The early years
Great Britain · born Wimbledon, 1875 · died 1919 · five times Wimbledon champion · eight times doubles champion
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5
Consecutive Wimbledon singles titles, 1902 to 1906
8
Wimbledon doubles titles with his brother Reggie
1903
First overseas winner of the US singles
12-0
Davis Cup match record, 1902 to 1906
13
Wimbledon titles, singles and doubles
Hugh Laurence Doherty was born at Wimbledon in 1875, went to Westminster School and Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and won tennis blues in 1896, 1897 and 1898. Known as Little Do, he played alongside his elder brother Reginald, and at the 1900 Paris Olympics won the singles and, with Reginald, the doubles. Between 1902 and 1906 he won Wimbledon five times in a row, and in 1903 he became the first player from outside the United States to win the US singles. He was unbeaten in Davis Cup play, winning 12 matches from 1902 to 1906 as Britain held the Cup from 1903 to 1906. He also won the British Covered Court singles six years running. He gave up tennis for golf after 1906, died at Broadstairs in 1919, aged 43, and entered the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1980.
| Major singles titles | 6: Wimbledon (1902, 1903, 1904, 1905, 1906); US (1903) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 1: Wimbledon 1898 |
| Other grass singles titles | 10: Kent Championships 3 (1901, 1902, 1903); Queen's 2 (1897, 1898); Irish Championships (1902); Northern Championships (1898); Scottish Championships (1898); South of England Championships (1900); Southampton (1903) |
| Major doubles titles | 10 doubles (Wimbledon 8, US 2) |
| Other grass doubles titles | 6: Irish Championships 6 (1898, 1900, 1901, 1901, 1902, 1902) |
| Titles kept in a challenge round | 11: US doubles (1903); Wimbledon (1903, 1904, 1905, 1906); Wimbledon doubles (1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1904, 1905). Scored as a final won, not a full draw (-30 points). |
| Wimbledon doubles | 8 with Reginald Doherty: 1897, 1898, 1899, 1900, 1901, 1903, 1904, 1905 |
| Wimbledon singles finals | 1898 lost to Reginald Doherty 6-3, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1; 1902 beat Arthur Gore 6-4, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0; 1903 beat Frank Riseley 7-5, 6-3, 6-0; 1904 beat Riseley 6-1, 7-5, 8-6; 1905 beat Norman Brookes 8-6, 6-2, 6-4; 1906 beat Riseley 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 |
| US Championships, Newport | 1903 singles: beat the holder William Larned 6-0, 6-3, 10-8. Doubles with Reginald in 1902 and 1903 |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1897 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1898 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1899 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1900 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1901 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1902 | Men's singles | |
| 1903 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1903 | Men's singles | |
| 1904 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1904 | Men's singles | |
| 1905 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1905 | Men's singles | |
| 1906 | Men's singles | |
| Irish Championships | ||
| 1898 | Men's doubles†| with Reginald Doherty |
| 1900 | Men's doubles†| with Reginald Doherty |
| 1901 | Men's doubles†| with Reginald Doherty |
| 1901 | Mixed doubles†| with Ruth Durlacher |
| 1902 | Men's doubles†| with Reginald Doherty |
| 1902 | Mixed doubles†| with Ruth Durlacher |
| 1902 | Men's singles | |
| Kent Championships (Beckenham) | ||
| 1901 | Men's singles | |
| 1902 | Men's singles | |
| 1903 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1902 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1903 | Men's doubles | with Reginald Doherty |
| 1903 | Men's singles | |
| Queen's Club | ||
| 1897 | Men's singles | |
| 1898 | Men's singles | |
| Northern Championships | ||
| 1898 | Men's singles | |
| Scottish Championships | ||
| 1898 | Men's singles | |
| Eastbourne | ||
| 1900 | Men's singles South of England Championships | |
| Southampton (Meadow Club) | ||
| 1903 | Men's singles Southampton Invitational | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
"He played an English game in the spirit in which Englishmen think games should be played."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1898
Laurence reached his first Wimbledon singles final in 1898, against the holder: his brother Reginald. He came back from two sets down to level at two sets all, then lost the fifth 6-1. Four years later he won the title himself, and the brothers went on to share nine Wimbledon singles titles in ten years.
Source: WikipediaParis 1900
At the Paris Olympics Reginald gave his brother a walkover in the singles semi-final, and Laurence beat Harold Mahony in straight sets for the gold. In the mixed doubles, partnering Marion Jones, he lost in the semi-final to Reginald and Charlotte Cooper. The brothers won the men's doubles together.
Source: OlympediaNewport 1903
In the US final at Newport he played on the weaker backhand of the holder, William Larned, and won 6-0, 6-3, 10-8 after a late start. The New York Times found the play "of a highly spectacular nature", with the ball several times kept in the air for a prolonged period. No overseas player won the title again until 1926.
Source: International Tennis Hall of FameDavis Cup 1903
Britain lost the 1902 challenge round to the United States 3-2, although the brothers won the doubles. In 1903 Laurence won both his singles and, with Reginald, the doubles, and Britain took the Cup for the first time. Britain kept it for the next three years, and he never lost a Davis Cup match.
Source: WikipediaRoyal St George's 1908
After 1906 he left top-level tennis for golf, played off a handicap of plus two at Royal St George's, and entered the Amateur Championship several times. His best run came on his home course in 1908, when he reached the last sixteen.
Source: OlympediaAll England Club
The brothers' record is marked at Wimbledon by the Doherty Gates at the south-west entrance to the All England Club. They also wrote a book together, R.F. and H.L. Doherty on Lawn Tennis, published in 1903, the year Laurence won at Wimbledon, Newport and in the Davis Cup.
Source: OlympediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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