Sven Davidson

Sven Davidson

Sven Davidson after winning the 1957 French Tennis Championships.
Country (sports)  Sweden
Born (1928-07-13)13 July 1928
Borås, Sweden
Died 28 May 2008(2008-05-28) (aged 79)
Arcadia, CA, United States
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF 2007 (member page)
Singles
Highest ranking No. 3 (1957, Adrian Quist)[1]
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open 3R (1955)
French Open W (1957)
Wimbledon SF (1957)
US Open SF (1957)
Doubles
Grand Slam Doubles results
Wimbledon W (1958)

Sven Davidson (13 July 1928 – 28 May 2008) was a Swedish tennis player who became the first Swede to win a Grand Slam title when he won the French Championships in 1957. He had reached the final in the two previous years but lost against Tony Trabert and Lew Hoad.[2][3] In 1958 he partnered with Ulf Schmidt to win the doubles title at the Wimbledon Championships defeating the Australian pair Ashley Cooper and Neale Fraser in three straight sets.

Davidson reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 3.[1][4]

He played for the Swedish Davis Cup team between 1950 and 1960.[2]

Davidson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.[2]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Runner-up 1955French ChampionshipsClayUnited States Tony Trabert6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 2–6
Runner-up 1956French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Lew Hoad4–6, 6–8, 3–6
Winner 1957French ChampionshipsClayUnited States Herbie Flam6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles (1 title)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Winner 1958 Wimbledon Grass Sweden Ulf Schmidt Australia Ashley Cooper
Australia Neale Fraser 		6–4, 6–4, 8–6

References

  1. 1 2 "Times Have Changed, Says Adrian Quist", The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 October 1957.
  2. 1 2 3 Richard Evans (4 June 2008). "Sven Davidson; The first Swedish tennis player to win a Grand Slam title". Guardian. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
  3. ↑ Collins, Bud (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. p. 388. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  4. ↑ "Sven Davidson". International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/28/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.