Frank Kovacs was an American amateur and professional tennis player in the mid-20th century.
57 Facts About Frank Kovacs
1.
2.
Frank Kovacs won the US National Indoor Tennis Championships singles title in 1941.
3.
Frank Kovacs won the World Professional Championships tournament in 1945 in San Francisco.
4.
Frank Kovacs won US Professional Championships or International Professional Championships at Cleveland in 1951.
5.
Frank Kovacs won the US Professional Challenge Tour in 1947 against Bobby Riggs.
6.
Frank Kovacs was ranked the world No 1 professional tennis player in two different years, by the WPTA for 1945 and by the PTPA for 1951.
7.
Frank Kovacs had a reputation as an eccentric tennis player and showman on the court.
8.
Frank Kovacs was known to jump into the stands to applaud his opponents, and once staged a sit-down strike during a match.
9.
Hunt mimicked him, so Frank Kovacs lay down for a clearer view, and Hunt did the same, and they were both soon lying flat out on the turf watching an airplane fly by while the fans watched them.
10.
John Murio, former California state champion, said Frank Kovacs was better at 17 years of age than Don Budge.
11.
Frank Kovacs lost in the third round of the 1938 US National championships to Gene Mako.
12.
Frank Kovacs was not selected by the USLTA to the US Davis Cup team due to a controversy over his tennis coach and did not play in Europe.
13.
Frank Kovacs missed much of the season due to an arm injury or "tennis elbow".
14.
Frank Kovacs had missed much of the year and was not ranked for 1939.
15.
Frank Kovacs beat young Vic Seixas from two sets to love down in the third round of the US Nationals.
16.
Frank Kovacs lost in the quarter-finals in straight sets to Joe Hunt.
17.
Frank Kovacs was the No 3 ranked American amateur by the USLTA in 1940.
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Frank Kovacs was runner-up in the US National Championships at Forest Hills, beating Jack Kramer and Don McNeill before losing to top-seeded Bobby Riggs in a five-set final.
19.
Frank Kovacs played brilliantly and outplayed me all the way.
20.
Frank Kovacs won nine tournaments in 1941, defeating Riggs in five of those events.
21.
Frank Kovacs was ranked the No 2 American amateur in 1941 by the USLTA.
22.
Frank Kovacs was ranked the world No 3 behind Riggs and Perry in a combined amateur-professional ranking for 1941 compiled by Ray Bowers in 2006.
23.
Frank Kovacs was responsible for something of a scandal over money in tennis, which before the Open era was strictly divided into amateurs and professionals.
24.
Frank Kovacs led the early part of the tour mainly because he defeated Budge in their first five matches.
25.
Frank Kovacs missed one month of play on this tour due to an arm injury.
26.
Frank Kovacs was ranked world No 3 in a combined professional-amateur ranking in February, 1942 behind Budge and Riggs.
27.
From 1943 to the end of WWII, Frank Kovacs served in the army.
28.
Frank Kovacs played matches in Australia in 1943 against Australian amateurs.
29.
Frank Kovacs won in straight sets on 28th, but lost in three sets on 29th.
30.
In March, 1945 Frank Kovacs won the World Professional Championships tournament in San Francisco organized by the WPTA, defeating Van Horn in the final.
31.
Frank Kovacs displayed his skill on clay, winning the Cotton State Pro in Birmingham Ala.
32.
Frank Kovacs did not play in the northeastern portion of the tournament series, and in the final point standings, Frank Kovacs finished third behind Riggs and Budge.
33.
Frank Kovacs then defeated Riggs in four sets to reach the final.
34.
Frank Kovacs defeated Budge in a long semifinal and Pancho Segura in the final in five sets, saving five match points against him in the fifth set before winning.
35.
Frank Kovacs was awarded the Benrus Cup, emblematic of the US Pro Championships.
36.
Frank Kovacs was vice-president of the PTPA, which supported the rival Cleveland event, and Riggs and Kramer did not play at Cleveland that year.
37.
Frank Kovacs was ranked the world No 1 professional tennis player for 1951 by the PTPA, ahead of Segura, Gonzales, and Kramer, in that order.
38.
In March 1952, at age 32, Frank Kovacs defeated Pancho Gonzales in the Philadelphia Masters indoor on wood, despite losing the first eight games of the match.
39.
Frank Kovacs lost all of his remaining matches in this round-robin event where four players played each other twice.
40.
Frank Kovacs was ranked the world No 3 professional in the PTPA annual rankings for 1952 behind Segura and Gonzales.
41.
Frank Kovacs won the 1954 Florida Pro Championships at Fort Lauderdale on clay, defeating Riggs in the final.
42.
In March, 1955 Frank Kovacs defeated Nick Carter in a pro exhibition match in San Francisco in straight sets.
43.
Immediately after this match, Frank Kovacs played in the Cleveland World Pro or US Pro played that year under the VASS scoring system.
44.
Frank Kovacs defeated Riggs to reach the semifinal where he lost a very close match to Gonzales.
45.
Frank Kovacs was ranked third in 1955 by the International Professional Tennis Association.
46.
Frank Kovacs continued to play in the Cleveland World Pro or US Pro, the one major tournament which he had won.
47.
Frank Kovacs was ranked sixth for 1957 in the Jack March professional rankings, just ahead of Kramer at seventh.
48.
Frank Kovacs spent his later years teaching tennis at the Davie Tennis Stadium in Piedmont, in Florida and at public courts near his home in Oakland.
49.
Frank Kovacs won many clay events, including the Great Lakes Professional Clay Court Championships near Chicago and five US Professional Clay Court Championships.
50.
Frank Kovacs reached two US Pro finals at Cleveland, on clay in 1950 and on cement in 1951, winning the latter.
51.
Frank Kovacs reached the semifinals of the US Pro a further eight times.
52.
Frank Kovacs lost five US Pro semifinals at Forest Hills on grass.
53.
Frank Kovacs did not play in the US Clay Court Championships after 1938, or at Roland Garros or in Davis Cup, events where he would have been expected to achieve some success.
54.
Frank Kovacs won a head-to-head series on an indoor surface against Riggs, with both players reportedly in excellent form throughout the matches.
55.
Budge later said that the Frank Kovacs backhand was the best he had ever seen.
56.
Frank Kovacs looks great, but give him long enough and he'll find some way to keep you in the match, and give him a little longer and he'll find a way to beat himself.
57.
Frank Kovacs was married to San Francisco vocal coach Judy Davis in 1950 and they lived for many years in their home in the Rockridge district of Oakland, until his death in 1990.