Fred Alexander
![]() Alexander playing a low forehand volley | |
Full name | Frederick Beasley Alexander |
---|---|
Country (sports) | ![]() |
Born | Sea Bright NJ, U.S. | August 14, 1880
Died | March 3, 1969 Beverly Hills, CA, U.S. | (aged 88)
Turned pro | 1899 (amateur tour) |
Retired | 1920 |
Plays | Right-handed (one-handed backhand) |
College | Princeton University |
Int. Tennis HoF | 1961 (member page) |
Singles | |
Career record | 29–11 |
Highest ranking | No. 7 (1909, ITHF)[1] |
Grand Slam singles results | |
Australian Open | W (1908) |
US Open | F (1908) |
Doubles | |
Career record | 0–0 |
Grand Slam doubles results | |
Australian Open | W (1908) |
US Open | W (1907, 1908, 1909, 1910, 1917) |
Grand Slam mixed doubles results | |
US Open | F (1918) |
Team competitions | |
Davis Cup | F (1908Ch) |
Frederick Beasley Alexander (August 14, 1880 – March 3, 1969) was an American tennis player in the early 20th century. He won the singles title at the 1908 Australasian Championships and six double titles at Grand Slam events.
Career
In 1908, Alexander became the first foreigner to win the singles title at the Australasian/Australian Championships, the amateur precursor to the Australian Open. He then teamed with Alfred Dunlop, the man he defeated in the final, to win the doubles.
Alexander attended Princeton University and won the Intercollegiate doubles championship in 1900 and the singles in 1901. Between 1904 and 1918, he was a U.S. top 10 player six times. He was a finalist in doubles at the U.S. Championships, precursor to the US Open, seven straight times beginning in 1905. He and partner Harold Hackett won the U.S. doubles each year from 1907 to 1910. At age 37, Alexander won again in 1917, partnering with Harold Throckmorton. In the singles, Alexander reached the all comers final in 1908, beating William Clothier, then losing to Beals Wright in straight sets.[2]
He competed in the U.S. Davis Cup team in 1908, which lost the final against Australia at the Albert Ground. Alexander lost both his singles matches against Norman Brookes and Anthony Wilding as well as the doubles match against these two with his partner Beals Wright.[3]
In 1915, he wrote How to Play Lawn Tennis, part of the Spalding's athletic library series.[4]
Alexander was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1961.[1]
U.S. Indoor Championships
- Men's Doubles champion: 1906, 1907, 1908, 1911, 1912, 1917
Grand Slam finals
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3a/Spalding%27s_tennis_annual_.._%28IA_spaldingstennisa01pare%29.jpg/220px-Spalding%27s_tennis_annual_.._%28IA_spaldingstennisa01pare%29.jpg)
Singles (1 title)
Result | Year | Championship | Surface | Opponent | Score |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Win | 1908 | Australasian Championships | Grass | ![]() |
3–6, 3–6, 6–0, 6–2, 6–3 |
Doubles (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)
References
- ^ a b "Hall of Famers – Fred Alexander". International Tennis Hall of Fame. Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ Talbert, Bill (1967). Tennis Observed. Boston: Barre Publishers. pp. 80, 81. OCLC 172306.
- ^ "Davis Cup – Player Profile Fred Alexander". International Tennis Federation (ITF). Retrieved 28 October 2016.
- ^ "How to play lawn tennis". Open Library.
External links
- 1880 births
- 1969 deaths
- 19th-century American people
- 19th-century male tennis players
- American male tennis players
- Australasian Championships (tennis) champions
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's doubles
- Grand Slam (tennis) champions in men's singles
- International Tennis Hall of Fame inductees
- People from Sea Bright, New Jersey
- Princeton Tigers men's tennis players
- Sportspeople from Monmouth County, New Jersey
- Tennis people from New Jersey
- United States National champions (tennis)