnati								2R	W	QF	2R	2R	A	A	1 / 5	10–4
Stuttgart (Stockholm)								A	2R	A	2R	A	A	A	0 / 2	0–2
Paris								A	SF	2R	2R	A	A	A	0 / 3	3–3
Masters Series SR	N/A							0 / 4	1 / 6	1 / 5	0 / 5	0 / 3	0 / 0	0 / 3	2 / 26	N/A
Annual win–loss	N/A							2–4	16–5	8–4	3–5	2–3	0–0	1–3	N/A	32–24
Year-end ranking	103	11	2	19	5	2	11	76	5	60	23	90	121	141	N/A

External links

• Ken Flach at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Ken Flach at the International Tennis Federation
• Ken Flach at the Davis Cup
• Ken Flach at Olympics.com
• Ken Flach at Olympedia (archive)