Gene Mako

Constantine ("Gene") Mako (born January 24, 1916) is a former American tennis player and is also an art gallery owner. He was born in Budapest, capital of Hungary. He won four Grand Slam doubles titles in the 1930s. Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1973.

Early life

His father, Bartholomew Mako graduated from the Budapest Academy of Fine Arts in 1913. After World War I, he left Hungary with his wife and only son traveling first to Italy and stopping for three years in Buenos Aires, Argentina, before settling in Los Angeles, California.

Tennis champion

In 1934 he won the NCAA singles and the doubles championships while playing for the University of Southern California where he lettered at USC for three years (1934-36-37).

Mako was especially successful as a doubles player with his partner and friend Don Budge. They competed in 7 Grand Slam finals, 4 of which they won. In 1936 Gene Mako and Alice Marble won the finals at the US Mixed Doubles Championships against Sarah Palfrey and Don Budge (6:3 and 6:2).

From 1935 to 1938 Mako was member of the United States Davis Cup team, which this team won in 1937 (against the United Kingdom) and in 1938 (against Australia).

Mako was in the U.S. Top Ten in 1937 and 1938 (No. 3), and No. 9 in the world ranking of 1938. That year he reached the U.S. final at Forest Hills versus his double partner, Don Budge, who was in pursuit of the first Grand Slam. Unseeded, Mako reached his only major singles final on victories over sixth-seed Frank Kovacs and the third and first foreign seeds, Franjo Punčec and John Bromwich.

During the Second World War Mako served on the United States Navy. He continued to play tennis at that time. He also played professional basketball while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia.

In 1973 Mako was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame. In 1999 he was elected to the University of Southern California (USC) Athletic Hall of Fame.

Mako has a long-time interest in art as evidenced by his Gene Mako Galleries, Los Angeles, California.

Grand Slam singles finals

Runner-up (1)

Year	Championship	Opponent in Final	Score in Final
1938	US National Singles Championships	Don Budge	6–3, 6–8, 6–2, 6–1

Grand Slam doubles finals

Wins (4)

Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
1936	US National Doubles Championships	Don Budge	Wilmer Allison / John Van Ryn	6–4, 6–2, 6–4
1937	Wimbledon	Don Budge	Pat Hughes / Raymond Tuckey	6–0, 6–4, 6–8, 6–1
1938	Wimbledon	Don Budge	Henner Henkel / Georg von Metaxa	6–4, 6–3, 3–6, 8–6
1938	US National Doubles Championships	Don Budge	John Bromwich / Adrian Quist	6–3, 6–2, 6–1

Runner-ups (3)

Year	Championship	Partner	Opponents in Final	Score in Final
1935	US National Doubles Championships	Don Budge	Wilmer Allison / John Van Ryn	6–2, 6–3, 2–6, 3–6, 6–1
1937	US National Doubles Championships	Don Budge	Henner Henkel / Gottfried von Cramm	6–4, 7–5, 6–4
1938	French Championships	Don Budge	Bernard Destremau / Yvon Petra	6–3 3–6 7–9 1–6

External links

• Gene Mako's Davis Cup profile
• International Tennis Hall of Fame