Frank Sedgman

Frank Sedgman
Full name Francis Arthur Sedgman
Country (sports)  Australia
Born (1927-10-27) 27 October 1927
Mont Albert, Victoria, Australia
Turned pro 1953 (amateur tour from 1945)
Retired 1976
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 1979 (member page)
Singles
Career record 765-452 (62.8%) [1]
Career titles 49 [2]
Highest ranking No. 1 (1951, Pierre Gillou)[3]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open W (1949, 1950)
French Open F (1952)
Wimbledon W (1952)
US Open W (1951, 1952)
Other tournaments
TOC F (1956, 1957)
Professional majors
US Pro F (1954, 1961)
Wembley Pro W (1953, 1958)
French Pro W (1953)
Doubles
Career record 5–13
Grand Slam Doubles results
Australian Open W (1951, 1952)
French Open W (1951, 1952)
Wimbledon W (1948, 1951, 1952)
US Open W (1950, 1951)
Grand Slam Mixed Doubles results
Australian Open W (1949, 1950)
French Open W (1951, 1952)
Wimbledon W (1951, 1952)
US Open W (1951, 1952)

Francis "Frank" Arthur Sedgman, AM[4] (born 29 October 1927) is a retired World No. 1 amateur tennis champion. In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and player, included Sedgman in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.[5] Sedgman is one of only five tennis players all-time to win a multiple slam set in two disciplines, matching Margaret Court, Roy Emerson, Martina Navratilova and Serena Williams. In 1951 he and Ken McGregor won the men's doubles Grand Slam. Sedgman turned professional in 1953.

Career

Frank Sedgman

In a five-year span from 1948 through 1952 Sedgman won 22 Grand Slam titles in singles, doubles, and mixed doubles. Sedgman and his partner Ken McGregor were the only men's doubles team to ever win the Grand Slam in a single year—they won all four majors in 1951. The following year they also won the first three majors, then, at Forest Hills, were upset by a pick-up team of another Australian, Mervyn Rose, and an American Vic Seixas, denying them 8 consecutive Grand Slam victories. According to Rose in a 2005 interview, Harry Hopman, the coach of the Australian team, would not talk to him for two months afterwards.[6]

Sedgman was a 5'11" (1.80 m) right-hander who played the serve-and-volley game that had just been popularised by Jack Kramer. He was one of a number of Australian players who used the Continental grip in which the racquet is held the same way for both the forehand and the backhand. He was particularly known for his volleying and speed at the net. When asked in 2005 who was the best player he had ever faced, Mervyn Rose replied, "Hopman's pet, Sedgie."[6]

In late 1951, Sedgman was tempted to turn professional for 1952. Harry Hopman, however, led a fund-raising drive via his newspaper column in the Melbourne Herald to keep Sedgman an amateur. Enough money was raised to purchase a gasoline station in the name of Sedgman's future bride.[7] Sedgman remained an amateur for another year but finally turned professional from the start of 1953. Sedgman was the winner of two major titles in professional tennis, which were the Wembley Pro titles of 1953 and 1958. Sedgman was also the runner-up in four more pro majors in the years before Open tennis. He continued to play professionally until his 1976 retirement. His last appearance in the Australian Championships men's singles in 1976 was 30 years after his first appearance (a record span at Australian championships men's singles).[8]

Honours

Sedgman was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island and was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1979; in 1985 he was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[4][9] He received an Australian Sports Medal in 2000.[10]

Grand Slam record

  • Australian Championship
    • Men's Singles champion: 1949, 1950
    • Men's Singles runner-up: 1952
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Men's Doubles runner-up: 1947, 1948
    • Mixed Doubles champion: 1949, 1950
  • French Championship
    • Men's Singles runner-up: 1952
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Men's Doubles runner-up: 1948
    • Mixed Doubles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1948
  • Wimbledon
    • Men's Singles champion: 1952
    • Men's Singles runner-up: 1950
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1948, 1951, 1952
    • Mixed Doubles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1948
  • US Championship
    • Men's Singles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Men's Doubles champion: 1950, 1951
    • Men's Doubles runner-up: 1949, 1952
    • Mixed Doubles champion: 1951, 1952
    • Mixed Doubles runner-up: 1950

Major finals

Grand Slam tournaments

Singles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Winner1949Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia John Bromwich6–3, 6–2, 6–2
Winner1950Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregor6–3, 6–4, 4–6, 6–1
Runner-up1950Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Budge Patty1–6, 10–8, 2–6, 3–6
Winner1951US ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Vic Seixas6–4, 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up1952Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregor5–7, 10–12, 6–2, 2–6
Runner-up1952French ChampionshipsClayEgypt Jaroslav Drobný2–6, 0–6, 6–3, 4–6
Winner1952Wimbledon ChampionshipsGrassEgypt Jaroslav Drobný4–6, 6–2, 6–3, 6–2
Winner1952US ChampionshipsGrassUnited States Gardnar Mulloy6–1, 6–2, 6–3

Doubles: 14 (9 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Runner-up1947Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia George WorthingtonAustralia John Bromwich
Australia Adrian Quist		1–6, 3–6, 1–6
Runner-up1948Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Colin LongAustralia John Bromwich
Australia Adrian Quist		6–1, 8–6, 7–9, 3–6, 6–8
Runner-up1948French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Harry HopmanSweden Lennart Bergelin
Czechoslovakia Jaroslav Drobný		6–8, 1–6, 10–12
Winner1948WimbledonGrassAustralia John BromwichUnited States Tom Brown
United States Gardnar Mulloy		5–7, 7–5, 7–5, 9–7
Runner-up1949U.S. ChampionshipsGrassAustralia George WorthingtonUnited States John Bromwich
Australia Bill Sidwell		4–6, 0–6, 1–6
Winner1950U.S. ChampionshipsGrassAustralia John BromwichUnited States Gardnar Mulloy
Australia Bill Talbert		7–5, 8–6, 3–6, 6–1
Winner1951Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregorAustralia John Bromwich
Australia Adrian Quist		11–9, 2–6, 6–3, 4–6, 6–3
Winner1951French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Ken McGregorAustralia Gardnar Mulloy
Australia Dick Savitt		6–2, 2–6, 9–7, 7–5
Winner1951WimbledonGrassAustralia Ken McGregorEgypt Jaroslav Drobný
South Africa Eric Sturgess		3–6, 6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3
Winner1951U.S. ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregorAustralia Don Candy
Australia Mervyn Rose		10–8, 6–4, 4–6, 7–5
Winner1952Australian ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregorAustralia Don Candy
Australia Mervyn Rose		6–4, 7–5, 6–3
Winner1952French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Ken McGregorAustralia Gardnar Mulloy
Australia Dick Savitt		6–3, 6–4, 6–4
Winner1952WimbledonGrassAustralia Ken McGregorUnited States Vic Seixas
South Africa Eric Sturgess		6–3, 7–5, 6–4
Runner-up1952U.S. ChampionshipsGrassAustralia Ken McGregorUnited States Mervyn Rose
United States Vic Seixas		6–3, 8–10, 8–10, 8–6, 6–8

Pro Slam tournaments

Singles: 9 (3 titles, 6 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Opponent Score
Winner1953Wembley ProUnited States Pancho Gonzales6–1, 6–2, 6–2
Winner1953French Pro ChampionshipUnited States Pancho Gonzales
Runner-up1954US Pro ChampionshipUnited States Pancho Gonzales3–6, 7–9, 6–3, 2–6
Runner-up1956Wembley ProUnited States Pancho Gonzales6–4, 9–11, 9–11, 7–9
Runner-up1956Tournament of ChampionsUnited States Pancho Gonzales7–9, 6–3, 1–6
Runner-up1957Tournament of ChampionsUnited States Pancho Gonzales7–5, 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 3–6
Winner1958Wembley ProUnited States Tony Trabert6–4, 6–3, 6–4
Runner-up1959French Pro ChampionshipUnited States Tony Trabert4–6, 4–6, 4–6
Runner-up1961US Pro ChampionshipUnited States Pancho Gonzales3–6, 5–7

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Garcia, Gabriel. "Frank Sedgman: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  2. ↑ Garcia, Gabriel. "Frank Sedgman: Career tournament results". thetennisbase.com. Madrid, Spain: Tennismem SL. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  3. ↑ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 426.
  4. 1 2 "Sedgman, Francis Arthur, AM". It's an Honour. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  5. ↑ Writing in 1979, Kramer considered the best player ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.
  6. 1 2 Interview with tennis historian Rich Hillway in 2005 at the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
  7. ↑ The History of Professional Tennis, Joe McCauley, page 58
  8. ↑ "GRAND SLAM TENNIS STATISTICS What are the men's singles Grand Slam records?". www.tennis.co.nf.
  9. ↑ "Frank Sedgman AM". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
  10. ↑ "Sedgman, Frank: Australian Sports Medal". It's an Honour. Retrieved 21 December 2013.

References

  • The Game, My 40 Years in Tennis (1979), Jack Kramer with Frank Deford ( ISBN 0-399-12336-9)
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.