132 Facts About Lew Hoad

Lewis Alan Hoad was an Australian tennis player whose career ran from 1950 to 1973.

Lew Hoad was a member of the Australian team that won the Davis Cup four times between 1952 and 1956.

Lew Hoad won the Kooyong Tournament of Champions in 1958 and the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions in 1959.

Lew Hoad won the Ampol Open Trophy world series of tournaments in 1959, which included the Kooyong tournament that concluded in early January 1960.

Lew Hoad was ranked the world No 1 amateur in 1953 by Harry Hopman, by Noel Brown and by the editors of Tennis de France, and in 1956 by Lance Tingay, by Ned Potter, and by Tennis de France.

Lew Hoad was ranked the world No 1 professional for 1959 in Kramer's Ampol point ranking system, and by Robert Barnes.

Lewis Hoad was born on 23 November 1934, in the working-class Sydney inner suburb of Glebe, the eldest of three sons of tramway electrician Alan Hoad and his wife Ailsa Lyle Burbury.

Lew Hoad started playing tennis at age five with a racket gifted by a local social club.

Lew Hoad built up great physical strength, especially in his hands and arms, by training at a police boys' club, where he made a name as a boxer.

Lew Hoad was about 12 when he was introduced to Adrian Quist, a former Australian tennis champion and then general manager of the Dunlop sports goods company.

Quist played a couple of sets with Lew Hoad and was impressed by his natural ability.

When Lew Hoad was 14 he left school and joined the Dunlop payroll, following the pattern of that 'shamateur' era when most of Australia's brightest tennis prospects were employed by sporting goods companies.

Lew Hoad had just turned 15 when he and Rosewall were selected to play for New South Wales in an interstate contest against Victoria.

In November 1949, Lew Hoad won the junior title at the New South Wales Championships, and the same weekend, he competed in the final of the junior table tennis championship in Sydney.

Lew Hoad will have to learn good control from the ground before his game will reach great heights.

Lew Hoad served with pressure and followed the majority of his returns to the net.

Lew Hoad won his first match against Ronald McKenzie in straight sets but lost in the following round to defending champion and countryman Frank Sedgman.

Lew Hoad won his first men's singles title, the Brisbane Exhibition tournament at Milton, on grass, on 11 August 1951, defeating Rosewall in the final in four sets.

In 1952, Lew Hoad reached the third round of the Australian Championships in Adelaide.

Lew Hoad, who had never played a tournament on European red clay courts, received a walkover in the first round of the French Championships and lost in straight sets to sixth-seeded and 1947 and 1951 finalist Eric Sturgess.

Lew Hoad was the eighth seeded foreign player at the US Championships.

Lew Hoad won four matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal but due in part to making 64 errors could not overcome Sedgman who would win the tournament without losing a set.

Lew Hoad started 1953 poorly in the singles with a second-round exit against Clive Wilderspin at the Australian Championships in Melbourne after playing an uncharacteristic baseline game.

Lew Hoad was more successful in doubles where he and Rosewall became the youngest team to win the Australian doubles title after a victory in the final against Mervyn Rose and Don Candy.

At Wimbledon, Lew Hoad was seeded sixth, and as at the French, Vic Seixas defeated him in the quarterfinal, this time in a close five-set match that ended on a Lew Hoad double fault.

At the US Championships Lew Hoad won four matches to reach the semifinal where for the third time in 1953 he lost in a Grand Slam event to Vic Seixas.

Lew Hoad is remembered for his match as a 19-year-old amateur against the United States champion Tony Trabert.

In front of a 17,000 crowd, Lew Hoad defeated Trabert in five sets to help his country retain the Cup.

Directly following the final, Lew Hoad received his call-up papers for National Service.

Lew Hoad was ranked world No 5 amateur for 1953 by Lance Tingay in his September rankings.

Lew Hoad won a singles match against Abe Segal, won a doubles match with Rosewall and lost a mixed-doubles match with his girlfriend Jenny Staley.

When Lew Hoad returned to service, he was bitten by a spider while on maneuvers which caused him to become ill and hospitalized him for ten days.

Lew Hoad spent two days in coma which was not made public.

Lew Hoad lost the doubles final with Rosewall to Seixas and Trabert in 56 minutes.

At the Victorian Championships, the last significant tournament before the Davis Cup Challenge Round, Lew Hoad was defeated in straight sets in the semifinal by Seixas.

Lew Hoad lost the first rubber to Trabert, in front of a record crowd of 25,000, in a high-quality four-set match.

However, Lew Hoad was ranked world No 4 in Ned Potter's rankings for 1954 in World Tennis, which was a higher ranking than Potter had given Lew Hoad in 1953 at No 5.

Lew Hoad started the year with a five-set defeat in the final of the South Australian Championships against countryman Neale Fraser.

At the following Manly tournament, the crowd overflowed the stands during the final hindering Rosewall's "baseline defensive game" more than Lew Hoad's attacking style, resulting in a straight-sets win for Lew Hoad in 35 minutes.

At the Australian Championships in Brisbane, Lew Hoad overcame a two sets to one deficit against Mervyn Rose in the quarterfinal and beat Neale Fraser in the semifinal to reach his second consecutive Australian final, where he overcame titleholder Rosewall in four sets to win his first Grand Slam singles title.

Lew Hoad won the doubles title with Rosewall against Don Candy and Mervyn Rose.

At the French Championships at Roland Garros, Lew Hoad survived a five-set scare against Robert Abdesselam in the third round before winning the final against Sven Davidson in straight sets to claim his second consecutive Grand Slam singles title.

Unknown to the public, Lew Hoad had stayed up the night previous to the final, invited by a Russian diplomat, and was drunk when he came home.

Lew Hoad lost two sets en route to the final, one to Mal Anderson in the quarterfinal and one to Ham Richardson in the semifinal.

Lew Hoad won the doubles title with Rosewall, their third Wimbledon title, defeating Orlando Sirola and Nicola Pietrangeli in the final in straight sets.

Immediately after Wimbledon, Lew Hoad experienced severe pain and stiffness in his lower back, at a level higher than before the tournament.

Lew Hoad had missed the preparatory grass court tournament at Newport.

Lew Hoad lost the US Championships final at Forest Hills in four sets to Rosewall.

Lew Hoad was confined to bed with back pain for the two days prior to the Davis Cup matches, and was relieved to find that he could play well.

Lew Hoad won 16 tournaments in 1956, and 17 doubles titles.

Lew Hoad played poorly in early 1957, due to back trouble, and was placed in an upper body cast for six weeks, following which he slowly returned to tennis competition in April 1957.

Lew Hoad then experienced a period of pain-free playing for 11 months.

Lew Hoad won the Northern Championships in Manchester, beating Ramanathan Krishnan in the final.

Lew Hoad won his second successive Wimbledon singles title, defeating Ashley Cooper in a straight-sets final that lasted 57 minutes.

On 14 July 1957, Lew Hoad won his debut match as a professional against Frank Sedgman at the Forest Hills Tournament of Champions, broadcast live nationally on the CBS television network.

Lew Hoad won his next match, against Pancho Segura, but lost the last three to finish joint third in the round robin event behind Gonzales and Sedgman.

Lew Hoad must shorten his backhand or play deeper in his returning service.

Lew Hoad was ranked combined world No 3 behind Gonzales and Sedgman and ahead of Rosewall and Segura for 1957 by Quist.

From 5 to 4 down in New Zealand, Lew Hoad launched a 15 to 3 winning streak against Gonzales.

Twice Lew Hoad was forced to take time off to rest his back and was substituted for in his absence by Rosewall and Trabert.

In January 1958, Lew Hoad won the Kooyong Tournament of Champions in Melbourne, the richest tournament of the year.

Lew Hoad defeated Gonzales and Sedgman in deciding matches, and won all five of his matches in the round-robin event.

Lew Hoad rested for the next three months and did not play again until 1959.

Lew Hoad began the series slowly, hampered by an elbow injury.

Lew Hoad won his head-to-head's with newly turned pro Ashley Cooper and Mal Anderson.

Lew Hoad defeated Mal Anderson in the quarterfinal, Rosewall in the semifinal in four sets and Gonzales in the final, in four sets, to claim the title.

At the Wembley Indoor Championships, part of the Ampol series, Lew Hoad was upset by Segura in the second round, and Segura eventually lost the final to Anderson in a close match.

On 24 December, the day following Gonzales' departure, Lew Hoad announced that he would not participate in the upcoming 4-man tour in January 1960.

On 2 January 1960, Lew Hoad defeated Rosewall in a three-and-a-half hour, four-set match to win the Kooyong tournament, a match which Kramer acclaimed as one of the best ever played.

Lew Hoad finished first in the series with 51 bonus points, ahead of Gonzales and Rosewall.

The Melbourne Age stated, Lew Hoad "was crowned the new world professional tournament champion at Kooyong" by winning the Ampol world series.

The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Lew Hoad had won "the title of world's top professional tennis player" and was "the game's top money-earner" for 1959.

Kramer's office reported that in 1959 Lew Hoad had won his personal series of matches against Gonzales 24 to 23.

Lew Hoad decided not to play in the 4-man 1960 world championship tour and took a three-month layoff at the beginning of 1960 to rest his back and spend time with his family.

In May, Lew Hoad commenced his participation in Kramer's tournament series for 1960, which used a point system to rank the players.

Lew Hoad lost a five-set final to Rosewall at the Melbourne Olympic Pool where a court was set up on the drained pool floor.

At the Wembley Indoor Championships that year, Lew Hoad was again upset by Segura in the second round.

In late 1960, Lew Hoad won the inaugural Japanese Professional Championships in Tokyo, beating Rosewall, Cooper, and Gimeno.

Lew Hoad was ranked world No 2 professional tennis player behind Gonzales in a newspaper report.

Lew Hoad played a few one-set matches on the 1961 Professional World Series tour in January, but soon withdrew because of a broken left foot and was substituted for by first Trabert and then Sedgman.

Lew Hoad won his series against Gonzales by a score of six matches to four.

Lew Hoad won four of the five matches in the series which were played on grass.

At the Wembley Pro, Lew Hoad defeated Gonzales in a four-set semifinal.

From 14 to 17 March 1962, Lew Hoad won the Adelaide Professional Championships, beating Rosewall, Gimeno, and Sedgman, the final against Rosewall very close.

Lew Hoad won the professional tournament in Zurich in September 1962 by a win in the final against Pancho Segura.

Lew Hoad was voted the world No 1 professional tennis player for 1962 in a UPI poll of 85 US sports editors held at the end of January 1963 following the Australian tour.

Lew Hoad did not plan to participate in the World Tour for 1963.

Lew Hoad was tired and sluggish in the final, which again he lost to Rosewall, this time in four sets.

Lew Hoad did not play in the World Tour, and was not officially ranked.

In February and March 1964, Lew Hoad played a 16-day 24-match best-of-three sets tour of New Zealand with Laver, Rosewall, and Anderson.

Lew Hoad won at Carlyon Bay and Cardiff, while Gonzales won at Brighton and Glasgow.

Lew Hoad experienced foot trouble in 1964 and finished in sixth place in the tournament series point system.

Lew Hoad won his final victories against Laver in January 1966 at White City in Sydney, his home town, defeating him in straight sets, and at Forest Hills, New York in a round robin match in June 1966.

Lew Hoad returned unexpectedly to participate in the Wimbledon Pro tournament in late August 1967.

Lew Hoad was one of the eight players invited for the singles event and despite being in semi-retirement and without competitive play for ten months, he won his first match against Gonzales in three sets.

Lew Hoad played for an eight-week period on the pro tour in 1967, and then retired permanently from regular competitive tennis play.

Lew Hoad lost in the final of the Irish Championships at Dublin in July 1968 to Tom Okker in straight sets, hampered by a thigh injury.

In November 1969, Lew Hoad won the Dewar Cup Aberavon singles title, part of the Dewar Cup indoor circuit, defeating Mark Cox in the semifinal and Bob Hewitt in the final, both wins in two straight sets.

Lew Hoad won his final tournament singles title on 7 August 1971, the Playmon Fiesta 71, on red clay at Benidorm, Spain.

Lew Hoad defeated Antonio Munoz in the semifinal and Manuel Santana in the final.

In spring 1972, Lew Hoad played the doubles final at Italian Open with Frew McMillan against Ilie Nastase and Ion Tiriac.

Lew Hoad's final match was a second round loss as a result of a retirement to Fassbender in Johannesburg in November 1973.

From 1970 to 1974, Lew Hoad was the coach of the Spanish Davis Cup team.

Lew Hoad was 15 wins and 18 losses against Rosewall lifetime in grass court tournament play.

Lew Hoad was 17 wins and 21 losses lifetime on clay against Rosewall, and 10 wins and 13 losses lifetime on clay against Trabert.

However, Lew Hoad was more consistent than Gonzales against the other ten players in the Ampol series, winning 33 of 43 matches, while Gonzales won 21 of 28, and this gave Lew Hoad the overall victory in the series.

Lew Hoad won six tournaments compared to Gonzales' four, and he had 6 wins and 2 losses against Rosewall on the 1959 Ampol series, while Gonzales had 1 win and 3 losses against Rosewall.

Lew Hoad won nine Grand Slam doubles titles, including one Mixed doubles title, and a Career Grand Slam in men's doubles.

Lew Hoad won 21 major men's doubles titles over 14 seasons, a pre-Open era record, shared with Rosewall.

Lew Hoad won the 1959 Forest Hills TOC doubles title.

Lew Hoad won a record seven French Pro men's doubles titles, and consecutively.

Lew Hoad played right-handed and had a powerful serve and groundstrokes.

Lew Hoad's game was reported to lack consistency in some accounts.

Lew Hoad was the only player I ever saw who could stand six or seven feet behind the baseline and snap the ball back hard, crosscourt.

Lew Hoad hit hard overspin drives, and there was no way you could ever get him to temporise on important points.

Lew Hoad was runner-up for the Australian junior table tennis championship in 1951, and developed strong wrists and arms through heavy weight-lifting regimes.

Lew Hoad would saw off about an inch from the ends of his racquet handles, which were short to begin with, and move the grip higher to wield his racquets as if they were ping-pong bats.

Lew Hoad hit so hard and so quickly off the ground he would have stretched Borg.

Lew Hoad might have been the best, but day-to-day, week-to-week, he was the most inconsistent of all the top players.

Vines lost interest in tennis before he was thirty, and Lew Hoad never appeared to be very interested.

Lew Hoad was capable of making more shots than anybody.

Lew Hoad had the most natural tennis mind with the most natural tennis physique.

Lew Hoad was the only man to beat me in a head-to-head tour, 15 to 13.

Lew Hoad gave his own rankings in a 1980 interview, ranking Emerson and Borg at the top in terms of major tournaments won.

However, Lew Hoad claimed that "the only way to really assess players is to play them", rating Gonzales as the best player of those whom he had played against.

Buchholz ranked Laver, Borg, Rosewall, Gonzales, and McEnroe as his top five choices, while Drysdale ranked Lew Hoad tied with Connors in fifth place behind Laver, Borg, Budge, and McEnroe.

Lew Hoad had every shot in the book and he could overpower anyone.

Lew Hoad hit the ball harder than anyone I ever played.

Lew Hoad proposed to his girlfriend, Australian tennis player Jenny Staley, on her 21st birthday party in March 1955 and they planned to announce their engagement in June in London while both were on an overseas tour.

Lew Hoad was diagnosed with a rare and incurable form of leukaemia on 13 January 1994 which caused his death on 3 July 1994.

Lew Hoad was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport, in 1980 and in December 1985 was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame.

Lew Hoad joined the professional tennis circuit in 1957 and as a consequence was banned from competing in 42 Grand Slam tournaments until the start of the Open Era at the 1968 French Open.