Mervyn Rose

Mervyn Rose
AM
Full nameMervyn Gordon Rose
Country (sports) Australia
Born(1930-01-23)23 January 1930
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Died24 July 2017(2017-07-24) (aged 87)
Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, Australia
Turned pro1959 (amateur tour from 1949)
Retired1972
PlaysLeft-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2001 (member page)
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 3 (1958, Lance Tingay)[1]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenW (1954)
French OpenW (1958)
WimbledonSF (1952, 1953, 1958)
US OpenSF (1952)
Other tournaments
Professional majors
Wembley ProQF (1959)
French ProQF (1959)
TOC1R (1959FH)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian OpenW (1954)
French OpenF (1953, 1957)
WimbledonW (1954)
US OpenW (1952, 1953)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
French OpenF (1951, 1953)
WimbledonW (1957)
US OpenF (1951)

Mervyn Gordon Rose AM (23 January 1930 – 23 July 2017) was an Australian male tennis player who won seven Grand Slam titles (singles, doubles and mixed doubles).

Career

Rose was born in Coffs Harbour, New South Wales, and turned professional in 1959. He was ranked inside the world's Top 10 throughout much of his tennis career and represented Australia in the Davis Cup from 1951 to 1957. He was ranked World No. 3 in 1958 by Lance Tingay of The Daily Telegraph.[1]

Rose won the singles title at the 1954 Australian Championships in Sydney, defeating compatriot Rex Hartwig in the final in four sets.[2][3] Four years later, in 1958, he became the French singles champion after a straight-sets victory in the final against Luis Ayala.[4][5]

Rose won the 1953 Canadian Open singles title, defeating Hartwig in the final in three straight sets. His other career singles highlights include winning the Deauville Tennis Cup three times 1955, 1957,[6] and 1958.[7]

Rose became a professional in 1959 and played in tournaments with Kramer's group of contract players. He was officially ranked No. 9 in Kramer's point ranking system for 1959.[8][9]

He coached numerous female and male players, including Billie Jean King, Margaret Court, Ernie Ewart, Michael Fancutt, Brett Prentice, Arantxa Sánchez Vicario, Eleni Daniilidou, Nadia Petrova, Magdalena Grzybowska and Caroline Schnieder.

Rose was awarded the Australian Sports Medal in 2000, inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 2002. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in the 2006 Australia Day Honours for service to tennis, particularly as a competitor at national and international levels and as a coach and mentor to both amateur and professional players.[10][11] Rose died on 23 July 2017 at the age of 87.[4][5]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss 1953 Australian Championships Grass Australia Ken Rosewall 0–6, 3–6, 4–6
Win 1954 Australian Championships Grass Australia Rex Hartwig 6–2, 0–6, 6–4, 6–2
Win 1958 French Championships Clay Chile Luis Ayala 6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles (4 titles, 7 runners-up)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1951 US Championships Grass Australia Don Candy Australia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		 8–10, 4–6, 6–4, 5–7
Loss 1952 Australian Championships Grass Australia Don Candy Australia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		 4–6, 5–7, 3–6
Win 1952 US Championships Grass United States Vic Seixas Australia Ken McGregor
Australia Frank Sedgman		 3–6, 10–8, 10–8, 6–8, 8–6
Loss 1953 Australian Championships Grass Australia Don Candy Australia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		 11–9, 4–6, 8–10, 4–6
Loss 1953 French Championships Clay Australia Clive Wilderspin Australia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		 2–6, 1–6, 1–6
Loss 1953 Wimbledon Championships Grass Australia Rex Hartwig Australia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		 4–6, 5–7, 6–4, 5–7
Win 1953 US Championships Grass Australia Rex Hartwig United States Gardnar Mulloy
United States Bill Talbert		 6–4, 4–6, 6–2, 6–4
Win 1954 Australian Championships Grass Australia Rex Hartwig Australia Neale Fraser
Australia Clive Wilderspin		 6–3, 6–4, 6–2
Win 1954 Wimbledon Championships Grass Australia Rex Hartwig United States Vic Seixas
United States Tony Trabert		 6–4, 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
Loss 1956 Australian Championships Grass Australia Don Candy Australia Lew Hoad
Australia Ken Rosewall		 8–10, 11–13, 4–6
Loss 1957 French Championships Clay Australia Don Candy Australia Malcolm Anderson
Australia Ashley Cooper		 3–6, 0–6, 3–6

Mixed doubles: 5 (1 title, 4 runner-ups)

Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 1951 French Championships Clay Australia Thelma Coyne Long United States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		 5–7, 2–6
Loss 1951 Wimbledon Championships Grass Australia Nancye Wynne Bolton United States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		 5–7, 2–6
Loss 1951 U.S. Championships Grass United States Shirley Fry United States Doris Hart
Australia Frank Sedgman		 3–6, 2–6
Loss 1953 French Championships Clay United States Maureen Connolly United States Doris Hart
United States Vic Seixas		 6–4, 4–6, 0–6
Win 1957 Wimbledon Championships Grass United States Darlene Hard United States Althea Gibson
Australia Neale Fraser		 6–4, 7–5

Grand Slam tournament performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.

Singles

Tournament 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 SR
Australian Open 3R QF QF SF F W QF QF A SF A A A A A A A A A A A A 1R 2R 1 / 11
French Open A 3R QF 4R 4R QF QF A SF W A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 1 / 8
Wimbledon A 3R 1R SF SF QF 2R A QF SF A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 8
US Open A 2R 4R SF 4R A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A 0 / 4
Strike rate 0 / 1 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 1 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 2 1 / 3 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 1 2 / 31

Other tournament records

References

  1. ^ a b United States Lawn Tennis Association (1972). Official Encyclopedia of Tennis (First Edition), p. 427.
  2. ^ "Rose beats Hartwig for Aust. singles". Daily Advertiser. New South Wales, Australia. 2 February 1954. p. 3 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ^ "Rose wins Australian title". The News. Vol. 62, no. 9, 509. Adelaide. 1 February 1954. p. 2 – via National Library of Australia.
  4. ^ a b James Buddell. "Mervyn Rose: 1930–2017". Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP).
  5. ^ a b "Australian tennis great Mervyn Rose dies aged 87". Sky Sports. 25 July 2017.
  6. ^ "Mervyn Rose Wins Deauville Tournament". The Macon News. Macon, Georgia: newspapers.com. 29 July 1957. p. 10. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  7. ^ "Rose Wins Tourney". Miami News-Record. Miami, Florida: newspapers.com. 28 July 1958. p. 4. Retrieved 20 June 2024.
  8. ^ McCauley, Joe (2000). The History of Professional Tennis. Windsor: The Short Run Book Company Limited. pp. 97, 99.
  9. ^ Kramer Fall Tour Brochure, 1959
  10. ^ "Australia Day 2006 Honours List" (PDF). gg.gov.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 April 2018. Retrieved 22 November 2022.
  11. ^ "It's an Honour – Honours – Search Australian Honours". Retrieved 29 January 2014.