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Geoff Brown (tennis)

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Geoff Brown
Full nameGeoffrey Edmund Brown
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1924-04-04)4 April 1924
Murrurundi, New South Wales, Australia
Died20 June 2001(2001-06-20) (aged 77)
Euroa, Victoria, Australia
Turned pro1945 (amateur tour)
Retired1958
PlaysAmbidextrous
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 10 (1946, Pierre Gillou)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenSF (1946, 1948, 1949)
WimbledonF (1946)
US Open4R (1947)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenF (1949)
WimbledonF (1946, 1950)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonF (1946, 1950)

Geoffrey Edmund Brown (4 April 1924 – 20 June 2001) was an Australian tennis player.

Brown was born in Murrurundi, New South Wales, Australia. He attended Parramatta Marist High School from 1938 to 1939 before joining the R.A.A.F as a gunner.[2] He was demobilised at the end of the war and returned to playing tennis.

Brown was runner-up in the 1946 Wimbledon Championships singles final, losing in five sets to Yvon Petra, and doubles final playing with Dinny Pails.[3] He also reached the doubles finals at the 1949 Australian Championships and 1950 Wimbledon Championships, in both he was partnered by compatriot Bill Sidwell and in both finals they lost to John Bromwich and Adrian Quist.[4][5][6][7] He reached the quarterfinal at the 1949 Wimbledon Championships by defeating US champion Pancho Gonzales in the fourth round.[8][9]

With his countryman Dinny Pails he won the doubles title at the Irish Tennis Championships in July 1946.[10] He won the singles title at the Kent Lawn Tennis Championships in 1948 and 1950.[11][12][13] In April 1949 he reached the final of the South African Championships in Johannesburg but lost in four sets to Eric Sturgess.[14][15] In April 1950 Brown won the Surrey Tennis Tournament against Paddy Robert in the final.[16][17] In May he played in the British Hard Court Championships in Bournemouth and reached the final in which he lost to Jaroslav Drobný.[18][19] In June he defeated Sumant Misra in the singles final of the Northern Lawn Tennis Championships.[20] Due to an illness and operation Brown did not play tennis for more than a year and returned in October 1951.[21] In October 1952 he won the Sydney Metropolitan Grasscourt Championships, defeating Lew Hoad in the final in three sets.[22][23]

In 1947 and 1948 Brown played for the Australian Davis Cup team and compiled a record of three wins and one loss.[24]

Brown was married firstly to Veronica Lineham. Their first child, Virginia Ann Brown, was born in 1951.[25] He went on to have three more children; Vonnie, Geoffrey Vincent, and Danielle. Brown later remarried. He died in Euroa, Victoria on 20 June 2001, at the age of 77.[26]

Grand Slam finals

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Singles (1 runner-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1946 Wimbledon Championships Grass France Yvon Petra 2–6, 4–6, 9–7, 7–5, 4–6

Doubles (3 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1946 Wimbledon Grass Australia Dinny Pails United States Tom Brown
United States Jack Kramer		 4–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss 1949 Australian Championships Grass Australia Bill Sidwell Australia John Bromwich
Australia Adrian Quist		 6–1, 5–7, 2–6, 3–6
Loss 1950 Wimbledon Grass Australia Bill Sidwell Australia John Bromwich
Australia Adrian Quist		 5–7, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 2–6

Mixed doubles (2 runners-up)

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Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1946 Wimbledon Grass United States Dorothy Cheney United States Louise Brough
United States Tom Brown		 4–6, 4–6
Loss 1950 Wimbledon Grass United States Patricia Canning Todd United States Louise Brough
South Africa Eric Sturgess		 9–11, 6–1, 4–6

References

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  1. ^ United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 425.
  2. ^ "Geoffrey Edmund Brown". Australia, World War II Military Service Records, 1939–1945. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Petra New World Champion – Geoff Brown Goes Down Fighting". The Indian Express. 6 July 1946.
  4. ^ "Players – Geoffrey Brown". Davis Cup Official Website. International Tennis Federation.
  5. ^ "Player Biography – Geoffrey Brown". ITF Mens Circuit. International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 18 March 2016. Retrieved 18 August 2012.
  6. ^ "Men's Singles Finals 1877–2008". Wimbledon Website. All England Lawn Tennis Club. Archived from the original on 7 May 2013.
  7. ^ "Men's Doubles Finals 1884–2008". Wimbledon Website. All England Lawn Tennis Club. Archived from the original on 3 November 2013.
  8. ^ "Brown Brilliant to beat U.S. Champion". The Age. Melbourne. 28 June 1949.
  9. ^ "TENNIS – BROWN SHINES AT WIMBLEDON". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld. 27 June 1949. p. 2 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ "IRISH TITLES TO AUSTRALIANS". The Advertiser. Adelaide. 15 July 1946. p. 7 – via National Library of Australia.
  11. ^ "LAWN TENNIS SINGLES TITLE". The Cairns Post. Qld. 19 June 1950. p. 1 – via National Library of Australia.
  12. ^ "GEOFF BROWN WINS KENT SINGLES TITLE". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld. 19 June 1950. p. 4 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "BROWN DEFEATS SI DWELL AFTER THREE-HOUR STRUGGLE". The Advocate. Burnie, Tas. 19 June 1950. p. 15 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "S. AFRICAN TENNIS BROWN ENTERS FINAL". The Advocate. Burnie, Tas. 14 April 1949. p. 20 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "Brown Beaten". The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 April 1949.
  16. ^ "Brown Takes Surrey Tennis". The New York Times. 29 April 1950.
  17. ^ "Tennis Win in 30 Minutes". The West Australian. Perth. 1 May 1950. p. 21 – via National Library of Australia.
  18. ^ "Brown-Drobny in U.K. Final". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 May 1950. p. 10 – via National Library of Australia.
  19. ^ "FRANK SEDGMAN IN FORM". The Examiner. Launceston, Tas. 8 May 1950. p. 13 – via National Library of Australia.
  20. ^ "TENNIS". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Qld. 12 June 1950. p. 2 – via National Library of Australia.
  21. ^ "BROWN BACK IN BIG TENNIS". The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 October 1951. p. 11 – via National Library of Australia.
  22. ^ "Brown has win over Lew Hoad". The Mail. Adelaide. 18 October 1952. p. 29 – via National Library of Australia.
  23. ^ "GEOFF BROWN IN COMEBACK". Sunday Times. Perth. 19 October 1952. p. 3 Section: Sporting Section – via National Library of Australia.
  24. ^ "Davis Cup – Players – Geoffrey Brown". ITF.
  25. ^ "May Be Future Tennis Star". Wagga Wagga, New South Wales: Daily Advertiser. 3 September 1951. p. 1. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Brown, Geoffrey Edmund". Herald Sun. 22 June 2001. Retrieved 1 May 2023.
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