The Australian, who had just celebrated the 30th anniversary of his victory over Boris Becker, recently learned he had Lou Gehrig’s disease.
Peter Doohan, a former Australian tennis professional who became known as “the Becker Wrecker” after upsetting Boris Becker at Wimbledon in 1987, died on Friday. He was 56.
His death was confirmed by Tennis Australia, which did not say where he died. Doohan was told nine weeks ago that he had a particularly aggressive form of what is known as Lou Gehrig’s disease.
On July 1 he celebrated the 30th anniversary of his victory over Becker in the second round at Wimbledon, which was then considered one of the biggest upsets in the tournament’s history.
Becker was the defending champion and was ranked No. 1 while Doohan was ranked No. 70. Doohan won, 7-6,4-6,6-2,6-4. Becker tweeted on Saturday: “RIP mate! You were the better player.”
Doohan was living in a Y. M. C. A. in London at the start of Wimbledon and became an overnight sensation in his country.
“In Australia, it’s been described as if an earthquake has gone through, ” he said at the time. “I’ ve had a few hard nights, trying to relax, trying to sleep. A win like that is hard to forget.”
Doohan won one ATP singles title and five doubles titles, and reached a best singles ranking of 43rd and a doubles ranking of 15th.
Doohan was born on May 2,1961, in Newcastle, Australia.
He played for the University of Arkansas, where he won an N. C. A. doubles title and was an all-American. After retiring as a player in 1996, he coached in the United States before returning to Australia.
Survivors include his sons, John and Hunter; his mother, Thelma; and his sisters Cathie and Margaret.
