The Open Era
South Africa · born Johannesburg, 1952 · twice Wimbledon boys' champion · Wimbledon quarter-finalist 1977
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2
Wimbledon boys' singles titles, 1969 and 1970
QF
Wimbledon men's singles, 1977
6-1, 6-2, 6-1
Win over seventh seed Stan Smith, Wimbledon 1975
29-24
Recorded tour match record on grass
Born in Johannesburg in 1952, the son of Max Bertram, South African champion in 1932, Byron Bertram attended Parktown Boys' High School and won the Wimbledon boys' singles in 1969 and 1970. He turned professional in 1970 and played the tour until 1980, reaching a career-high singles ranking of No. 51 in July 1976 and winning one doubles title, at Louisville in 1976 with Pat Cramer. He was a member of the South Africa team that won the Davis Cup in 1974, playing the last rubber of the Americas Inter-Zonal final in Bogotá; the Cup was awarded to South Africa when India refused to travel for the final in protest at apartheid. His best result at a major was the Wimbledon quarter-final of 1977, where he lost to Jimmy Connors.
| Major singles titles | 2: Wimbledon (1969, 1970) |
|---|---|
| Wimbledon boys' finals | 1969: beat the holder John Alexander 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. 1970: beat Frank Gebert 6-0, 6-3 |
| Wimbledon men's singles | Quarter-finalist 1977: beat the fifth seed Brian Gottfried 6-2, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Kim Warwick 6-3, 6-2, 7-5; lost to the top seed Jimmy Connors 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2 |
| Wimbledon 1975 | First round: beat the seventh seed and 1972 champion Stan Smith 6-1, 6-2, 6-1; lost in the second round to Andrew Pattison 9-7, 4-6, 1-6, 8-6, 6-1 |
| Record on grass | 29 wins and 24 losses in recorded tour main draws, his best winning percentage on any surface |
The person behind the player.
Johannesburg
Byron's father, Max Bertram, born in Roodepoort, won the South African Championships singles in 1932 and was runner-up three times. He toured Europe in 1935, played a Davis Cup tie against Czechoslovakia in Prague and appeared at Wimbledon. A generation later his son won the Wimbledon junior title twice.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1969
In the boys' final Bertram met the defending champion, the Australian John Alexander, and won 7-5, 5-7, 6-4. Alexander went on to a long professional career and, four decades later, to a seat in the Australian parliament as member for Bennelong. Bertram came back in 1970 and kept the title, beating Frank Gebert 6-0, 6-3.
Source: WikipediaBogotá 1974
South Africa reached the 1974 Davis Cup final by beating Colombia in Bogotá, where Bertram played the fifth rubber after the tie was decided and lost to Álvaro Betancur in four sets. India then refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest at apartheid, and the Cup was awarded to South Africa without a ball being struck.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1975
Unseeded, Bertram drew Stan Smith, the 1972 champion and seventh seed, in the first round and beat him 6-1, 6-2, 6-1. In the next round he met Andrew Pattison, his partner in a doubles final the year before, and lost 6-1 in the fifth set.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1977
Bertram beat the fifth seed Brian Gottfried in the second round and Kim Warwick in straight sets in the fourth to reach the quarter-finals. There he met the top seed Jimmy Connors, levelled the match at a set all, and lost 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, 6-2. Connors went on to the final.
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