Werner Zirngibl

Werner Zirngibl (born 1956) is a former professional tennis player from Germany. A right-handed player, he won his first Grand Slam match at the January 1977 Australian Open and reached the second round of the 1979 French Open, equalling his best result at a major. His career highlight came in 1978, when he won the Belgium International Tennis Championships in Brussels as a qualifier, beating top seed Adriano Panatta in the semi-final and Ricardo Cano in the final; it was the first time a qualifier had won a Grand Prix tournament. In 1979 he played one Davis Cup doubles rubber for West Germany against Israel, partnering Ulrich Pinner to a win. He studied medicine while playing and became an orthopaedic surgeon in Munich, where he has operated on leading players.