# Colin Dowdeswell

Colin Dowdeswell (born 12 May 1955) is a former professional tennis player who represented, at different times, Rhodesia, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, and who achieved rank as UK No. 1. During his time on the world tour, he won one singles title and eleven doubles titles. The highlight of his career was reaching the men's doubles final of Wimbledon.

## Early life

Dowdeswell was born in London but grew up in Rhodesia. He was educated at Prince Edward School and The University of the Witswatersrand. He also received an MBA at Insead business school in 1987.

## Tennis career highlights

Partnering Australian Allan Stone, Dowdeswell finished runner-up in doubles at Wimbledon in 1975. Unseeded, after two straight sets wins, they defeated the No. 7 seeds Tom Okker and Marty Riessen in the round of 16 in four sets. They did likewise in eliminating the No. 3 seeds, Bob Hewitt and Frew McMillan, in the quarterfinals. It took Dowdeswell and Stone then five sets to overcome the unseeded team of Dick Crealy and Niki Pilic in the semifinals. They lost the final to another unseeded tandem, Vitas Gerulaitis and Sandy Mayer, 5–7, 6–8, 4–6.
Dowdeswell achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 31 in 1983 and a career-high doubles ranking of world No. 24 in 1980.

## Career finals
### Grand Prix and WCT finals (4)
#### Singles: 4 (1 title)

| Result | W–L | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 1974 | Dublin, Ireland | Hard | Sherwood Stewart | 3–6, 8–9 |
| Win | 1–1 | 1975 | Istanbul, Turkey | Clay | Ferdi Taygan | 6–1, 6–4, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1–2 | 1978 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Cliff Richey | 2–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | 1983 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Johan Kriek | 4–6, 6–4, 6–1, 5–7, 3–6 |

### Grand Slam, Grand Prix, and WCT finals
#### Doubles: 28 (11 titles)

| Result | No. | Year | Tournament | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1. | 1974 | Dublin, Ireland | Hard | John Yuill | Lito Álvarez Jorge Andrew | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 1. | 1975 | Birmingham, U.S. | Carpet (i) | John Yuill | Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler | 1–6, 6–3, 6–7 |
| Loss | 2. | 1975 | Wimbledon, London | Grass | Allan Stone | Vitas Gerulaitis Sandy Mayer | 5–7, 6–8, 4–6 |
| Loss | 3. | 1975 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Ken Rosewall | Jürgen Fassbender Hans-Jürgen Pohmann | 4–6, 7–9, 1–6 |
| Loss | 4. | 1975 | Istanbul, Turkey | Clay | John Feaver | Colin Dibley Thomaz Koch | 2–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 5. | 1976 | Nuremberg, Germany | Carpet (i) | Paul Kronk | Frew McMillan Karl Meiler | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Loss | 6. | 1976 | Barcelona, Spain | Clay | Paul Kronk | Wojciech Fibak Jacek Niedźwiedzki | 2–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 7. | 1976 | Cologne, Germany | Carpet (i) | Mike Estep | Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan | 1–6, 6–3, 6–7 |
| Loss | 8. | 1977 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Bob Hewitt | Jürgen Fassbender Karl Meiler | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 9. | 1977 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Chris Kachel | Buster Mottram Roger Taylor | 6–7, 4–6 |
| Win | 2. | 1978 | Sarasota, U.S. | Carpet | Geoff Masters | Byron Bertram Bernard Mitton | 2–6, 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 10. | 1978 | Lagos, Nigeria | Clay | Jürgen Fassbender | George Hardie Sashi Menon | 3–6, 6–3, 5–7 |
| Win | 3. | 1978 | Berlin, Germany | Clay | Jürgen Fassbender | Željko Franulović Hans Gildemeister | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 11. | 1978 | Toronto, Canada | Clay | Heinz Günthardt | Wojciech Fibak Tom Okker | 3–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 4. | 1979 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Heinz Günthardt | Raymond Moore Ilie Năstase | 6–3, 7–6 |
| Win | 5. | 1979 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay | Frew McMillan | Wojciech Fibak Pavel Složil | 6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 12. | 1980 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Heinz Günthardt | Bob Hewitt Frew McMillan | 4–6, 3–6 |
| Win | 6. | 1980 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Ismail El Shafei | Mark Edmondson Kim Warwick | 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 7. | 1980 | Stuttgart Outdoor, Germany | Clay | Frew McMillan | Chris Lewis John Yuill | 6–3, 6–4 |
| Loss | 13. | 1983 | Gstaad, Switzerland | Clay | Wojciech Fibak | Pavel Složil Tomáš Šmíd | 7–6, 4–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 14. | 1983 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Zoltán Kuhárszky | Wojciech Fibak Pavel Složil | 5–7, 2–6 |
| Win | 8. | 1983 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Hard | Zoltán Kuhárszky | Peter Elter Peter Feigl | 6–4, 7–5 |
| Loss | 15. | 1984 | Kitzbühel, Austria | Clay | Wojciech Fibak | Henri Leconte Pascal Portes | 6–2, 6–7, 6–7 |
| Loss | 16. | 1984 | Tel Aviv, Israel | Hard | Jakob Hlasek | Peter Doohan Brian Levine | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 9. | 1985 | Palermo, Italy | Clay | Joakim Nyström | Sergio Casal Emilio Sánchez | 6–4, 6–7, 7–6 |
| Win | 10. | 1985 | Johannesburg, South Africa | Hard | Christo van Rensburg | Amos Mansdorf Shahar Perkiss | 3–6, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Win | 11. | 1986 | Milan, Italy | Carpet (i) | Christo Steyn | Brian Levine Laurie Warder | 6–3, 4–6, 6–1 |
| Loss | 17. | 1986 | Nice, France | Clay | Gary Donnelly | Jakob Hlasek Pavel Složil | 3–6, 6–4, 9–11 |

## Davis Cup

Dowdeswell participated in one Davis Cup tie for Rhodesia in 1976, posting a 2–0 record in singles and an 0–1 record in doubles. He participated in six Davis Cup ties for Great Britain from 1984 to 1986, posting an 0–2 record in singles and a 5–1 record in doubles.

## Life outside tennis

Dowdeswell completed his tennis career in 1986 and began a career in financial services and private banking with Merrill Lynch. Married with three children, he resides in Monaco.