The amateur years
United States · born Philadelphia, 1923 · died 2024 · Wimbledon champion 1953 · four times Wimbledon mixed champion
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9-7, 6-3, 6-4
1953 Wimbledon final against Kurt Nielsen
4
Wimbledon mixed titles in a row, 1953 to 1956
15
Major titles in singles, doubles and mixed
94
Games in one match against Bill Bowrey, 1966
38-17
Davis Cup record, 1951 to 1957
Born in Philadelphia in 1923, Seixas flew as a pilot in the Army Air Corps during the Second World War, then became an All-American at the University of North Carolina in 1948. He won 15 major titles: two in singles, five in doubles and eight in mixed, and reached a career-high world ranking of No. 3 in 1953. He played the US Championships a record 28 times between 1940 and 1969 and the Davis Cup from 1951 to 1957, with a record of 38 wins and 17 losses, and later captained the team three times. He never turned professional and worked as a stockbroker, then as a teaching professional. He entered the Hall of Fame in 1971 and died in 2024 at the age of 100, the oldest living Grand Slam singles champion.
| Major singles titles | 2: Wimbledon (1953); US (1954) |
|---|---|
| Major singles finals lost | 2: US 1951, US 1953 |
| Other grass singles titles | 3: NSW Championships (1951); SA Championships (1955); Victorian Championships (1952) |
| Major doubles titles | 3 doubles (Australian 1, US 2), 7 mixed (Wimbledon 4, US 3) |
| Wimbledon 1953 | Seeded second; beat Lew Hoad in a five-set quarter-final, the last set 9-7, then the unseeded Kurt Nielsen 9-7, 6-3, 6-4 in the final |
| Wimbledon mixed | 1953, 1954 and 1955 with Doris Hart; 1956 with Shirley Fry |
| Wimbledon doubles finals | 1952 with Eric Sturgess, lost to Ken McGregor and Frank Sedgman 3-6, 5-7, 4-6. 1954 with Tony Trabert, lost to Rex Hartwig and Mervyn Rose 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 4-6 |
| US Championships 1954 | Final: beat Rex Hartwig 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 |
| Davis Cup on grass | 1954 Challenge Round at White City, Sydney: beat Ken Rosewall 8-6, 6-8, 6-4, 6-3 and won the doubles with Tony Trabert as the United States took the Cup 3-2 |
| Match to remember | Philadelphia Grass Championship 1966: at 42, beat Bill Bowrey 32-34, 6-4, 10-8, a 94-game match lasting four hours |
| Wimbledon | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1953 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| 1955 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| 1956 | Mixed doubles | with Shirley Fry Irvin |
| Pennsylvania Grass Court Championships (Merion) | ||
| 1946 | Men's singles | |
| 1947 | Men's singles | |
| 1951 | Men's singles | |
| 1952 | Men's singles | |
| 1953 | Men's singles | |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| 1956 | Men's singles | |
| US Championships | ||
| 1952 | Men's doubles | with Mervyn Rose |
| 1953 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| 1954 | Men's doubles | with Tony Trabert |
| 1954 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| 1954 | Men's singles | |
| 1955 | Mixed doubles | with Doris Hart |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
| 1951 | Men's singles | |
| Victorian Championships | ||
| 1952 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1955 | Men's doubles | with Tony Trabert |
| South Australian Championships | ||
| 1955 | Men's singles | |
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
"To me, Wimbledon will always be the crowning jewel in tennis."
The person behind the player.
Wimbledon 1953
As an amateur, his reward for winning Wimbledon was a voucher worth $75. He still counted it his greatest achievement on court. Late in life he said he remembered the tournament like it was yesterday: "It was the thrill of my life in tennis, and I still think that's the greatest tournament of them all."
Source: Philadelphia InquirerWimbledon 1953 · Quarter-final
Seeded second, Seixas met Lew Hoad in the quarter-finals and needed five sets, the last of them 9-7, to get through. In the final he faced Kurt Nielsen, who was unseeded, and won in straight sets, 9-7, 6-3, 6-4, for his only Wimbledon singles title.
Source: ATP TourWhite City, Sydney 1954
Ken Rosewall had won eight of their nine meetings and six in a row before the Davis Cup Challenge Round. Seixas attacked Rosewall's forehand rather than his backhand and won in four sets on the opening day. The tie drew 25,578 spectators, the Americans took the Cup, and their captain, Bill Talbert, said: "I am proud of my boys."
Source: Sports IllustratedPhiladelphia 1966
At 42, on the grass of the Philadelphia championships, he played Bill Bowrey, a 22-year-old Australian. The first set went 34-32 to Bowrey. Seixas won the next two, 6-4 and 10-8, after four hours and 94 games. Later that summer, at 43, he was the oldest man in the draw at the US Championships.
Source: WikipediaOff the tour
He was never tempted by the professional game. "I just prefer to play the game for the fun of it and make my living in some other endeavor," he said. In 2023 he insisted he had missed nothing by not having the money, and that he and his wife had lived like kings and queens.
Source: Philadelphia InquirerMill Valley 1998
After a career as a stockbroker and then as tennis director at the Greenbrier and a Hilton in New Orleans, he moved to California in 1989. When his knees stopped him playing, the 1953 Wimbledon champion took a job as a bartender at the Harbor Point club, at the age of 75.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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