Sam Giammalva Sr., is an American former tennis player in the mid-20th century.
Giammalva played for the United States Davis Cup team, earning a 7–3 record in match play between 1956 and 1958. He was on the victorious U.S. teams of 1957 and 1958. In 1958, he teamed up with Barry MacKay to reach the doubles final at the U.S. Nationals. The pair fell to Alex Olmedo and Ham Richardson, 3–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4. It was Michigan’s MacKay who beat Giammalva, of the University of Texas at Austin, in the final of the 1957 NCAA Championship in five sets. Giammalva also reached the NCAA doubles final in 1955. He won three straight Southwest Conference singles titles from 1956-1958.
Giammalva won the Eastern Grasscourt Championships in 1955, defeating Seixas, Nielsen, and Shea to win the title. Giammalva also reached four finals at the Cincinnati Masters. In 1958, he knocked out Crawford Henry, Gustavo Palafox, and Donald Dell before falling to fellow Texan Bernard Bartzen in the singles final by a score of 7–5, 6–3, 6–2. He also reached the singles final in 1954 and doubles finals in 1952 and 1958. Giammalva's best grand slam singles result was reaching the quarter-finals of the 1955 U.S. National Championships, where he lost to No. 4 seed Lew Hoad in four sets.
Sam Giammalva started as tennis professional in 1959 on The Jack Kramer Championships, playing in the Forest Hills Professional Tournament of Champions that year. He won the 1959 Southern U.S. Pro Grasscourt title beating Budge and Riggs. He played the US Pro Championships in 1960, 1964, 1965, 1966 and 1967.
Giammalva went on to coach at Rice University for 14 years from 1959 to 1972, leading the Owls to 10 Southwest Conference titles and second-place NCAA tournament finishes in 1968 and 1970.
Giammalva’s sons, Tony Giammalva and Sammy Giammalva, Jr., were also tennis players. Sam Jr. won two singles titles and four doubles titles on the ATP Tour, and was ranked as high as world no. 28 in singles and no. 22 in doubles during his career. Elder son Tony won 4 doubles titles and reached a career high singles ranking of 70 in 1981.
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Some of their strengths
Sam Giammalva has many admirable traits.
Based on spiritual traditions from around the world, they are someone who can be described as Energetic, Extroverted, Bold, Confident, Passionate, Intelligent, and Strong.
Bold and Confident
According to Mysticism’s Astrology tradition, Sam Giammalva is someone who is a bold, confident, energetic, and optimistic person, who is able to combine personal warmth and charisma with intelligence. A person who is known for being fun and creative.
Strong and Resilient
Based on Daoism’s Ba-Zi or ‘Chinese Zodiac’ tradition, people who know Sam Giammalva well know them as someone who can be strong, expansive, and stable like a big tree.
Truthful and Kind
According to Hinduism’s Jyotisha or ‘Vedic Astrology’ tradition, many would also describe Sam Giammalva as someone who is honest, compassionate, imaginative, and instinctual.
A person who enjoys new challlenges, is a magnet for attracting other creative types, good at identifying opportunities, and who is good at forming loyal, lifelong friendships.
Easygoing and Energetic
Based on the Mayan Tzolk’in or ‘Mayan Astrology’ tradition, Sam Giammalva is someone who has an easygoing nature and a healthy sense of humor, with a mind that requires constant stimulation in order to feel fulfilled.
They are also someone who is intuitive, imaginative, and an agent of change, and who is always dreaming of life's great possibilities and partnering with people to try to achieve those possibilities.
Creative and Leadership-oriented
According to Judaism’s Kabbalah tradition, Sam Giammalva tends to be someone who is a natural leader, with determination, motivational powers, and who takes obligations seriously. Who has charisma, a sense of humor, and who tends to attract attention.
Some of Sam Giammalva's challenges
While Sam Giammalva has many strengths, nobody is perfect. They also have some challenging traits they need to manage.
For example, Sam Giammalva can be Stubborn, Arrogant, Status-seeking, Idle, Short-tempered, Impulsive, and Unrealistic.
Arrogant and Status-seeking
One of Sam Giammalva's key challenges is that they are someone who can come across as arrogant and status-seeking.
Sam Giammalva must also exercise caution as they can have a hard time reconciling wants and needs.
Unrealistic and Indecisive
Sam Giammalva is someone who can be unrealistic, indecisive, and lacking in confidence, who can be impulsive when it comes to making important decisions, have difficulty collaborating with others, can be argumentative and not willling to accept criticism, and who can be disappointed by the high expectations they place on others.
Domineering and Stubborn
Finally, Sam Giammalva also can be too rebellious, not respond to criticism well, and be too emotional and extreme about things.
