Jack Crawford (tennis)

Template:Short description {{#invoke:other uses|otheruses}} Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use Australian English Template:Infobox tennis biography

John Herbert Crawford, Template:Post-nominals (22 March 1908 – 10 September 1991) was an Australian tennis player during the 1930s. He was the World No. 1 amateur for 1933, during which year he won the Australian Open, the French Open, and Wimbledon, and was runner-up at the U.S. Open in five sets, thus missing the Grand Slam by one set that year.<ref name="SydneyMorningHerald1933"/> He also won the Australian Open in 1931, 1932, and 1935. He was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 1979.

Early life

Crawford was born on 22 March 1908 in Urangeline, near Albury, New South Wales, the second youngest child of Jack Sr. and Lottie Crawford.Template:Sfnp He had no tennis training as a child and practised mainly by hitting against the house and school and playing his older brother.Template:Sfnp Crawford played his first competition match at age 12 in a mixed doubles match at the Haberfield club.Template:Sfnp He won the Australian junior championships four consecutive times from 1926 to 1929 which entitled him to the permanent possession of the trophy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Career

Although he won a number of major championship titles he is perhaps best known for something he did not do – complete the tennis Grand Slam in 1933, five years before Don Budge accomplished the feat for the first time in 1938.

In 1933, Crawford won the Australian Championships, French Championships, and Wimbledon Championships, leaving him needing to win the U.S. Championships to complete the Grand Slam.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> An asthmatic who suffered in the muggy summer heat of Forest Hills, Crawford was leading the Englishman Fred Perry in the final of the US Championships by two sets to one when his strength began to fade. It was said that Crawford was an asthmatic who frequently took brandy mixed with sugar to help his breathing during matches, and on the muggy afternoon in Forest Hills he was said to have downed two or three doses of the concoction, though there are differing accounts of what Crawford actually drank. Crawford ended up losing the match by the final score of 3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6.

Crawford was ranked World No. 1 amateur in 1933 by A. Wallis Myers,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Bernard Brown,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Pierre Gillou,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Didier Poulain,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> John R. Tunis<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (The Literary Digest), Harry Hopman<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (Melbourne Herald), Alfred Chave (Brisbane Telegraph),<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> "Set" (The West Australian)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and Ellsworth Vines.<ref name="auto2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Crawford exacted some measure of revenge against Perry at the 1935 Australian, winning the final against Perry in four sets. Historically, he was competing in his tenth straight major final, a record matched only by Big Bill Tilden and then joined by Roger Federer. He advanced to his last Australian finals in 1936 and 1940, felled each time by fellow Aussie Adrian Quist, but he had set a record by making seven Australian finals appearances, equaled only by Roy Emerson in 1967.

In his 1979 autobiography Jack Kramer, the long-time tennis promoter and great player himself, included Crawford in his list of the 21 greatest players of all time.<ref>Writing in 1979, Kramer considered the best ever to have been either Don Budge (for consistent play) or Ellsworth Vines (at the height of his game). The next four best were, chronologically, Bill Tilden, Fred Perry, Bobby Riggs, and Pancho Gonzales. After these six came the "second echelon" of Rod Laver, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Gottfried von Cramm, Ted Schroeder, Jack Crawford, Pancho Segura, Frank Sedgman, Tony Trabert, John Newcombe, Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith, Björn Borg, and Jimmy Connors. He felt unable to rank Henri Cochet and René Lacoste accurately but felt they were among the very best.</ref>

Crawford was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, Rhode Island in 1979 and into the Australian Tennis Hall of Fame in 1997. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 1977 New Year Honours for his services to sport.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Playing style

Crawford at White City, Sydney ca. 1929

File:Jack Crawford 1933.jpg

Crawford in 1933 holding his characteristic Alexander 'Cressy Wizard' flat-topped racket

Crawford was a right-handed baseline player with a game that was based more on technical skills and accuracy than on power. He was not particularly fast but had excellent anticipation and his game was described as fluent and effortless. His style was compared with Henri Cochet. Crawford always wore long, white pressed flannels and a long-sleeved shirt.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He played with an old-fashioned flat-topped racket produced by the Alexander Patent Racket Company in Launceston, Tasmania.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Grand Slam tournament finals

Singles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Win	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–1
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	4–6, 6–3, 3–6, 6–3, 6–1
Win	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Keith Gledhill	2–6, 7–5, 6–3, 6–2
Win	1933	French Championships	Clay	Template:Flagicon Henri Cochet	8–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win	1933	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Ellsworth Vines	4–6, 11–9, 6–2, 2–6, 6–4
Loss	1933	U.S. Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	3–6, 13–11, 6–4, 0–6, 1–6
Loss	1934	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	3–6, 5–7, 1–6
Loss	1934	French Championships	Clay	Template:Flagicon Gottfried von Cramm	4–6, 9–7, 6–3, 5–7, 3–6
Loss	1934	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	3–6, 0–6, 5–7
Win	1935	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	2–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4
Loss	1936	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist	2–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–3, 7–9
Loss	1940	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist	3–6, 1–6, 2–6

Doubles: 12 (6 titles, 6 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Win	1929	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	Template:Flagicon Jack Cummings Template:Flagicon Edgar Moon	6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–1, 6–3
Win	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	Template:Flagicon Tim Fitchett Template:Flagicon John Hawkes	8–6, 6–1, 2–6, 6–3
Loss	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	Template:Flagicon James Anderson Template:Flagicon Norman Brookes	2–6, 4–6, 3–6
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Edgar Moon	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman Template:Flagicon Gerald Patterson	12–10, 6–3, 4–6, 6–4
Loss	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Edgar Moon	Template:Flagicon Keith Gledhill Template:Flagicon Ellsworth Vines	4–6, 8–10, 2–6
Loss	1934	French Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Vivian McGrath	Template:Flagicon Jean Borotra Template:Flagicon Jacques Brugnon	9–11, 3–6, 6–2, 6–4, 7–9
Win	1935	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Vivian McGrath	Template:Flagicon Patrick Hughes Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	6–4, 8–6, 6–2
Win	1935	French Championships	Clay	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist	Template:Flagicon Donald Turnbull Template:Flagicon Vivian McGrath	6–1, 6–4, 6–2
Win	1935	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist	Template:Flagicon Wilmer Allison Template:Flagicon John Van Ryn	6–3, 5–7, 6–2, 5–7, 7–5
Loss	1936	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Vivian McGrath	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist Template:Flagicon Donald Turnbull	8–6, 2–6, 1–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss	1939	U.S. Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist Template:Flagicon John Bromwich	6–8, 1–6, 4–6
Loss	1940	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Vivian McGrath	Template:Flagicon John Bromwich Template:Flagicon Adrian Quist	3–5, 5–7, 1–6

Mixed doubles: 8 (5 titles, 3 runners-up)

Result	Year	Championship	Surface	Partner	Opponents	Score
Loss	1928	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Daphne Akhurst	Template:Flagicon Elizabeth Ryan Template:Flagicon Patrick Spence	5–7, 4–6
Loss	1929	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Cox Crawford	Template:Flagicon Daphne Akhurst Template:Flagicon Edgar Moon	6–0, 7–5
Loss	1930	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Cox Crawford	Template:Flagicon Nell Hall Hopman Template:Flagicon Harry Hopman	9–11, 6–3, 3–6
Win	1930	Wimbledon Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Elizabeth Ryan	Template:Flagicon Hilde Sperling Template:Flagicon Daniel Prenn	6–1, 6–3
Win	1931	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Cox Crawford	Template:Flagicon Emily Hood Westacott Template:Flagicon Aubrey Willard	7–5, 6–4
Win	1932	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Cox Crawford	Template:Flagicon Nell Hall Hopman Template:Flagicon Jiro Sato	6–8, 8–6, 6–3
Win	1933	Australian Championships	Grass	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Cox Crawford	Template:Flagicon Marjorie Gladman Template:Flagicon Ellsworth Vines	3–6, 7–5, 13–11
Win	1933	French Championships	Clay	Template:Flagicon Margaret Scriven	Template:Flagicon Betty Nuthall Template:Flagicon Fred Perry	6–2, 6–3

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament	1926	1927	1928	1929	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949	1950	1951	SR	W–L	Win %
Australia	1R	QF	SF	QF	SF	W	W	W	F	W	F	SF	3R	SF	F	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	3R	1R	3R	3R	2R	1R	4 / 21	52–17	75.4
France	A	A	QF	A	2R	A	A	W	F	SF	A	A	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	3R	A	A	A	A	1 / 6	20–5	80.0
Wimbledon	A	A	4R	A	3R	A	SF	W	F	SF	QF	QF	A	A	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	NH	A	1R	A	A	A	A	1 / 9	36–8	81.8
United States	A	A	QF	A	A	A	A	F	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	A	A	A	3R	A	A	A	A	0 / 4	10–4	71.4
Win–loss	0–1	2–1	12–4	2–1	6–3	5–0	10–1	23–1	15–3	14–2	8–2	7–2	1–1	5–2	4–1	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	0–0	1–1	1–4	1–1	1–1	0–1	0–1	6 / 40	118–34	77.6

See also

• List of male tennis players a detailed list of tennis greats throughout the years
• Tennis records of All Time – Men's singles

Sources

• Template:Cite book

External links

• Template:Tennis Hall of Fame
• Template:ATP
• Template:ITF
• Template:Davis Cup player
• Template:Wimbledon player
• Template:Tennis Australia