The Tennis community in Ireland has been greatly saddened to hear overnight of the death of Matt Doyle, at the age of 70.
Matt was a true legend of Irish tennis, without question our most successful player of the modern era.
He reached the last 16 in the 1982 US Open before losing to John McEnroe, won the Cologne Grand Prix title in 1983, was ranked 65 in the world in 1982. He also played in all 4 Grand Slams.
His trademark strength was a heavy serve which, on his day, was rarely broken even by the best in the world.
From an Irish point of view however, his greatest contribution was to our Davis Cup team. Together with Sean Sorensen, he brought Ireland to Group 1, before pushing Italy all the way to the final rubber to win in 1982. That loss in turn lead to the greatest occasion ever in Irish Tennis, a relegation match, at home in 1983, against an American team which included John McEnroe, at the RDS in Dublin.
Looking back at that match, and at the contribution Matt made to Irish Tennis, Sean Sorensen said: ‘Matt was a fantastic, suave, Californian who brought an incredible sense of confidence to Irish Tennis, a can do attitude that was really transformative. He was clever, witty, and a great guy to have on the court beside me, because of his huge serve and presence. And in that Davis Cup match, he left us at the end of Day 1, tied at one all against the United States. Imagine that!’
Post his playing career Matt was a successful tennis coach. He acted as the Irish National Coach for a number of years and was assistant coach to former World No.1 Mats Wilander. Matt served as ATP President from 1985 to 1987. He was also a gifted broadcaster, working with RTE as both a Tennis and Golf commentator for a number of years.
He was passionate about Golf and lived for many years at the K Club. In fact as a young, very talented Californian sportsman he had been offered both Tennis and Golf scholarships by Yale, from where he graduated in Economics, in 1978. It was to Ireland’s great benefit that he chose Tennis.
Matt’s legacy leaves an enduring mark, and he will be fondly remembered. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. May he rest in peace.
