Mary Sawyer (tennis)

{{Infobox tennis biography

| name = Mary Sawyer

| image =

| fullname = Mary Sawyer

| country_represented = {{AUS}}

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1957|6|11|df=yes}}

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| singlesrecord =

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| AustralianOpenresult = SF (1979)

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| highestdoublesranking =

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| AustralianOpenDoublesresult = QF (1978, 1979)

| FrenchOpenDoublesresult =

| WimbledonDoublesresult = 2R (1977, 1978)

| USOpenDoublesresult = 2R (1979)

}}

Mary Sawyer (born 11 June 1957) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.

Biography

Sawyer comes from Perth and is of Irish descent, with her father an immigrant from Ireland.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article110854242 |title=Sawyer beats Bueno in Irish open |newspaper=The Canberra Times|location=ACT, Australia |date=11 July 1977 |accessdate=10 May 2018 |page=11 |via=National Library of Australia}} A two-time winner of the Irish Open, Sawyer beat former Wimbledon and US Open champion Maria Bueno in the 1977 final, then won the event again the following year.

Her most notable performance was a semifinal appearance at the 1979 Australian Open. Previously twice a quarterfinalist, she began the tournament with a first round upset over top-seeded Virginia Ruzici.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137005767 |title=Sensationally tedious |newspaper=The Canberra Times|location=ACT, Australia |date=1 January 1980 |accessdate=10 May 2018 |page=14 |via=National Library of Australia}} This was the first occasion that a number one seed had been beaten in the opening round of the women's singles at a Grand Slam.{{cite news|url=https://abcnews.go.com/Sports/angelique-kerber-joins-dubious-list-round-slam-losers/story?id=47692058|title=The unlikely five: Angelique Kerber joins dubious list of first-round Slam losers|date=28 May 2017|publisher=ABC News|accessdate=10 May 2018}} She then defeated Naoko Sato and seventh-seeded Janet Newberry, then lost in the semifinals to Sharon Walsh.{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article137005867 |title=Guillermo Vilas beats Amaya |newspaper=The Canberra Times|location=ACT, Australia |date=2 January 1980 |accessdate=10 May 2018 |page=30 |via=National Library of Australia}}

After the 1979 Australian Open, Sawyer took a break from tennis, which she had planned before her tournament run. She had announced that she wanted to spend more time at home in Perth, having only been there for three-months out of the last five years.{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/122722341/|title=Win or Lose, Mary Wants Rest|date=1 January 1980|work=Sydney Morning Herald|page=28|accessdate=10 May 2018}} The break turned out to be permanent as she never returned to the tour.