Sven Davidson

Sven Viktor 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, beating Ashley Cooper and Herbert Flam.

Sven Davidson
Sven Davidson after winning the 1957 French Tennis Championships.
Country (sports) Sweden
Born(1928-07-13)13 July 1928
Borås, Sweden
Died28 May 2008(2008-05-28) (aged 79)
Arcadia, California, United States
PlaysRight-handed (one-handed backhand)
Int. Tennis HoF2007 (member page)
Singles
Career record542-171 (76.2%) [1]
Career titles50 [1]
Highest rankingNo. 2 (1957)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1955)
French OpenW (1957)
WimbledonSF (1957)
US OpenSF (1957)
Doubles
Grand Slam doubles results
WimbledonW (1958)
Grand Slam mixed doubles results
WimbledonQF (1951)

Career

Davidson also reached the French championships final in the two previous years. In 1955 he beat Budge Patty before losing to Tony Trabert.[3] In 1956 he beat Flam and Cooper before losing to Lew Hoad.[3] He also reached the Wimbledon semi finals in 1957 (beating Seixas before losing to Lew Hoad).[4] At the 1957 U. S. Championships, Davidson lost in five sets in the semifinals to Mal Anderson. In 1958 Davidson 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. He played his last Grand Slam event at Wimbledon in 1959.

Davidson reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 2.[2]

He played for the Swedish Davis Cup team between 1950 and 1960.[5]

Davidson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2007.[5]

Personal life

Davidson lived in Arcadia, California since the 1970s. In 1981, at age 52, he suffered a heart attack while playing a tennis match in Los Angeles.[6] He died in Arcadia on 28 May 2008 as a result of pneumonia.[7]

Grand Slam finals

Singles (1 title, 2 runners-up)
Result Year Championship Surface Opponent Score
Loss1955French ChampionshipsClayUnited States Tony Trabert6–2, 1–6, 4–6, 2–6
Loss1956French ChampionshipsClayAustralia Lew Hoad4–6, 6–8, 3–6
Win1957French ChampionshipsClayUnited States Herbie Flam6–3, 6–4, 6–4

Doubles (1 title)
Result Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents Score
Win1958WimbledonGrassSweden Ulf SchmidtAustralia Ashley Cooper
Australia Neale Fraser		6–4, 6–4, 8–6

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
Tournament19491950195119521953195419551956195719581959 SR
Australian Championships A A A A A A 3R A A A A 0 / 1
French Championships 1R 4R 4R A 4R QF F F W A A 1 / 8
Wimbledon A 1R 2R A QF 4R QF 2R SF QF 3R 0 / 9
U.S. National Championships A 2R A A QF 4R A A SF A A 0 / 4
Strike rate 0 / 1 0 / 3 0 / 2 0 / 0 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 2 1 / 3 0 / 1 0 / 1 1 / 22

References
  1. "Sven Davidson: Career match record". thetennisbase.com. Tennis Base. Retrieved 7 November 2017.
  2. Potter, Edward C. (November 1957). "The World's First Tens". World Tennis. Vol. 5, no. 6. New York. p. 40.
  3. Collins, Bud (2016). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (3rd ed.). New York: New Chapter Press. p. 414. ISBN 978-1-937559-38-0.
  4. "Wimbledon player profile – Sven Davidson". AELTC.
  5. "Sven Davidson". www.tennisfame.com.
  6. "Tennis Star Sven Davidson Suffers Heart Attack at 52". The New York Times. 18 January 1981.
  7. Richard Goldstein (7 June 2008). "Sven Davidson, 79, Hall of Famer in Tennis, Dies". The New York Times.
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