Dick Norman

Dick Norman (born 1 March 1971 in Waregem, Belgium) is a professional tennis player. He has achieved a degree of folk popularity among tennis fans due to his height (6 feet 8 inches), his left-handed power game and, in the last few years, his age (since late 2006 he has been the oldest player on the tour).

Turning professional in 1991, Norman notched up only his 14th Grand Slam appearance at the 2006 Wimbledon, where, at 35, he was the second oldest male competitor, to Andre Agassi. With Agassi's retirement immediately following the 2006 U.S. Open, Norman succeeded him as the oldest active player on the ATP tour.

In 1995, he made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon, despite qualifying out of the lucky loser's draw. He defeated successive but aging former Wimbledon Champions Pat Cash and Stefan Edberg in the first and second rounds respectively, then doubles guru Todd Woodbridge in the 3rd round, before falling to another former Champion Boris Becker in the fourth round. It remains the furthest that any player has ever advanced in a Grand Slam Tournament coming out of the lucky loser draw.

He disappeared from tennis scene after a few unimpressive seasons, but has made a resurgence starting in 2003, at the age of 32, a common age at which retirement is considered. He qualified for three of the four annual Grand Slam tournaments in 2003, 2005 and 2006. Nine of his fourteen Grand Slam appearances have come after his 32nd birthday, although except for a surprise run in...
Read More